Lemon Bar Blondies

I ate this lemon bar blondie for dinner last night, and I am totally okay with it. Do you support "dessert for dinner?" I know I totally do! It was a pretty low calorie dinner too, since each lemon bar is only 200 - 250 calories (depending on whether or not you cut 9 or 12 squares). I think I'm going to eat dessert for dinner more often. Oh yeah, and it's healthy, because lemons have Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Vitamin B5!

I made these lemon bar blondies last weekend. My parents came down for dinner (well actually, my mom made dinner and brought it to my house), and I wanted to make a dessert for my dad's birthday. At first I thought I'd make a cheesecake, but then I realized I didn't have anything for a crust. Then I decided that I wanted to make lemon bars...but that also required a crust that I couldn't make. What was I to do? I searched the web for easy lemony desserts, and I came across this tasty and delicious recipe.

The combination of zesty and sweet in this dessert is awesome. The lemon bar blondies are the perfect dessert (or dinner) - they aren't too rich or sinful but they definitely hit the spot. Enjoy!

Recipe for Lemon Bar Blondies 

INGREDIENTS:
1 stick of butter, softened at room temperature

3/4 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs

2 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup of flour, sifted
2 tsp. of cream
1 1/2 tsp. of lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 baking pan. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer to beat on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Add in the eggs and mix well. Add in the 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice and mix. Stir in the flour and set the hand mixer on low speed to mix the flour in until it is fully incorporated. Use a spoon to stir in the lemon zest and cream. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread so it is evenly distributed. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Once they are finished cooking, remove from oven and cool completely.

For the lemon glaze
INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp. of butter
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:
Put the butter into a small saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Once the butter is completely melted, take off heat and immediately stir in the powdered sugar. Stir quickly, then pour in the lemon juice. Stir until it is completely smooth, adding more lemon juice if needed. Pour the hot glaze over the completely cooled lemon bars. While the glaze is still warm, zest 1 lemon over it, allowing the lemon zest to fall on top of the glaze. Cover the pan with foil and place in the fridge until the glaze hardens. Once the glaze has hardened, the lemon bars can be cut into 9 or 12 squares.

Recipe Adapted from: Ashely Marie's Kitchen
Each lemon bar blondie has approximately 200 - 250 calories.