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Two Ingredient Lemon Bars!


I love lemon desserts, so these lemon bars were especially interesting to me when I first saw the recipe.  I think this recipe originated on the Betty Crocker website, maybe on the back of an angel food cake mix originally.  I am really not sure.  Then, like so many of these old recipes, because of the Internet and food bloggers and Pinterest, it started really circulating again.

 The original recipe and most of the versions you see on the Internet call for a box of angel food cake mix and 1 can of lemon pie filling.  That works pretty good, but the results are more like a lightly flavored lemon sponge cake.   I used the angel food cake mix and 2 cans of lemon pie filling and I think it turned out much better and more like lemon bars.  The consistency was not as spongy and the flavor of lemon was more intense, but not over powering.  There is an added bonus to these, they are almost fat free.  For those watching your weight or cholesterol, they are a nice sweet treat.

This is all you need: 

1 (16 oz.) box angel food cake mix
2 (21 oz.) cans lemon pie filling  (some brands are 22 oz. and that is fine)
powdered sugar for garnishing (optional)


This is all you need!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9"x13" baking pan with nonstick spray.  Mix the cake mix and the lemon pie filling by hand, just until the cake mix is all moistened.  DO NOT use an electric mixer on this.   If you use an electric mixer or over beat this, it will put too much air in it and it will rise up and out of your pan and you will have a mess.   It works perfect if you just stir it by hand until it's all moist.   You will notice that is gets sort of bubbly and that is normal.


Spread evenly in the baking dish and place on the center rack in your oven for approximately 25 minutes.   It will just be starting to brown on the edges.  Don't let it brown on the top.  The full 25 minutes are usually needed.  


Remove and allow to cool.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut in squares. That's all there is to it!



28 comments:

  1. Oh, these look so good! I will try next week. Thank you for sharing and Happy Easter

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  2. This must be a hit because the day after it was on facebook, there was not a can of lemon pie filling to be found - just empty sponts on the shelves!

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    Replies
    1. I've yet to find an Angel Food cake mix.

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  3. I am for sure going to try this,I love anything lemon. Thank you for shareing.

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  4. What a wonderfully simple recipe. My lemon bars always end up with an
    "egg-y" taste to them. Problem solved!

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  5. Made these! Very moist & pretty good!!!

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  6. Sounds so good and easy! thanks for all the great recipes.

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  7. I am not much of a cook or baker, but I am going to try this because I love lemon pie and I hope this is as good as it looks!!!

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  8. Can you use any other cake mix? No Angel Food available.

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  9. Betty Rogers BurnsMarch 30, 2013 at 7:38 PM

    Got the stuff to make mine today!

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  10. Ok, I have tried this twice now but both times rose like a cake. I thought I had over mixed the first time so I was very careful not to the second time. What could have happened? I did use Duncan Hines instead of Betty Crocker as shown in the picture. Could that be the problem?

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    Replies
    1. Mine did the same thing.

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    2. They do rise and then as they cool, they tend to sink back down and fall. You cannot over mix this or it puts too much air in it and they rise too high and over the pan.

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  11. I BET THAT IF YOU USED ZEST AND JUICE OF A LEMON ... IT WOULD BE NICE AND PUCKERY...

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  12. I`m Wondering if when you say mix the cake mix with the pie filling, you mean to actually mix the cake mix with oil, eggs, water and such? I made this with the dry mix and pie filling, stirring by hand as you said. It rose up and out of my cake pan.

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    Replies
    1. No,you just mix the cake mix with the pie filling by hand and then bake. Mine rose and then as they cooled settled back down to a lemon bar. They didn't rise up too much though.

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  13. can you use a different kind of pie filling

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  14. Trying these tonight...thanks for all the delicious recipes !

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  15. I would love to try these, but can't find the pudding in a can.

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  16. I attempted this for Christmas. Now reading the directions I see where I went wrong. I used my mixer. Do not do this, because it fluffs up and turns in to a lemon cement!!! But can not wait to try again!!!

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  17. It took me awhile but I did find lemon pie filling.. Angel food cake mix is usually pretty easy to find. I do have a question... I've seen this recipe in 2 different ways,,, some say 1 can of pie filling/ some say 2... some say 40 min bake time,, some say 25... I'm a little nervous to make, but I will post my results.. Mari

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    1. The one can of pie filling makes more like a lemon sponge cake. I explained in the recipe why I changed it to two cans and the cooking time I gave worked just right.

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  18. Can I make this with lemon supreme cake mix instead of the angel food?

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    1. I would not recommend it. The ingredients in the Angel Food cake mix and a regular cake mix are different. If you use a regular cake mix, you need to add a couple of eggs and I am still not sure how it will turn out.

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  19. Do you use the the egg white mix as well as the cake mix-they come separate in the box mix?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, if there are two packets, add them both.

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  20. Ok, adding my comments. I just made this (it's still cooling). Mine rose up while baking, but didn't flow over the sides. I checked it at 25 min, and had to add 10 min twice until it was done in the middle. So, it is a touch brown, but it's done in the middle. I will report back later lol.

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  21. Well as the previous post stated, I had to add 20 extra minutes to my bake time so that the middle would be done. It rose very high and it is cooling as I type this. Hopefully this turns out wonderful because it sounds delicious.

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