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:
-
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.
-
butter ~ softened
-
sugar ~ granulated
-
eggs ~ room temperature
-
all purpose flour ~ cake flour will also work
-
salt
-
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
I just made these and we love them! What a great alternative to chocolate desserts that my family usually prefers. The “brownie” consistency is spot on. I used just a very thin layer of glaze and lots of zest on top to add that lemon punch. They are definitely sweet but the lemon flavor really shines. I’m looking forward to trying other citrus flavors. This is my first recipe of yours, I’m very happy with the results!
I’m so glad you found me and that you love these Shira. Keep us posted on your experiments with other citrus, I do think that sounds delicious.
Great idea! I bet this would be fantastic in orange!
I skipped the glaze because I don’t always love it on baked goods. But the brownies? I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’m afraid I ate the entire pan in one day by myself except for a single bite that my husband tried. ????
Van you use less sugar for a diabetic treat? Like half?
The basic rule is you can reduce sugar by 1/3 without too much trouble in a recipe, but more than that can affect the outcome. It’s worth a try, and you might also experiment with alternative sugars.
Try Monkfruit sugar it has 0 calories and will not mess with your blood glucose but tastes like sugar without the after taste plus comes in regular, golden & powered
Use it just as sugar in a 1 to 1 measurement
I created a Lemon Brownie recipe over 35 years ago. My family and friends have been enjoyed them years and they always ask for my recipe. So those skeptical about trying these brownies I say, “Give them a try. You won’t be sorry”.
Sounds like you’re an expert! Glad you loved these 🙂
Very tasty! Easily made dairy free by swapping vegan butter in with no issue.
Thanks for the feedback Elaina!
It won’t take place of chocolate brownies but I do enjoy it more than lemon bars. Thanks for a great recipe to add to my mix.
Thanks Carla, glad you enjoyed them!
Hi! What can I substitute for eggs in here?
I haven’t tried this without eggs, but you might try Bob’s Red Mill egg substitute, it’s made especially for baking.
Thankyou!:)
Hello, how can I switch measurements into grams? I would really like to try this, they look amazing! Thank you!
Hi Deana, there’s a little toggle at the bottom of the recipe, you can switch from US to metric measurements. Let me know if you have any trouble with it.
Hello. Not sure if I downloaded the correct recipe for Lemon Brownies or Lemon Blondies. Please rectify & relable with the correct name of the recipe above. Thank you.
It’s the brownies, Hazel, that was a Freudian slip!
Hi Sue, I just made these and oh my. They’re lemony-licious! After adding the lemon juice, the mixture separated, but no matter, I just carried on. Baked them for 23 minutes. Only made a small amount of glaze, probably less than half, and found it to be the perfect amount for my taste. Desperately trying to stay away from them after having one square. Thanks so much and will definitely make again!
I LOVE that Rose, such quick work, I appreciate the feedback. The mixture can curdle, many batters will do that when you add cold eggs, for instance, but as you say, it doesn’t matter, it bakes up fine.