Perfect Lemon Bars

Directions

1. 1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a I 3-by-9-inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or possibly wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lav second sheet crosswise over it (see illustration II above).
2. 2. Pulse flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add in butter and process to blend, 8 to I 0 seconds, then pulse till mix is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1 -second bursts. (To do this by hand, mix flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl.
3. Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mix.
4. Toss butter pcs to coat. Rub pcs between your fingers for a minute, till flour turns pale yellow and coarse.) Sprinkle mix into lined pan and, following illustration 2, press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides.
5. Chill for 30 min, then bake till golden, about 20 min.
6. 3. For the filling: Meanwhile, whisk Large eggs, sugar, and flour in medium bowl, then stir in lemon juice, lowfat milk, and salt to blend well.
7. 4. To finish the bars.- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling mix to rcblend; pour into hot crust. Bake till filling feels hard when touched lightly, about 20 min. Transfer pan to wire rack; cold to near room temperature, at least 30 min. Following illustrations 3 and 4, above, transfer to cutting board, fold paper down, and cut into serving- size bars, "wiping knife or possibly pizza cutter clean between cuts, as necessary. Sieve confectioners' sugar over bars, if you like. Lemon bars made with extra egg yolks and relatively little filling were flat and edgy; our final recipe has the tender but hard texture we liked best; bars made with extra filling and no starch oozed when cut; those made with extra lemon but no lowfat milk had an unpleasantly sticky texture.