If you asked me for the one ingredient that I always have on deck, my answer is almost always lemons. Like many, I use them for every day cooking—in vinaigrettes, to squeeze over salmon, and to massage kale before adding to salads. But more importantly, I like to keep them around for when I’m baking. I’ll often add a squeeze of lemon juice to milk rather than buying buttermilk, rub zest into sugar for extra flavor, or make a quick lemon curd if I can find some way to fit it into the recipe.
With that being said, when I decide I want to bake something heavy on lemon flavor, the first thing my mind jumps to is, you guessed it, lemon squares. After all, how often were they sold at bake sales or brought as post-game snacks growing up? Coming up with other ideas usually takes me some thought, so if you’re in the same boat, here are the recipes at the top of my list this citrus season:
