Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Bars

Happy Easter weekend everyone 🙂  Easter is one of my favourite times of year. A weekend surrounded by endless food, tasty treats and LOTS of chocolate! This year I chose to go with Lemon Poppy Seed Bars. I absolutely love any lemon flavoured dessert as its light citrus taste isn’t too overwhelming after a large family meal.

The original recipe came from SallysBakingAddiction. I chose to alter the recipe and make a lemon bar as opposed to an orange bar. Lemon poppyseed is probably my favourite combo ever! I also replaced the eggs with sour cream and lastly doubled the amount of poppyseeds within the recipe (personal preference). The white chocolate based bars are to die for, and the lemon glaze took the recipe over the top!  I hope you enjoy 🙂

Here’s What You’ll Need: 
– 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
– 3/4 cups pure white chocolate
– 1/2 cup granulated sugar
– juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
– 2 heaping tbsp sour cream
– 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
– 2 tsp poppyseeds

For the Glaze: 
– 3 tbsp cream
– 3 tbsp lemon juice
– 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/8 tsp salt

*Preheat the oven to 350 fahrenheit

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Ingredients for the batter

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1. Finely chop up the white chocolate. In a medium sauce pan under low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together. Mix for about 5 minutes until all melted. Once complete, remove from heat and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

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2. While the butter mixture cools, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and poppyseeds together. Be sure to whisk out any flour clumps. Set aside.

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3. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the melted butter and chocolate with the granulated sugar. Once combined, add in the juice and zest from half a lemon. If you prefer a more tart taste, you can add even more lemon!

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4. Add in the sour cream and vanilla. Allow the mixture to mix on medium speed until light and smooth looking.

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5. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and gently fold the dry into the wet ingredients by hand. Add in 3 equal parts. Continue folding until all combined.

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6. Butter and flour a baking pan. Gently pour and spread the batter into prepared dish and smooth out any ridges. Place in the oven and allow it to bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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7. Now it’s time for the glaze!! 🙂 In a medium sauce pan over low heat, whisk the milk, lemon juice, confectioners sugar, vanilla and salt. Continue to whisk until smooth. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and allow the glaze to cool for a few minutes.

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8. Once the baking time has elapsed, remove from the oven and allow the pan to cool. Transfer to a sheet of wax paper and cut off any uneven corners so you can work with an even square. Remove the glaze from the heat and gently pour on top of the baked bars.

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9. Cut bars into the size of your choice. I chose to plate mine in a festive dish and sprinkle them with icing sugar and some more poppyseeds. I allowed mine to refrigerate overnight so the glaze could fully harden.

These deliciously dense bars pair perfectly with a warm cup of tea! If you’re planning on giving them as a gift, you can wrap the dish in sulfane wrap to add that extra touch. As a make ahead tip, the bars freeze well (with/without glaze) for up to 3 months. Simply thaw overnight and bring to room temperature before serving.

Happy Easter! 🙂

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