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Lemon Lemonies — Like lemon brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!

Easy Lemon Brownie Recipe

If you like lemon, you’re going to love these bars. They’re packed with bold lemon flavor and are not for the faint of heart.

I’ve seen recipes on Pinterest for similar bars that are called lemon blondies, lemon brownies, or lemon lemonies. My fast, easy, no-mixer version is heavy on the lemon zing and lemonies seems the most fitting.

If you’re looking for traditional lemon bars or a fluffy lemon cake, the lemonies are not it. They’re the lemon equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero traces of cakiness. They’re tooth-sinkingly dense with subtle buttery undertones like blondies have.

After pouring the glaze over the warm bars right as they emerge from the oven, it sets up, seeps into the brownies, and makes them even moister, softer, and more lemony. With each bite of a lemonie, I wanted another. It’s the type of food that the more you have, the more you want. The boldly tart-yet-sweet element really kept me going back to straighten the rows.

And the texture is exactly what I want in bars. Dense, rich, moist, chewy, and thick enough to be so satisfying.

Between my row straightening and my family’s love for lemon things, the lemonies disappeared fast.

What’s in Lemon Brownies?

To make this easy lemon dessert, you’ll need:

White chocolate chips

Unsalted butter

Eggs

Granulated sugar

Lemon juice

All-purpose flour

Salt

Confectioners’ sugar

Lemon zest

How to Make Lemon Brownies

To make the lemon brownies, you’ll first need to melt the white chocolate and butter together in the microwave. Wait a minute or two before adding the eggs, then add the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice, then whisk until combined.

Stir in the dry ingredients and then turn into an 8×8-inch baking dish. These lemon brownies need to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.

Once the lemon brownies are finished baking, set them aside and whisk together the lemon glaze. Pour the glaze over the brownies. You’ll then need to let them cool on your countertop for 2 to 3 hours before slicing and serving.

Can I Use Another Citrus Juice Besides Lemon Juice?

Yes! I’ve actually made these lemon brownies as Orange Orangies as well. You may be able to make a lime version too, but I haven’t tried it out yet.

Can I Double This Recipe?

You most likely can double this recipe and bake the lemon brownies in a 9×13-inch pan. You may need to bump up the baking time though.

Tips for Making Lemon Brownies

The lemon brownies themselves are not super lemony, thanks to melted white chocolate that’s stirred into the batter, but the glaze is pretty zippy. If you want to dial back the overall lemon intensity of the dessert, halve the recipe for the glaze, and drizzle it on like this, rather than flooding the entire surface.

But with lemon desserts, I generally prefer bold lemon flavor, and nothing is every too lemony for my daughter. She picks lemons slices out of ice water and eats them as if they were orange slices. Pucker much.

And it goes without saying that you should use freshly squeeze lemon juice for this spring dessert. The bottled stuff doesn’t hold a candle to juice straight from a lemon!

Print Yield: 9 Lemon Lemonies Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 27 minutes Cooling Time 3 hours Total Time 3 hours 42 minutes Like lemon brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor! Ingredients For the Bars 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted

2 large eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

pinch salt, optional and to taste For the Glaze 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency

1 tablespoon lemon zest, or to taste Instructions Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside. For the Bars: In a large, microwave-safe bowl add the white chocolate, butter, and heat to melt, about 2 minutes on high power. Stop to check and stir after 1 minute, and then heat in 20-second bursts, stopping to stir after each burst, until mixture can be stirred smooth. White chocolate is very prone to scorching and seizing up, so watch it carefully and don’t overheat. Wait momentarily before adding the eggs so you don’t scramble them. Add the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and whisk until combined. Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Bake for about 27 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter; set aside and make the glaze. For the Glaze: In a medium bowl, add 2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and whisk until smooth. As necessary, add additional lemon juice (or sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. I used slightly over 1/3 cup lemon juice. Glaze should be fairly thin and easily pourable. Evenly pour glaze over bars, smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place.

Evenly sprinkle with lemon zest. Allow bars to cool in pan uncovered for at least 2 to 3 hours, (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up. Notes Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Nutrition Information: Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 433 Total Fat: 16g Saturated Fat: 9g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 71mg Sodium: 49mg Carbohydrates: 69g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 49g Protein: 5g

More Easy Lemon Desserts:

Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies – Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese!! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!!

Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies – They pack a powerful lemon punch, they’re soft and dense rather than cakey, and they’re thick enough to sink your teeth into!

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love the perfectly tart yet just sweet enough big pop of lemon flavor this soft and fluffy cake has.

Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze — The cake is packed with sweet, juicy blueberries and while there’s lemon in the batter, it’s the lemon glaze that really brings out the tartly-sweet lemon flavor that complements the blueberries so well.

The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) – Took years but I finally recreated it!! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!!

Lemon Olive Oil Cake – My new FAVORITE lemon dessert of all time!! Lemon zest, juice, extract, and Limoncello add so much AMAZING lemon flavor to this EASY, ridiculously moist no-mixer cake that’s unique and INCREDIBLE!!

Lemon Coconut White Chocolate Gooey Bars — The lemon base is soft and chewy, there’s coconut and white chocolate chips for extra texture, and sweetened condensed milk peeks through the top.

Strawberry Lemon Crescent Ring — This fast and easy ring that’s ready in 30 minutes has strawberries with lemon and cream cheese incorporated for a tangy pop.

Glazed Lemon Pie Bars — The crust is buttery, soft, and tender while the filling is juicy and luscious with the perfect amount of sweet-yet-tart flavor and a lemon glaze boosts the lemon flavor even more.

Originally published June 14, 2014 and reposted February 28, 2020 with updated text.

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