When life hands you lemons, make lemon bars.

Baking is one of my favorite stress relievers. I enjoy the simplicity of following a recipe and enjoying the results. My family life and my professional life are both complex, and baking, like gardening, provides a necessary balance.
I baked a disastrous batch of lemon bars long, long ago, and the trauma was enough for me to swear off trying again for decades. I tried again last night: successfully! Here's the recipe, from the same Cookie Book as the Cranberry Hootycreek Cookies:

Lemon Bars

from the 2007 we energies cookie book

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter, melted

4 eggs (or 1 cup egg substitute)

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup lemon juice from concentrate

Powdered sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium bowl, combine 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Blend in melted butter. Press dough into bottom of ungreased 13X9X2 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, baking powder, and remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Stir sugar mixture into the eggs. Mix in lemon juice. Pour over prepared crust. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until filling is set. Cool.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar before cutting into bars. Makes 2-3 dozen.

Notes:

• I put much too much powdered sugar on top. Next time I'll be more sparing with the topping. Husband scraped his off. Amigo didn't mind, though.
• These are rather rich, too, courtesy of the eggs. A small bar is a good serving.
• They're delicious with coffee. Was there any doubt?
• Share the story of my lemon bar trauma? Maybe, but I'd rather bake.

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