These gooey lemon cookie bars are 3 layers of delicious fresh and bright flavor. The top and bottom lemon cookie dough layers are sandwiching a silky and creamy homemade lemon curd in the middle. These cookie bars are chewy, gooey, and soft!

sliced gooey lemon cookie bars on parchment lined wire rack (6)

the inspiration:

This recipe is kind of a delicious little Frankenstein of what feels like a million different recipes. The original idea for this style of layering is from Sugar Spun Run's Caramelitas and Butternut Bakery's Caramel Oat Cookie Bars. We're using the same idea of layering cookie bottom, gooey middle, and crumbled cookie top, but with a lemony twist!

The idea for the flavors came from In Bloom Bakery's Lemon Curd Cookies. I LOVED the idea of combining cookie dough and lemon curd into a bright and fresh dessert, but wanted a kind of lazier approach because... I'm lazy.

Annnnd finally! The recipe for the cookie dough is inspired by my apple pie cookies while the lemon curd is a slightly scaled down version of the curd I use in my lemon curd cake and lemon tiramisu.

Pfew. That was a lot of inspirations lol

sliced gooey lemon cookie bars on parchment lined wire rack (2)

what are gooey lemon cookie bars?

Ok, so what even is this recipe? The "cookie bar" portion of the name is pretty self-explanatory - it's a lemon cookie dough base! The dough bakes up with a sugar cookie-like texture with the same characteristically chewy and soft bite.

The "gooey" aspect of the bars comes courtesy of a super simple homemade lemon curd. When it bakes and cools, it creates a thick, soft, and (you guessed it) gooey texture.

Annnnd both components of this recipe are chock full of lemon flavor in the form of zest and juice.

sliced gooey lemon cookie bars on parchment lined wire rack (4)

how to tell when gooey lemon cookie bars are baked through

These cookie bars are going to be on the paler side of things - they'll be fully cooked, but this isn't the type of cookie dough that will brown much on top. The bars would need to stay in the oven for a significant amount of time to brown, which will ultimately cause the crumbly top to end up hard and the cookie bottom to dry out.

So how do you tell when these bars are done baking? You'll be looking for 2 things:

The cookie crumble on top should no longer be shiny, and if you gently poke it, it should feel dry.
The edges will be lightly browned. But again, the top will be a pale yellow color.

sliced gooey lemon cookie bars on parchment lined wire rack (7)

how to slice these bars

The cookie crumble on top and the gooey nature of these bars makes them a little delicate to slice, so expect a more rustic look! That being said, here are a few tips to get the cleanest slices:

Cool the bars completely to room temperature. Just like brownies and other bars, these cookie bars are very difficult to slice when warm. So it's important to let them cool sufficiently before even trying to pull them out of the pan.
Use a SHARP knife. It really helps glide through without smooshing the gooey filling. Besides, sharp knives are also safer to use.
If possible, use a serrated knife. The ridges make it easier to cut through.
Use a sawing motion. Rather than pressing the knife straight down (and risking a whole lot of lemon curd spilling out the sides), it's best to slice using a back and forth sawing motion to get through the top cookie crumble layer. Once you're through that layer, then you can slice straight down to get through the curd and the bottom cookie layer.

check out these other recipes!

• Lemon Raspberry Cake
• Lemon Brownies
• Iced Lemon Loaf
• Spring Lemon Bundt Cake

Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.

Gooey Lemon Cookie Bars

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Author: Mimi
Total Time: 2 hours
Yield: 16 bars

Print Recipe

Description

Ingredients

For the lemon curd:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
⅔ cup (135g) granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter, sliced

For the lemon cookie dough:

½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 & ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
powdered sugar (optional - for topping)

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Instructions

Make the lemon curd:

In a medium sized saucepot, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Place your pot onto a stove burner set to medium low heat. Cook the curd, whisking constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and the consistency is similar to pudding.
This will take about 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of your pot and how powerful your stove burner is). Don't try to rush this step by using high heat as it can curdle the curd!
Add butter and whisk until melted and smooth.
Strain the curd into a medium sized bowl. Set aside to prep the cookie dough.

Make the lemon cookie dough:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter and line the bottom and sides of an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. Leave a bit of parchment paper hanging over the edges of the pan to make it easier to lift the bars out later.
In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Cream together until light and fluffy.
Whisk eggs in, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk in lemon juice and vanilla. The mixture may appear slightly curdled, but that's fine!
Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold together until you have a streak free, thick and sticky cookie dough.
Spread about ⅔ of the cookie dough into the bottom of your baking pan and place the remaining dough in the fridge. Bake the ⅔ of the cookie dough in the center of your preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the edges just start to lose their shine. The center will still appear wet.
Take the pan out of the oven and pour the lemon curd on top. Spread to even out.
Take the remaining cookie dough out of the fridge and crumble it over the curd. It won't fully cover the curd but try to get it evenly distributed on top.
Return the pan to the center of your oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more or until the edges are browned and the cookie crumble on top no longer feels wet if you gently poke it. The top will be a very pale yellow color and the browning will mostly be concentrated around the sides.
Cool the bars completely to room temperature in the pan. Use the parchment paper overhang to pull the bars out and onto a cutting board.
To slice, use a sharp serrated knife to gently saw back and forth to cut through the top cookie crumble then press down to cut through the curd and bottom cookie crust. Lightly dust the tops with powdered sugar if desired before serving!