Gooey Lemon Bars

So...here it goes - my first Pinterest pin attempt!

Truth be told, I actually did this last weekend for my husband's birthday, but it's taken me an entire week to put the stupid photo card in my computer and upload the photos.

I "repinned" this recipe a few months ago because my husband LOVES lemon desserts and while I am a self proclaimed chocoholic, it's only fair that for his birthday I do something lemon flavored. For the last few years I've made Susan's Lemon Cake from The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, but I thought this would be a winner!

I'm a big believer in pulling out all of my ingredients before I start as well as all of the utensils, bowls and measuring cups - my counters might be covered, but I know that I have everything I need before I get started.

The recipe title link goes directly to the website that I "repinned" OR you can click here and "repin" from my Pinterest I Like to Eat board.

Six Sisters Stuff - Gooey Lemon Bars

Here is what my Cakey Crust Layer looked like when I was done...yes you can still see chunks of butter. Why? Because I am incredibly impatient and didn't leave the butter out long enough to really reach room temperature.

Gooey Lemon Bars - Cakey Crust Layer

Cakey Crust Layer:

1 package Lemon Cake Mix

1/2 c butter
1 egg, slightly beaten

Combine and mix with fork. Press down in a 9x13 pan with greased bottom. Set aside while you work on next layers:

Middle Layer/Frosting:

2-3 cups powdered sugar

3-4 T butter
Lemon juice
3-5 drops Yellow Food coloring (I skipped this - the only thing it changed was the color)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs

Stirring together the Middle Layer/Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix powdered sugar and butter. Add enough lemon juice to form the consistency of thick frosting. Then mix in cream cheese and yellow food coloring. Set aside 1 cup of frosting to spread on top after baking (be sure to not skip this step!). Add eggs to remaining frosting mixture and beat til fluffy. Spread on top of cake mix in the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes (every oven is different . . . you don't want them to be overdone, so watch them carefully). Let cool completely and then spread reserved frosting mixture on top.


Ok, so while I'm really good about getting out all of my ingredients and equipment before I begin, I'm not so good about really READING all of the instructions first. When I make powdered sugar glazes I use a wooden spoon typically; however, if I had read the entire recipe I would have realized that the next step says to BEAT til fluffy once you add the eggs...I was not using the right bowl for mixing in and I really didn't want to clean another bowl...so I beat my middle layer/frosting by hand...I do not recommend this. Unless you missed your morning work out (hahaha) and need to work on your arms!

Middle Layer/Frosting - no eggs yet

While I did remember to save one cup of the mixture for the frosting, I did forget to take a picture of the middle layer with the eggs mixed in. Hey I was tired from the beating my arms took!

Also, the recipe says "you don't want them to be overdone, so watch them carefully" - I have no idea what that meant and cooked them til the edges were just a little brown. Turns out that may have been too long. My lemon bars weren't gooey - good, but not gooey. I would say that if they give a little when you touch the top, but your finger doesn't sink into them causing a first degree burn, then you're good!

Here's what mine looked like right out of the oven:

Gooey Lemon Bars - pre-frosting

 Here's what they looked like frosted - I was patient enough to wait until they were completely cooled!

Gooey Lemon Bars - with frosting

And, ready to eat!

Gooey Lemon Bar

First "pin" attempt  - DONE. And they turned out pretty good - at least my husband said so! 

It all has to start somewhere

About a year ago a coworker was talking about some great recipes she had "pinned." Within minutes she had invited me to join the totally addictive world of Pinterest and since then I've been hooked. (Thanks Alex!)

I enjoy baking and added pin upon pin of baked goods and then moved on to recipes with cheese and/or bacon...if an ingredient struck me, I'd go looking for ideas of what to do with it. Every once in a while I'd see something that made me think of my kids or an arts and crafts project that I thought would be fun.

I tried a few recipes here and there, but usually they were recipes I had actually found elsewhere and then added myself.

About 4 months ago I decided that if I didn't start TRYING the pins I'd found from others, then there really was no reason to keep "pinning." The reality is, I really don't need to add anything else to my life - such as a blog documenting my attempts at these pins. I'm not a writer or a photographer even. I'm a married, full-time working mom of 3 who really does not need one more thing to do, BUT I thought it would be fun to document my attempts at my Pinterest "pins" and that maybe some other over-committed people out there would have some interest in reading about them.

I can't promise that I'll be consistently posting (originally my plan was to do one "pin" a week, but since it's already January 27 and I'm just now doing my first...well...you can see where this is headed) but I'll try to do a couple a month at least!