Grandma's Magic Breadbox: Lemon Squares

Lemon Squares - Photo by JayDi Photography

I recently lost my grandmother after a courageous 5 year fight following a stroke.  Everyone who’s known her fondly remembers her zest for life, her love of family and friends and her passion for good food.  I’m convinced she’s who I got my passion for food from and I most definitely share her love to feed the masses!  But, if you found yourself in the elite circle that’s actually gotten to see into her breadbox, you’d know it was magical.  Never would you have found bread, not even a breadcrumb.  This was her goodie box.  It’s where would you find all of her sweet treats, candies and chocolates.  What’s more, there’s a good chance that if you peeked in her plate cupboard, you would have found a pie or a cake, possibly with a tiny piece missing, for quality control, of course.

Therefore, I’m dedicating any recipe post based on a family recipe to our grandmothers.  You’ll be able to tell which ones are heirloom recipes because I’ll be adding “Grandma’s Magic Breadbox” before the title. Let’s make sure to teach our children how to cook and share your food heritage with them because it can truly be magical.

Lemon Squares

Ingredients:

14 small salted soda crackers, crushed   

½ cup of shortening

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup of flour

1 cup of brown sugar

1 box of lemon pie filling (prepared according to directions on package)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix all of the ingredients, except for the pie filling, until you get a crumby mixture.

Press half in a greased 8x8 pan.

Cover with lemon pie filling and sprinkle the rest of the crumbs on top.

Cook for 20 minutes.