{Food} Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

My name is Jane, and I’m a bake-a-holic.

Some people like to go running, or knit, play Guitar Hero, etc as a form of stress relief. Me? I like to head to the kitchen and whip me up something delicious. There’s something about the stirring and measuring that’s very meditative and relaxing.

Unfortunately, I’m not baking so much at the moment…this is because I tend to compulsively eat up all my delicious creations and as a result, a lot of clothes don’t fit in my wardrobe. No, I will not just go and buy new clothes…

But I recently discovered The Pioneer Woman , (I mean really discovered her, I’ve know about her for years, just never visited the site regularly) and while trawling through all her butter-loaded, mouth-watering recipes, I found this simple little slice.

There’s two things you should know about me:

1. I love anything creamy;

2 I love anything lemony (homemade lemon curd is like crack to me);

Therefore, it was inevitable a recipe called Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares was going to get a run in my kitchen.

 I found some variations on the net suggesting the lemon filling ingredients be doubled for even more creamy lemon goodness. Obviously, I went with that suggestion.

I sent the batch with my husband to work after snaffling a couple of squares for myself (okay, three…maybe four).

The verdict from the work guinea pigs? Very, very good. My verdict? These are so gorgeously lemony, with a delicious crumb crust…I need to make these again. Soon. Once my clothes aren’t so tight…

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares
Adapted by Made by Melissa from Pioneer Woman (with changes for my Oz readers)

1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 ⅓ cup plain flour
½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup oats
1 1/2 cans condensed milk
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2-4 lemons) (I got away with just under 3/4 cup and it still worked)
Zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 180C.

Using an electric mixer, combine butter and brown sugar until fluffy. In a separate bowl sift together flour, salt and baking powder then add to the butter, mixing well. Add oats and mix on low until crumbly.

Spread 2/3 of the crumb mixture over the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan (mine was 10 x 12 inch) and press with your fingers. Set aside the remaining crumbs.

In another bowl mix the condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest until creamy. Spread the filling over the crust and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of the crumbs over the top – don’t press!

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to cool for 30 minutes. Cut into squares and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. Serve cool.

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