Chewy Lemon Brownies

4.72 from 7 votes

Love chewy brownies but don't want chocolate? Try these frosted Lemon Brownies! They are sweet, tangy and perfect for picnics or afternoon snacks.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Resting Time20

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bake sale, lemon, summer

Servings:

Calories: 264kcal

Author: Julie Clark

Ingredients

For the brownies:

2 large eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice (~1 ½ large lemons)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (~3/4 lemon)
4 drops yellow food coloring (this is optional but will help give your brownies a "yellow" look)
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup salted butter (room temperature)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon glaze:

2 tablespoons lemon juice (~1 lemon)
1 cup powdered sugar (or more for thicker glaze)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (~3/4 lemon plus more for garnishing)

Instructions

Make the brownies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Whisk eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a small bowl and set aside.
Beat together flour, sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla until mixed together well. It will resemble course crumbs.
Pour in egg mixture and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour batter into a greased or parchment lined 8x8 inch pan. The parchment paper will help you remove them easily and make clean cuts.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take out brownies and let cool on the counter for 20 minutes (The brownies will not be done yet. This is to help with some of the fudginess).**
Return to oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let brownies cool until the bottom of the pan is cool to touch.
Make glaze while brownies are cooling.

Make the glaze:

Pour lemon juice and zest into 1 cup of powdered sugar. Stir until all of the ingredients are well incorporated. It’s going to look like there isn’t enough liquid at first, but if you keep stirring, you will find that it will turn into a thick glaze. Keep adding in more powdered sugar until it reaches the consistency of molasses or cold syrup.
Pour glaze over cooled brownies and sprinkle on additional zest if you'd like.

Notes

**This baking technique may sound strange, but it will help with the fudginess. I learned this tip from Alton Brown for regular brownies, so I decided to try it with these lemon brownies. It made a huge difference in terms of fudginess. Without this method, the lemon bars resemble a denser cake square (still very tasty though!).

***I added 4 drops of yellow food colors to the lemon brownies to get a more yellow square for pictures. You can make these bars without the lemon coloring if you'd like.

The calories shown are based on the brownies being cut into 9 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 frosted brownie. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**

Nutrition