Lemon brownies are a brilliant mashup between chocolate brownies and tangy lemon bars. These moist citrusy triple lemon bars are a wonderful spring treat!
why do I call these lemon brownies?
Naming recipes is an art, not a science. Sometimes you go with what best evokes the ‘personality’ of a food, rather than limit yourself to the technicalities. These lemon bars live and breathe in the brownie world: they’re moist, dense, and fudgy, just like brownies, so why fight it? And lemon brings a whole new dimension to what we know as brownies, so everybody wins. Especially us taste testers 🙂
gather your ingredients:
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fresh lemons for the juice and zest ~ don’t be tempted to use bottled lemon juice, it’s not the same, and you’ll need fresh lemons for the zest, anyway.
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butter ~ softened
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sugar ~ granulated
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eggs ~ room temperature
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all purpose flour ~ cake flour will also work
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salt
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confectioner’s sugar ~ for the glaze
how to make lemon brownies:
- Spray and line an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan and line with foil or parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar together.
- Beat in the eggs.
- Stir in the lemon zest and juice.
- Fold in the flour and salt.
- Spread in a baking pan and bake.
- Cool and then slather with glaze.
LEMON BROWNIE FAQS
can I double this recipe and bake it in a 9×13 pan?
Yes, that will work fine. The baking time will be a little longer.
Can these be made gluten free?
Yes, I always recommend using a reputable gf baking mix, from Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour, for instance.
Can I use cake flour?
Yes, cake flour will give them a more delicate texture.
why is there no baking powder in these brownies?
Brownies don’t use rising agents because they are supposed to be dense and moist. If you add baking powder these lemon brownies would have a more ‘cakey’ texture.
Can I use lime juice and zest or orange juice and orange zest?
Yes, that should be delicious!
Do these lemon brownies need to be refrigerated?
No, I leave them out on the counter, but you can refrigerate them if you like.
Can you make lemon brownies ahead?
If you need to make these ahead, I suggest baking the brownies, cooling them completely, then wrapping in plastic and refrigerating for up to 2 days. Then glaze the day you want to serve.
can lemon brownies be frozen?
Yes, but I suggest freezing the cooled brownies before glazing, then glaze the defrosted brownies the day you want to serve them. Wrap the completely cooled brownies (don’t slice first) in plastic, then in heavy duty foil. They’ll keep for up to 2 months.
more recipes that scratch the lemon itch
Lemon Brownies
Equipment
- 8x8 inch or 9x9 inch baking pan Note: the 9x9 inch pan will yield slightly thinner brownies.)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, ideally at room temperature
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
glaze
- 1 1/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray or butter your 8x8 9r 9x9 baking pan. I like to line it with parchment paper so I can remove the brownies easily for glazing and slicing, but that's optional.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
- Blend in the eggs, one at a time.
- Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Note: the batter may look curdled at this point, but no worries, that's normal and it will resolve itself when you blend in the flour.
- Stir in the salt, and then fold in the flour, stirring just until everything is well incorporated, but don't over mix.
- Spread into your prepared pan, evening out the surface with an offset spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or just until set in center. Note: Try not to over bake these, you want that fudgy texture! The surface will not be a 'springy' as a cake is when these brownies are done.
- Let the pan cool for about 20 minutes before lifting the brownies out using the parchment paper 'sling' to finish cooling on a rack. If you didn't use parchment, let the brownies cool in the pan on a rack.
- Mix the sugar and enough lemon juice to make a thick but pourable glaze. Spread over the top of the completely cooled brownies. Top with a little lemon zest if you like. Let the glaze harden before slicing.
Nutrition
These were amazing! They were easy to make and had a perfect fudgy texture and were full of lemon flavor. 10/10 would make this again
These were delicious warm but even better chilled!!! Will definitely make again!!!
I doubled the recipe and put it in my 11 x 15 pan with parchment paper underneath batter. I will never make lemon bars again!! These are absolutely decadent!! They are also much easier, less messy to eat.
Yay! thanks Donna 🙂
Hello, these are delicious! But I have one annoying problem. I can’t seem to slice them cleanly. The brownie sticks to the knife too much so I end up pulling some of it off when I slice into them. They’re definitely cooked but I’d love to know if there’s a trick to slicing them cleanly? Minimum time to let them cool? Do I put the in the fridge?
If you line your pan with the parchment paper and lift them out before slicing, that can help. I also use a large knife so I can cut across the whole square in one go. And definitely wipe your knife clean between cuts. Some people swear by using plastic knives to cut brownies, but I haven’t tried that trick!
These are delicious. I am unable to eat and digest chocolate so I’m always on the hunt for alternate brownie | bar recipes. We are also gluten free and I used gluten free cake flour. Turned out perfect.
I’m so glad these worked for you Lisa, you might try my strawberry lemon blondies, too.
Hi! Which pan size did you use in your pictures?
I used a 9×9 pan
I am in LOVE with this recipe. I’ve never left a comment before but I want more people to make these! These will forever be my go to as a quick and delicious lemon dessert!
Followed it exactly using juice from our Meyer lemon tree. Turned out like biscuits with lemon icing. Crumbled apart. So disappointed! Rechecked and followed as directed. Won’t make again.
Oh, what a shame. Could your oven be running hot? It sounds like they got over-baked.