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These White Chocolate Lemon Bars are the best lemon bar recipe ever. They have a shortbread crust and a gooey lemon filling filled with white chocolate chips. You can even make this entire recipe in a blender! 

stacked lemon bars topped with powdered sugar.

Easy White Chocolate Lemon Bars

Classic lemon bars are a super sweet and tart lemon dessert with a crust, and a lemon curd filling and are finished with dusted powdered sugar. But I wanted to make a unique treat so I added white chocolate to elevate the lemon bars into a white chocolate lemon bars recipe. 

Making lemon bars are so easy! You can make this recipe entirely from the blender, even the buttery shortbread crust.

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • White chocolate lemon go so well together.
  • It’s foolproof- anyone can make these
  • It has an incredible, bright lemon flavor
  • You can make this entire recipe with just a blender 
  • They freeze well and can hold up for a month
ingredients in lemon bars.

Ingredients Needed

  • Shortbread Cookies: a package of Pecan Sandies or any kind of your favorite shortbread cookies to crush into crumbs
  • White Chocolate chips: I love the combination of white chocolate and lemon.
  • Lemon juice: freshly squeezed lemon juice from about 2-3 large lemons 
  • Lemon zest: make sure you use the yellow zest, not the white so you can get the bright lemon flavor 
  • Eggs: I always use large eggs since it makes any sweet treat even fluffier 

Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

process shot for lemon bars.
process shot for lemon bars.
process shot for lemon bars.
process shot for lemon bars.

How to make this lemon bar recipe

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×9” baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. You can use foil as well but I prefer parchment.
  2. Crush cookies in a food processor until they’re a fine crumb. Pour into a bowl with melted butter and stir with a fork until combined. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle the crust with white chocolate chips.
  3. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, and eggs to a blender and blend until smooth. (Alternately you can whisk until combined.)
  4. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden color. The top will have a dull white look to it and not jiggle when tapped. Cool completely.
  5. Slice into bars and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Expert Tips

  • It is very important to compact your crust so that there are no holes – otherwise the lemon mixture will soak through and the bars will invert.
  • Skip the white chocolate chips if you want a pure lemon bar.
  • Ever wondered how much lemon juice is in a lemon? Somewhere between 2 tablespoons and 1/4 cup, depending on size.
  • To get all the juice out of your lemon, microwave it for 10-15 seconds, then roll it on the counter before slicing and juicing.
  • Wonder how to make lemon zest? You need a microplane or zester (or the smallest side of a box grater) and you just grate the lemon rind. 
stacked lemon bars topped with powdered sugar.

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FAQs

How do you know when lemon bars are done?

Until the edges are a light golden color

Can I use other cookies to make the crust?

Yes. You do not need to use pecan sandies for this cookie bar crust.

Can you freeze lemon bars?

Yes, these bars are perfect for freezing

stacked lemon bars topped with powdered sugar.

White Chocolate Lemon Bars

4.34 from 3 votes
Easy Lemon Bars with a shortbread cookie crust and white chocolate – gooey lemon bars are the perfect easy dessert recipe!

Recipe Video

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Yield 16 bars
Serving Size 1 serving
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Ingredients
 

  • 30 Pecan Shortbread Cookies (such as Pecan Sandies)
  • 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter , melted
  • 1 cup (170g) white chocolate chips
  • ½ cup (118ml) fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest from one lemon
  • 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (31g) all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ cup (28g) powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×9” baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Make the Crust

  • Blender: Add cookies to a powderful blender and pulse a few times until they are a fine crumb. Add melted butter and pulse once or twice until incorporated. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
  • Food processor: Finely crush the cookies using the food processor. Add to melted butter and stir with a fork until sandy, then press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
  • Be sure to press very well so they are totally compact. If there are any holes the bars will invert. Sprinkle crust with white chocolate chips.
  • Add lemon juice, lemon zest, granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, and eggs to a blender and blend until smooth. Alternately, whisk together until mixture is smooth. Pour onto crust.
  • Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden color. The top will have a dull white look too it. Cool completely.
  • Slice into bars and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
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Recipe Notes

  • It’s very important to compact the crust very well so the lemon mixutre doesn’t soak through the bottom.
  • You can omit the white chocolate if you prefer.
  • You can use foil or parchment paper to line the pan.
  • Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 312kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.34 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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4 Comments

  2. Do you have a homade, as in no store bought cookies, recipe for the crust (and since I’m being so demanding, could it be made in the blender, also please ? )? I’m not opposed to the store bought cookies. Actually it’s the complete opposite. Thank you and I can’t wait to try these–white chocolate and lemon, OMG, heaven!!!!

    Reply

  4. Why the baking powder? I plan to make these, but I’m going to use the Lemon OREO cookies. I’m still vacillating on the white chocolate, but probably will try it. Will use a 9X9″ pan and cut smaller squares.

    Reply