Lemon-Thyme Pie Bars

Lemon-Thyme Pie Bars

Ingredients

• For the Lemon Curd
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Zest from 4 lemons
• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed

• For the Crust and Topping
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Make the lemon curd. In a bowl, stir together the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg whites. Set aside. Melt the butter in a medium heavy bottom saucepan. Once the butter is melted, turn off the heat. Whisk the egg yolks into the warm, melted butter. Then whisk in the sugar/lemon/egg white mixture. Turn the heat back on to low and cook the lemon curd, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thicken and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Strain the lemon curd through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. The lemon curd will thicken slightly as it cools. This recipe makes more lemon curd than you’ll need for the pie bars. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
3. Make the pie bars. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
4. In your food processor with the blade attachment, pulse together the flour, oats, sugar, thyme leaves, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Add the cubed butter, egg and vanilla extract. Pulse until the dough resembles a course meal.
5. Press about two-thirds of the dough firmly and evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Spread about 2 cups of the lemon curd over the surface of the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the edges of the pan. Then sprinkle the remaining dough over top of the lemon curd layer.
6. Transfer the baking pan to your pre-heated oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top and edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely before slicing into bars.
7. The pie bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.