Easy Lemon Bars

Nanette Sorensen, Taylorsville
Published: Monday, Jan. 8, 2007 2:36 p.m. MST

Desserts > Cookies > Easy Lemon Bars

Ingredients

1 package yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 3-ounce package lemon pudding and pie filling mix (not instant)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 lemons, divided
1 cup powdered sugar


Directions

Combine cake mix and butter; mix until crumbly. Stir in pecans; mix well. Reserve 1 cup of the crust mixture for the crumb topping. Press remaining crust mixture evenly over bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Whisk pudding mix and sweetened condensed milk in a bowl until smooth. Zest one lemon to measure 2 tablespoons. Juice lemon to measure 2 tablespoons juice. Add zest and juice to pudding mixture and mix well. Pour filling over crust, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with reserved crust mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.

Juice remaining lemon to measure 3-5 teaspoons juice. Combine powdered sugar and enough lemon juice to make a thick glaze; drizzle over crumb topping. Cool completely. Cut into bars. Makes about 49 bars.