Brown Sugar and Oat Crumble Crust and Topping filled with a sweet, tart creamy lemon filling. These Lemon Crumb bars are a great alternative to traditional lemon bars. Great for an afternoon treat, dessert or even for your next bake sale!
Yesterday I had a "friend" day I saw three different friends at different times. I love spending time with my friends but as the years go on and we all get older I find its more about the quality of your friends than the quantity. Needless to say, I spent quality time with all 3 friends!
I first spent the afternoon at Yvette's parent's house. We caught up on life and reminisced about our old high school days and how they were so long ago, we graduated almost 6 years ago!! Then we made a homemade lemon scrub and she sent me home with a large bagful of lemons off their tree.
So here we are with some lemon's put to good use!
These bars were spectacular. First, of I love everything in bar form. It's just so easy but so deadly at the same time. The crunchy, oaty, buttery sugary, the crust is delightful against the creamy dream lemony condensed milk. Hello, condensed milk makes EVERYTHING better. This recipe is simple, requires few ingredients and will ignite a fire-show of taste buds in your mouth!
Lets get into making the Lemon Crumb Bars!
Ingredients
- Butter. I use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter don't add as much salt to the recipe and make sure the butter is at room temperature and you will be golden. To easily get butter to room temperature I will cut the butter into chunks and let it sit for 30 minutes or so.
- Sugar. Light brown sugar is going to be the best for this recipe.
- Salt. NEVER skip the salt, it gives a little contrast to all the sugary sweetness.
- Oats. Old fashion Rolled oats are the trick to crumb bars.
- Baking Soda. We need these babies to RISE.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk. This will give the lemon filling a rich creamy taste.
- Lemon Juice. I love using really ripe lemons so the lemon bars are very powerful in flavor.
- Lemon Zest. This just packs the crumb bars with all the lemon flavoring goodness!
How do you make lemon crumb bars
Start by preheating your oven to 350F/180C and spraying an 8X8 pan with nonstick spray or buttah the pan up! If you want you can line the pan with foil first this will help you pull the bars out of the pan easily when they are baked.
Then in a medium bowl combine the condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Mix until the runny liquid is completely combined into the thick milk. Set aside.
In a medium bowl with a fork mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom of the pan, make sure to press it down tightly so its a good thick crust. Cook for 10 minutes, just until lightly golden brown.
After 10 minutes take the crust out of the oven and pour the condensed milk mixture on top of the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on top and bake for 20-25 minutes. Until golden brown around the edges.
Let this bad baby cool or don't. I mean it's best to let it cool but I really lack self-control so I am usually taste testing within 5 minutes of leaving the oven. Most of the time I end up burning my tongue. I don't suggest going in after 5 minutes. I suggest waiting.
And boy are these lemon crumb bars worth the wait. The middle is only condensed milk and lemon juice & zest but it tastes like so much more. Seriously this is one of the best lemon bar recipes I have ever had and I plan on making this numerous times in the future!
You will love this easy recipe because the filling is so creamy and the crust is so crunchy.
More lemon recipes
One of my favorite ways to have lemon is in a lemon cheesecake recipe.
Lemon pound cake is a delicious treat with a cuppa tea.
If you're looking for a more traditional type lemon bar check out this how-to make lemon bars post.
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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Lemon Crumb Bars
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 12-16 Bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Brown Sugar and Oat Crumble Crust and Topping filled with a sweet, tart creamy lemon filling. These Lemon Crumb bars are a great alternative to traditional lemon bars. Great for an afternoon treat, dessert or even for your next bake sale!
Ingredients
Filling
- 14oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2oz (¼ Cup) Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 Heaping Tablespoon Lemon Zest
Crust
- 156 grams (1 ¼ Cups) All-Purpose/ Plain Flour
- 100 grams (1 Cup) Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 100 grams (½ Cup) Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 4oz (½ Cup) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature and cubed
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line an 8X8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, salt, and butter. Mix with a fork until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Press half of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes, set the rest of the crust aside and prepare the filling as the crust bakes.
Filling
- In a medium-size bowl combine sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix until fully combined. Set aside.
- Take the crust out of the oven and creamy lemon mixture on top of the crust use a spatula to spread into an even layer. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture on top of the lemon cream and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and around the edges. Let cool and slice into bars. Store leftovers in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from: Group Recipes
Keywords: lemon crumble bars, lemon oat bars, creamy lemon bars
This post was originally posted on February 4, 2013, as of June 30, 2020 the photos and text have been updated.
Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen says
I love when the final product is more than the sum of its parts! And I miss my citrus trees we had in our yard in FL...
Elizabeth says
Citrus trees come in handy. Especially Lemon, can be used for so much baking, cleaning, drinking, marinating! I LOVE it!
Kim of Mo'Betta says
I'm pretty darn jealous of your lemon tree! AND sweetened condensed milk with lemon juice is one of my all time favorite things!
[email protected] says
Dropping over from Kristi's Iron Chef Lemons. Love Lemon, Elizabeth, and have pinned this recipe with hopes to be trying it in my future. Thank you.
Diandra says
It looks so tasty. I really want to try it!
Moira says
Oh my gosh I made these this weekend and.... they’re my new lemon bar replacement! SOOOO GOOD!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for the review Moira, so pleased you enjoyed them!! Take care. XX Liz
Diane Waller says
Wow!! this food looks look like very delicious.
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much Diane. Take care XX Liz
Maree says
Can you use lemon curd by itself in center? Maybe lemon pudding? Or make the crust and add lemon pudding on top with no extra cooking in oven?
Elizabeth Waterson says
You could definitely try that Maree, make the curst fully then add a chilled pudding on top, the pudding would need to be quite thick so it's sliceable! I have never done it so I am not 100% sure it would work but I would attempt it! Please let me know if you try and what your results are! Thanks! XX Liz