Lemon Freeze Bars -- a no-bake treat

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: You know what happens: You see a recipe go by online and it sticks in your mind. And keeps on sticking, but you didn’t make a note of it and don’t know where to find it. Sometimes it’s not so easy, but other times, thanks to the magic search mice, you find what you’re looking for in a flash. That seems like a good sign. But is it?

In the case of these Lemon Freeze Bars, reader, I assure you, it’s a very good sign. They are EZ-PZ, as Erin Murphy in my Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries would say – easy to make and easy to eat. No oven or stove required, so if it’s still super hot where you are, bingo! (Which she would also say.)

My local groceries seem to have stopped carrying boxes of graham cracker crumbs. If this sorry trend has hit yours as well, no worries -- you'll be crushing them with the food processor anyway.  

The only tricky part is making room in your freezer for the pan of uneaten bars, but trust me, you won’t need it for long. 

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Lemon Freeze Bars 

For the crust:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

12 graham crackers or 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the lemon filling:

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons) 

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

Make the crust:

Line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil (the precut sheets are perfect for this), leaving an overlap around each side. 

Place the graham cracker crumbs or broken crackers in the bowl of a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Pulse until the mixture becomes like coarse sand, about 15 seconds. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture for garnish.

Add the butter to the food processor and pulse to combine. 

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Press into an even layer, using the back of a heavy spoon or your fingers. Be sure to press the crumbs firmly into the corners and around the edges. 

Make the filling:

In a medium bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, 2 tablespoons of zest, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. 

In a stand mixer with a whisk or whip attachment, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes.

 Fold into the lemon mixture until no streaks remain.

Pour filling onto the crust and smooth into an even layer. 

Sprinkle the reserved graham cracker crumbs and remaining lemon zest evenly over the top. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When frozen, use the foil overhang to lift the lemon freeze out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into 12 bars, wiping the knife clean between each cut. Return bars to pan, using the foil, to keep frozen until ready to serve. Return any leftovers to the pan, cover, and return to freezer. Bars keep several days.

Makes 12 bars. 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

What are your favorite places to find new recipes -- besides here at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen? 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.