Mrs. Diggs Lemon Bars

It seems like I’ve been writing about desserts a lot lately, but a few weeks ago I was given a recipe I’ve been trying to get my hands on for over 20 years. The recipe is for Mrs. Diggs lemon bars.

Mrs. Diggs was the grandmother of my college roommate, Wende, and she used to send us these heavenly lemon bars meticulously wrapped in wax paper and packaged in a wrapped shoe box. They were always delicious and although Wende and I haven’t really kept in touch, I’ve never forgotten those homemade lemon bars.

In spite of the increased distance between Wende and I over the last 22 years, I have stayed in touch with her mother, Judy. I spent a few days with Judy in March while working out of town in D.C. and at some point during that visit I asked her if she had the recipe for her mother’s lemon bars. Judy said hadn’t thought of those bars in years and didn’t know the recipe or if her mother had left a copy anywhere. A few weeks later as Judy prepared to come and visit us over the Mother’s Day weekend, she unexpectedly found her mother’s hand-written recipe for the lemon bars while flipping through an old Better Homes & Gardens. Judy proudly presented me with the recipe the morning of Mother’s Day. It was such a wonderful surprise.

A few days later, Olivia and I tried the recipe and I’m happy to report they’re as delicious as I'd remembered. We made another batch this afternoon and it’s really the perfect soon-to-be-summer treat. Thanks to Judy and the spirit of Mrs. Diggs for looking out!

Mrs. Diggs Lemon Bars

Ingredients
1 cup of flour
1/3 cup of sifted confectionary sugar
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ cup of fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees

• Combine 1 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of sifted confectionary sugar; cut in butter with a pastry blender (or use knife) until mixture is crumbly.
• Lightly grease 11”x7” baking dish.
• Press crumbly mixture into the bottom of the baking dish and back for 20 minutes. Watch carefully.
• Whisk together granulated sugar and the remaining ingredients.
• Pour over crust.
• Bake again at 350 degrees for another 20 minutes or until the filling is firm.
• Remove from oven and let cool completely.
• Cut into squares, remove from dish and sprinkle with confectionary sugar.
• Makes about 2 dozen.

My Addiction

Yesterday, I came face-to-face with one of my greatest (and sweetest) temptations and I’m very proud to report that I did not succumb! This is a huge step for me because late last spring I developed a non-ceasing jones for Whole Foods lemon bars. My desire for this lemony treat was primal and I’d lost total control under its spell. I rationalized this indulgence by not eating an entire bar in one day, but even just a half a bar a day is way too much. Instead of eating the damn bar, I should have just slapped it up against by rear end and rubbed it in, because in my more rational moments I knew that’s exactly where it was headed.

The seriousness of this situation revealed itself one Sunday afternoon in August when I stopped by the local Whole Foods to pick up my week’s supply (like this alone wasn’t a red flag!) and they didn’t have any. I felt a bit stressed, but decided to just let my fingers do the walking and I came home, grabbed the Yellow Pages and called around to the other Whole Foods in the area, only to find that none of the stores had them available. Management told me, that there was a problem with the supplier. That’s when not only the real panic set in, but also disgust when I realized that I’d become tricked out by this little yellow bar.

Right then and there I decided to take control of the situation, but I wish I could report that I said adios to those lemon bars and never looked back, but that’s not what happened. I just moved on to another addition--- cupcakes, the world’s most perfect food. That’s right, when I couldn’t get my hands on the Whole Foods lemon bars, I went online and found a recipe for lemon cupcakes and baked the most scrumptious lemon cupcakes with butter cream frosting. The upside of this confectionary passion is that I enjoy baking the cupcakes a bit more than eating them, so I satisfy my craving with a few finger dips in the batter, then share the bounty of cupcakes with family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, the mailman--- anyone, just get them out of my house. My repertoire of recipes has expanded to chocolate chip cupcakes, vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and this weekend I’m going to try a delightful red velvet cupcake recipe--- Mmmmm!