The Retro Dessert I’m Making on Repeat Forever

There’s a story my mom tells about how she once discovered me, as a toddler, perched on the kitchen counter, elbow-deep in the sugar canister, excited to share my sugar-rush discovery with: "It's good!" (I don't remember it, but based on my limitless love of sweets in the following decades, the story checks out.) 

Later, I saw a scene in a John Waters movie where a little girl eats handfuls of granulated sugar out of the bag, drooling as she mumbles, "Sugarrr," which I'm convinced was directly stolen from my life. 

I'm not saying my XXL sweet tooth is totally on board with it, but as dessert trends away from the sugartastic, we can dig into our founding (… mothers'?) recipe boxes for tips on cracking up dishes that aren't quite as over the top. Former FLOTUS Lady Bird Johnson's Lemon Squares were a favorite of LBJ's, serving springy lemon custard zing without kicking your mouth in the face, atop a flaky pie crust bottom that tastes like home.

Give me all the retro desserts that have been tested throughout literal generations of home bakers, and beloved despite changing tastes and times. Using six ingredients you might already have on hand, the citrus is so delicate and the pastry just buttery enough that I'll be making this to go with my morning coffee, an afternoon snack, my next dinner party dessert—and all the sweet spaces in between. 

My Tips for Making the Crust

Don't bring your butter to room temp like I accidentally did! If it gets soft, just pop it back in the fridge until you're ready to use it. Pie crust wants the cold stuff so that it can get flaky, not a soggy bottom. 

I cut the butter into cubes and crumbled it into the flour mixture with my fingers (until I had pea-sized bits of butter studding the flour). You can pulse it in a food processor, but the hand version works the butter less. 

Then, press the mixture into your pan using your hand, or the flat back of a measuring cup. I buttered and floured my pan and lined it with parchment to make it easy to pull the bars out of the pan after it bakes and cooks.

More Tips for Nailing Lady Bird Johnson’s Lemon Squares

• Lady Bird's lemon "rind" means just the yellow zest—nobody wants the bitter white part of the rind anywhere near these lemon bars.
• My crust-only bake took 20 minutes, but keep it in the oven just until it looks light brown.
• For the second bake with the custard, my filling set after 25 minutes. (If you're wondering how to tell if it's ready, it will be so obviously jiggly in the middle, you won't miss it. Bake until it no longer twerks.) 
• I used a 9x13-inch quarter sheet pan, which was filled to capacity, but worked just fine.
• Let the bars cool at room temp for an hour, plus an hour or two in the fridge. And wipe your knife between cuts for the cleanest slices. 
• A dusting of powdered sugar lends that bougie bakery vibe, and a little "It's good!" energy.