This chewy, fresh lemon brownie with a sweet lemon glaze in made with fresh lemon juice, butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and salt and topped with a tangy lemon sugar glaze.
Oh yes, we just called them lemon brownie. I may know what you are thinking...a brownie is a chewy chocolate bar...and you are right. But we just made a lemon version with the exact same chewy texture and these lemon brownies are heavenly!
These Fudgy Lemon Brownie Bars have the perfect balance of fresh lemon flavor paired with butter for richness and just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the tanginess from the lemon juice and zest. If you love lemon, you may have just found your new favorite lemon bar!
What ingredients are in Lemon Brownies:
These are basically a chewy lemon blondie bar made with butter, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, flour, salt and baked and topped with a sweet lemon glaze made with powdered sugar and lemon juice. I suggest using fresh lemons to make this recipe since lemons are the star ingredient!
How to make Homemade Lemon Brownies:
- Start by using a 8 x 8 pan. Here's my favorite USA Baking Pan. Lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment paper. This makes it easier to remove the lemon bars from the pan!
- Cream the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. This helps to remove the graininess from the sugar and create a creamy texture.
- Use only fresh lemons, if possible. This lemon blondie recipe calls for both lemon zest and lemon juice. I suggest zesting the lemons before juicing them because it is much easier.
- Fold in the dry ingredients instead of over-mixing on high-speed as this creates gluten and could result in a tougher lemon brownie and we don't want that!
- Make a glaze with powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice to spread on the top of the lemon brownie bars.
Here are more popular lemon recipes:
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Bars
- Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken
- Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Lemon Brownies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) Butter (softened)
- 1 ¼ cups Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- Zest from 1 large Lemon
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice
- ½ to 1 teaspoon Lemon Extract (optional)
- 1 ⅓ cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 8 x 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment paper (it makes it easier to cut the lemon brownies).
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars, until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Add lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until mixed together.
- Fold in flour and salt. Stir together. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (meaning there's no runny batter). Let cool.
Lemon Glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice. I suggest using a whisk to achieve the smoothest glaze.
- Once the lemon brownies have slightly cooled, pour on glaze. Let the glaze set up before cutting into squares.
Notes
- I like to place the bars in the freezer before cutting them into slices to make them easier to cut.
Neighborhood Baker
Yay! It's lemon time again in Arizona and I am dying to make these again.....they are so amazingly delicious!!! I made them so many times last season....my neighbors loved me!
Julie
I cannot believe there are not more comments on these lemon brownies. They are to die for. Lemon bars are OK but I’m not a fan of the shortbread layer and then the lemon curd is quite messy. This was a genius idea. It’s a brownie consistency but it’s lemon. I made them for a pre-wedding lunch for 10 people. Everyone loved them. I made only one change - I added a scant 1/2 teaspoon of Simply Organic Lemon Flavor (for the single recipe above) which is lemon oil and safflower oil. It intensified the lemon flavor just that right amount. I also doubled the recipe and used a 9x13 pan and cooked them for 26 minutes. It’s hard to not have one every night from the tin in the freezer.
Kristin
Do you think I could add diced strawberry’s to the batter? And do you know if this will work at high altitude or what the adjustment would be?
Veronica
Is the 2x recipe correct with measurement of butter? Also the 3X
Lisa
So delicious! Very moist and lots of lemony flavor. Will make these again soon.
Lisa
Oh my goodness, so delicious! l made these for a pot-luck at work and everyone raved about how good they were. I am usually a chocolate girl and feel that not many non-chocolate desserts are worth my calories or carb points. This recipe did not disappoint! I like traditional lemon bars (with the curd filling) but find them too "eggy" sometimes. These lemon brownies bring all the lemon flavor and tartness and non of the "eggyness". Very moist and full of lemony flavor, I think I found a new favorite for sure. Also, thanks for the tip to freeze for a bit before cutting. I put them in the freezer for about 20 min. and they sliced beautifully! Thank you for such an amazing, yummy recipe.
Lover of lemons
Another fabulous lemon recipe. These are as good as lemon squares but they are the texture of brownies. Amazing!
Caryl F
I have to tell you.....these lemon brownies are amazing! I have made them four times in the past two weeks and will probably make them again this week....I'm sharing them with neighbors and friends, so I don't eat the entire pan. I love things to be really lemony, so I add quite a bit more zest than this recipe calls for....that's the beauty of this recipe....you have the option to make them as lemony as you want....depending on much zest you put in.
Jeff
Wohhhhhhh, why have I never tried this amazing combo!? I love every thing lemon and brownies and you introduced these two. So soft and chewy and the perfect amount of lemon to keep me coming back for seconds, thirds....and I am not ashamed to admit it, 4ths!! Amazing recipe, had me hooked with the awesome photos.
KFD
Oh.my.gosh! These brownies are to die for! I honestly could have eaten the entire pan, but resisted and shared them with my neighbors. Thank you for all the wonderful lemon recipes.
Sierra Peterson
Perfect recipe! I love everything lemon and this did not disappoint!
Rose
I made this tonight keto style. Delish
Very good . Made this tonight. Keto style
Delish
Amber
This looks interesting! Do we use unsalted or salted butter?
Donna
I love lemon anything. I'm dieting right now but I think I will make these for the Priest at Church. He needs to get a head start now, because we are getting ready to go into lent and they will not touch these at all during this time.
I cant wait until I can have a bite of one of these, they look so good and lemony