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Lavender Shortbread Lemon Bars

Lavender lemon bars with a lavender-scented shortbread crust and smooth pale yellow lemon curd. Chilled for clean, sharp squares, then finished with a generous powdered sugar dusting, dried lavender buds, and lemon zest curls.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
chilling 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French-American
Calories: 370
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Lavender shortbread crust
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 cup powdered sugar
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried culinary lavender finely ground
  • 1 cup cold butter cubed (2 sticks)
Lemon curd filling
  • 4 eggs large
  • 2 egg yolks from 2 additional eggs
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest
  • 0.25 cup all-purpose flour
Topping
  • powdered sugar for dusting generously
  • dried lavender buds for scattering
  • lemon zest curls for scattering

Equipment

  • 1 food processor
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Bake the crust
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang for lifting later.
  2. Pulse the all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, salt, dried culinary lavender, and cold butter in a food processor until the mixture just comes together.
  3. Press the crust mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared pan, then bake for 18–20 minutes until lightly golden.
Make and bake the lemon curd layer
  1. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and all-purpose flour until smooth.
  2. Pour the lemon curd mixture over the warm crust.
  3. Bake for 18–22 minutes until the filling is just set with no jiggle in the center; remove and cool completely to room temperature.
Chill, finish, and slice
  1. Refrigerate the bars for at least 2 hours until firm.
  2. Dust generously with powdered sugar, then scatter dried lavender buds and lemon zest curls over the top.
  3. Cut into 16 bars and serve after slicing.

Notes

Pro tip: for the neatest squares, fully cool the bars before chilling, and chill until the center feels firm (at least 2 hours). Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze bars for up to 2 months and thaw overnight in the fridge. For a gluten-free option, swap the flour in both crust and curd with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend.