Shaker Lemon Ginger Pie Bars
Shaker pie is full of bright, tangy lemon flavor, and these bars, with their buttery shortbread base, live right up to the legend! A hit of warm ginger brings out the best in this seasonal winter dessert recipe.
It's Friday morning, and here we are at the end of the first full work-week of 2015. How did you make out? I hope you got tons scratched off your list and are now feeling productive, accomplished, satisfied, and ready for a little weekend R&R.
Our December here in PA was relatively mild, but January seems to want to punish us for it by battering us with bone-chilling wind. I have decided that I just won't leave the house until spring. That's doable, right? All I want to do is crank up the oven and nibble on things that are bright and citrus-y and remind me of summer.
These bars will do just that.
I've always been a huge fan of the classic lemon bar, with it's tangy curd topping and buttery shortbread crust, but you guys know I can never leave well enough alone 😉 What makes these special is the "Shaker" element. Have you ever heard of Shaker lemon pie? The Shakers were known for their frugality and so when they made lemon pie, they used the whoooooole lemon. All of it. The peel, the pith, the juice, and the pulp. It's like nose-to-tail lemon eating, if lemons had noses. Or tails. 😛
The result is something so super-lemony, with an almost marmalade-like texture and flavor. You know how marmalade has that slight hint of pleasant bitterness? That's my jam. No pun intended. Ok maybe I kinda intended it a little.
As if these weren't already enough of a flavor bomb, we're amping it up even more by adding three kinds of ginger: ground, fresh, and crystallized (aka: candied). Ever since creating these little gems, I've been itching to combine lemon and ginger again. The tart lemon along with the gentle warmth from the ginger is just the perfect antidote to the biting cold of this time of year! Take that winter!
I used Meyer lemons in my pie bars, so the result was just a little sweeter and milder than regular lemons. Meyer lemons are the love-child of a mandarin orange and a regular lemon. They're in stores now, so grab 'em while you can! If you can't seem to find them, regular lemons should still work just fine 😉
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Ingredients
For the Ginger Shortbread Crust
- 1 ¼ cups (156.25 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger,, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick), cold, cut into small pieces
For the Lemon Ginger Filling
- 2 lemons
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup (31.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- additional lemon slices and powdered sugar,, for garnish
Instructions
To make the Ginger Shortbread Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a 9x9-inch square pan with parchment.
- Place the flour, powdered sugar, crystallized ginger, ground ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Lightly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, and bake for 15 minutes.
To make the Lemon Ginger Filling:
- Using a mandoline or box grater, slice the lemons paper thin over a colander set into a bowl. Roughly chop the lemon slices and add to the bowl, along with the sugar. Set aside and allow to macerate at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Whisk in the eggs, flour, fresh ginger, ground ginger, and salt, and transfer to a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened (should register 170 degrees F on a candy thermometer).
- Stir in the cream and pour the mixture over the partially baked shortbread crust. Top with additional lemon slices, if desired.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until set around the edges but still a little wobbly in the center. Cool completely, dust with powdered sugar, and cut into bars.
Heavens above they sound and look super tangy and tasty. I looove lemon so much. I tried making a cake using the whole lemon, boiling it until soft and blitzing it in the processor, the cake was disgusting!! Your method of slicing them paper thin sounds a lot better.
Oh no! That sounds like a nightmare Laura! I think the key to these bars was leaving the lemon slices to sit in sugar for a few hours. It almost candied them? But if you aren't a fan of marmalade you might not like it because you do still get that slight bitterness from the pith. Anyhow thank you for the sweet comment!
Fabulous way to make lemon bars, Allie, with the marmalade type textures and flavors, using the entire lemon sounds like a delicious way to give these mouthwatering treats over the top flavor. I agree, a bit of sunshine in the dark of winter... lemons are fabulous! Thank you for sharing your recipe, Allie... beautiful photography as always.
You are so kind! I'm so happy you liked the recipe Traci- thanks so much for reading and for the sweet comment! Hope you're having a great week, dear 😉
I salivated over these bars. Sounds gross, but that is the truth. Wow!
Lol not gross at all! I take it as a supreme compliment; thank you!
Allie, I'm deeply in love just looking at this picture. How awesome is the lemon ginger pie bar! Send me some, please 🙂
Lol thank you so much Linda!
These are just sunshine in a pan!! Just love how vibrant the colors are dear! I was in a winter citrus mode this weekend and hope I saw this recipe before making a grapefruit bar! Would have loved to try it!! Adding to my list of must bake ASAP (as soon as I find those freaking meyer lemons)!
Grapefruit bars sound amazing! Even better than Meyer lemon 😉 Hope you find what you're after soon! I'm still coming up short on the blood oranges lol...
These turned out beautiful Allie! I love what you do with food. I can't wait to sink my teeth into one of these {when we get together for tea 😉 }
Happy Monday friend!
Happy Tuesday, now! Thank you so much Melanie- and we should really make that tea happen!
These bars are absolutely gorgeous, Allie! I've never had shaker pie before, but I'm loving this recipe! Lemon and ginger seems to be the perfect combination, especially with that shortbread crust. Pinning!
Thank you so much for pinning Gayle! I adore lemon and ginger together, especially at this time of year. And that shortbread really was my favorite part!
WOW! These are GORGEOUS Allie! I just love the addition of sliced lemons on top, they looks so beautiful!
Thank you so much Jessica! The lemon slices were a last minute addition, but I think they helped make the bars a little more photogenic 😉
It has been warm as usual with a few cool days here in Florida. Could you send some of your cooler weather my way, please? I'll trade some of my warm weather for it!
These bars are just beautiful, Allie. I love the lemon treats, especially lemon bars. I'd be all over these and may even try to hoard them and keep them all to myself. 🙂
Lol please do send some of that warm up my way! I'd happily make a trade! Thanks so much Julie 😀 😀 😀
I just love how sunshine-y (is that a word?? haha) these are! So pretty and just what I need in the midst of this super cold weather! They sound fantastic Allie!
Totally my kind of word and it describes the bars perfectly! Thank you so much Ashley! 😀
These bars look so beautiful and delicious. Loving the lemon and ginger flavour. So good!
Isn't it? I'm crazy about that combo! So glad you enjoyed; thanks Jess! xoxo
Wow, these bars sound fantastic! I love the addition of ginger, and the lemon slices on top are such a gorgeous finishing touch. All around lovely!
Thank you so much CakePants! The ginger was my favorite part. 🙂
Never heard of Shaker lemon pies, doesn't matter, I STILL want to reach in and scoop up all those bars and take them home with me 🙂 Your baking is so pretty Allie. You have a poise about you that I'll never have!
Oh come on! You are so crazy talented and your pictures are drop-dead gorgeous! Thank you though, my dear 😉
It's look incredible!! Brilliant Job Allie. Thank you so much more your effort.
My pleasure Jennifer! I'm so happy you enjoyed the post 🙂
These are absolutely gorgeous! Love your creativeness!
Thank you so much Amanda! <3 <3 <3
I invite you to share this yumminess at my hop ( you can link up through Sat midnight) Hugs
Thanks Katherine! I'll head right over, hopefully it's not to late to link up 😉