National Lemon Bar Day Date in the current year: October 15, 2024

Dessert bars, often referred to as simply bars or squares, are American cookies that are softer than usual cookies but firmer than a cake. They are usually baked in a pan and then cut into rectangles or squares. Popular dessert bar flavors include apple bars, almond bars, chocolate coconut bars, toffee bars, peanut butter bars, and lemon bars.

The lemon bar, also known as lemon square, is a combination of two confections that have been around for centuries: shortbread and lemon curd. Shortbread is an unleavened biscuit that originated in 12th-century Scotland. Lemon curd is a citrus-flavored dessert spread consisting of egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest. It was first made in the 19th-century England.

It is unknown who first came up with the idea of combining a shortbread crust and a lemon curd filling in the form of a dessert bar, but the first person to submit a lemon bar recipe to a newspaper was Eleanor Mickelson. Her recipe was published in a 1963 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune. However, there are earlier printed mentions of lemon bars that can be found in small local newspapers and community cookbooks.

Since the 1960s, lemon bars have become one of the most popular desserts in the United States. Like most dessert bars, they are typically baked in the oven in a baking pan and cut into squares once they have cooled. Lemon squares can be dusted with confectioners sugar before serving, but it is a matter of preference.

Lemons squares are baked in two steps. First, you need to bake the crust. Shortbread dough typically consists of three basic ingredients: white sugar, butter, and flour. The typical ingredient ratio is one part sugar, two parts butter, and three or four parts flour.

Once the crust is baked, the curd is poured on top of it. It is made by whisking together eggs or egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Some lemon curd recipes also incorporate unsalted butter or flour. After adding the curd, the bars are baked the rest of the way at a temperature below 400 °F.

Given the popularity of lemon bars, it is not surprising that there is an unofficial food holiday dedicated to these delicious cookies. While the origin of most food days is unclear, National Lemon Bar Day has a known founder. It was created in 2019 by a man named Michael McCarthy. McCarthy made a batch of lemon bars for a bake sale and was very surprised to discover how many people had never had a taste of this dessert before. So he made it his mission to promote lemon bars through an annual holiday.

Celebrate National Lemon Bar Day by baking delicious lemon squares and sharing them with your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Other ways to celebrate include hosting a bake sale to support a charitable cause and sharing the pictures of your lemon bars and/or your favorite recipes on social media with the hashtag #NationalLemonBarDay to spread the word about the holiday.