Lemon Bars with Brown Butter Crust

Line a 3×9 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing paper to hang over the sides of the pan. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat until barely browned in color. Remove the pan from heat and pour butter into the bowl of an electric mixer, separating any burned parts. Transfer the bowl of browned butter to the refrigerator until solidified. When solidified, remove it from the fridge and let it soften slightly.

While the butter is solidifying start the lemon curd. In a medium saucepan, whisk together lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs and 1/2 of the salt. Add the remaining half of the butter and set the pan on low heat. Whisk constantly until the butter has melted.

Increase the heat to medium while whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and resembles the consistency of jelly. The mixture is done when you lift the whisk and the shape holds when it falls from the whisk to the saucepan.

Immediately press the curd into a clean bowl through a strainer. Once strained, place the curd in the refrigerator to cool.

When the browned butter has softened, beat it until smooth with a paddle attachment. Sift flour, powdered sugar and remaining half of the salt into the bowl. Mix on low speed until combined.

Transfer dough to the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom of the pan; it should be 1/4 inch thick. Chill in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the crust is golden, about 20 minutes. If the crust is browning unevenly, rotate the pan. After 20 minutes remove pan from oven.

Pour the lemon curd over the hot crust. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 F (150 C) and bake until the center is set, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Let lemon bars cool completely before covering and transferring to the refrigerator until chilled.

Once chilled, cut the bars using a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry. Cut the bars into 8 equal rectangles. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Adapted from Martha Stewart and David Lebovitz.