Meyer Lemon Yogurt Squares for Clumsy Cooks

Name: Meyer Lemon Yogurt Squares
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 12 squares
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup flour; 1/4 cup powdered sugar; 1/4 cup butter; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup shredded coconut; 1 whole Meyer lemon (may substitute a medium-size regular lemon); 1 cup sugar; 1 tablespoon flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 2 eggs; 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use nonfat)

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Making Meyer Lemon Yogurt Squares requires no squeezing or knuckle-scraping grating. These cookies have a coconut shortbread base with a light and creamy lemon layer over the top. Not as rich and heavy as traditional lemon squares, but every bit as delicious.

MEYER LEMON YOGURT SQUARE on plate with a fork

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Can I substitute regular lemons for Meyer lemons?

Yes. You can replace the Meyer lemons with regular lemons.

BUT, have you tried Meyer lemons yet?

Have you tried Meyer lemons yet? The tartness of a lemon + the sweetness of a tangerine = a Meyer lemon. Perfect for these lemon squares. They’re in season from January to April, so act fast.

Sources for this recipe:

Over at Will Write for Food (an interesting website about the art of food blogging), Dianne J. recently hosted a lively discussion concerning what constitutes an adapted or inspired recipe, an original recipe, and outright stealing.

In light of her post, I would like to think this recipe is original. Despite the fact that I borrowed ideas from many places, the end product has a different flavor, texture, and composition than any other lemon square I’ve ever tasted.

The crust is adapted from the shortbread cookie base in Pam Anderson’s The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great (one of my favorite cookbooks). You’ve seen the same buttery crust before in my Toffee Bars Made Easy
I read about lemongrass bars in a recent issue of Bon Appetit with coconut added to the shortbread base. Subsequently, I tried it and now you should, too, if you’re a coconut lover, that is.
Dorie Greenspan gave me the idea to use a blender to pulverize a whole lemon in her recipe for Tartest Lemon Tart published in Baking From My House to Yours. As a result of this revolutionary method, no squeezing or grating is required.
I wanted a creamy lemon layer as opposed to a clear, lemon pie-like filling. I always have Greek yogurt in the refrigerator. Turns out to be the perfect addition making these lemon cookies smooth and creamy.

How to remove sticky cookies from the pan:

Line your baking pan with aluminum foil to make serving sticky cookies neat and easy. It also saves clean-up time. This tip works especially well for bar cookies, rice crispy squares, candy, etc.

I recommend non-stick aluminum foil. It’s the easiest. If you don’t have it, use regular foil and spray it with vegetable oil.

lining a pan with aluminum foil — 1. Place the dull side of foil next to the outside of the pan. Use hands to press it down in a way the conforms to the shape of the pan.
2. Lift the oil from the outside of the pan and place it inside the pan. Push the corners into place with gentle fingers.

Preparing the Meyer lemon yogurt layer:

Use a blender to make lemon filling for Meyer Lemon squares.

If you make this and enjoy the recipe, it would help me and others if you would return to this post and leave a rating (on the recipe card itself underneath the picture). Although always appreciated, no comment is required. Thank you for visiting! Paula

Yield: 12 squares