Glazed Lemon Pie Bars โ Buttery soft crust with luscious lemon filling and a lemon glaze boosts the bold lemon flavor even more!! If you like lemon pie, you’ll love these easy bars that are so much easier than making pie!!
Easy Lemon Bars with Lemon Pie Filling
My daughter adores lemon desserts and I wanted to make something she’d love.
However, I’ve made umpteen lemon desserts over the years โ including aย Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat Lemon Bread,ย Lmon Cookies, multiple lemon bars, lemonย cakes โย and was trying to think of a new and unique lemon dessert.
Thenย I remembered that the Glazed Cherry Pie Bars I recently made would be great with a lemon filling.ย I swapped cherry pie filling for lemon filling and topped the bars with a lemon glaze to boost the lemon flavor even more.
The crust is buttery, soft, and tender while the filling is juicy and luscious with the perfect amount of sweet-yet-tart flavor. And pie bars are so much faster and easier than making a pie. A definite bonus.
Itโs a great recipe forย parties, events, and holiday celebrations because itย makesย enough to feed a crowd. But not an issue here with my little lemon lover.
What’s in Lemon Pie Bars?
To make these lemon bars with lemon pie filling, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Almond extract
- All-purpose flour
- Lemon pie filling
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Lemon juice
How to Make Lemon Pie Bars
Beat together the butter and sugar, then stir in the eggs and extracts. Add the flour last, mixing until just combined.
Turn about 75% of the dough into a jelly roll pan and smooth out into an even layer. Top with lemon pie filling. Dollop the remaining dough over top.
Bake the lemon pie bars until the dough around the edges of the pan is a light golden brown. Let the bars cool completely before topping with the lemon glaze.
Do I Have to Use a Jelly Roll Pan?
No! I baked the bars using aย 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan and appreciate that they donโt turn out overly thick. However,ย you could probably use a 9ร13-inch pan noting the bars will be thicker and the baking time will be longer.
Tips for Making This Easy Lemon Dessert
For even more lemon flavor, use lemon extract instead of almond extract.
If you do use the almond extract, don’t add any more than the recipe calls for. Unlike vanilla extract โ which I always add with a very generous hand โ almond extract isย veryย potent and can quickly overwhelm a dessert.
You can serve these bars chilled or at room temperature. My family likes them cold, but I like them warm. Do what you like!
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Glazed Lemon Pie Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ยฝ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยผ teaspoon almond extract, or 1/2 teaspoon if you love almond extract; lemon extract may be substituted
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- two 23-ounce jars lemon pie filling
Glaze
- 1 ยผ cups confectionersโ sugar, sifted if yours is particularly lumpy
- ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยฝ teaspoon almond extract, lemon extract may be substituted
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, as necessary for consistency
Instructions
Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray; set aside. Optionally, line the pan with a sheet of foil and spray with cooking spray. The advantage is you can lift the bars out by the foil and cut them more neatly on a cutting board.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and handheld electric mixer), add the butter, sugar, salt, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.ย Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the extracts and beat on medium-high speed to incorporate, about 30 seconds.
- Gradually add the flour and beat on medium-low speed to incorporate, about 1 minute.
- Turn about 75% of the doughย out into a prepared pan and spread with a spatula to create a smooth, even, flat layer. Itโs sticky, tacky, and requires some patience, but just keep spreading and finessing it into the corners.
- Add theย pie filling and spread to evenly distribute leaving a 1/4-inch bare margin from edges of pan. It spreads while baking and trying to prevent filling from sticking to sides of pan is advised so it doesnโt burn.
- Drop remaining dough by 2-teaspoonfuls over pie filling. Itโs very sticky and I find it easiest to use aย 2-tablespoon cookie scoopย filled about halfway. The dough will spread together somewhat as the bars bake.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until dough on top and around the edges is very lightly golden brown.
- Allow bars to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Glaze:
- To a mediumย bowl, add the confectionersโ sugar, extracts, and enough lemon juiceย to reach desired consistency.
- Evenly drizzle glaze over the bars and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Lemon Dessert Ideas:
Lemon Lemoniesย โ Like brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) โ Took years but I finally recreated it! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good!!
Lightened Up Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake โ No BUTTER in this healthier cake with big juicy blueberries and refreshing lemon! Itโs a keeper!
Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glazeย โ Almost more berries than cake in this soft, fluffy cake!ย
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze โ An easy little cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frostingย โ Soft, fluffy, moist, very lemony cupcakes from scratch! Easy one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for cupcakes that taste like they’re from a bakery!
Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookiesย โ Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies โ Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! Theyโre soft, chewy and not at all cakey!
Strawberry Lemonade Bars โ Imagine crossing lemon bars with a strawberry pie. These easy bars taste like strawberry lemonade! Sooo good!
Thank you for getting bs k to my comment so quickly. Would you recommend d that I get a jelly roll pan just to play it safe?
Hi Averie – I love your blog and of course, the recipes. These look amazing. I had trouble finding the lemon pie filling near me. After four grocery stores I gave up and got it on Amazon. Now that I have the pie filling, I have one question- I don’t have a jelly roll pan. If I’m using a regular cake pan as you said was okay, how long should I bake?
I used the storebrand at Ralph’s (Kroger) grocery store, the ‘Private Select’ or ‘Private Reserve’ something like that, just for the future.
Not baking in a jelly roll pan is something I haven’t personally tried so cannot say for sure. Watch closely, you’ll see the top browning. I’d take it out at that point for sure!
I love this dessert! Lemon is one of my favorite flavors and this bar turned out amazing. I used the 9×13 pan and increased the cooking time to 45 minutes and they were perfect. I can’t wait to try your lemon bread recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and Iโm glad it came out great for you in a 9×13! LMK how the lemon bread goes!
Averie,
Your bars look delicious. I don’t get to have lemon desserts often enough.
Annamaria
I love lemon!!!
Dear Averie, Love your web site, but just wish that the glazed lemon bars had a “from scratch” recipe for the lemon filling, rather than a pre made jar filling. Would a basic lemon curd recipe work with this or would it be too soft?
I have only made the recipe with jarred lemon filling and can’t speak to the results with a scratch lemon curd. I’m sure it would be fine but it’s a step I didn’t take so can’t speak from experience.
yummy! These look amazing! ย I love lemon to!
I want these in my face RIGHT NOW!! Oh, how I love lemon. I just made lemon pie yesterday…but I want these more!
I was thinking of you the whole time I was making this! Between your pies, your pie bars, and your love of lemon, I think you would have loved them. Too bad you don’t live closer because it made a huge sheet pan full!
I like your Friday dessert recipes. ย :) ย Anything bright and cheerful hits the spot at this time of year–this sounds yummy and oh-so-springlike. ย
It’s nice to hear you notice that I usually post desserts on Fridays :) Sometimes I wonder if anyone does! Something sweet going into the weekend never hurts :)
Yummy! Lemon is my favorite, so this is definitely my type of dessert. Love!
I love a good crust–especially one that tastes like a sugar cookie! I also adore almond extract so it sounds like the perfect “little something” to add to these bright sunny bars. Pie filling is a great short cut too–I bet most flavors would work well with that crust!
I think blueberries would be great or as you said, most any pie filling. I adore almond extract too and just loved it in the bars!
Your lemon-loving daughter must be having the best time! Nothing beats a pie bar. Crust is food of the gods!
She loved these for sure!