Easy Lemon Cookie Bars

5 from 6 votes

A lemon cake mix is transformed into moist and delicious lemon cookie bars, covered in tangy glaze and perfect for any celebration.

Prep Time20

Cook Time17

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: bars

Calories: 192kcal

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Combine the lemon cake mix, eggs, butter and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Mix using a hand held {or stand} mixer until everything is combined {the dough will be sticky}.
Spread or press the dough into the bottom of the prepared 9x13 baking dish. NOTE: You may have to lightly flour your hands to press it down without it sticking.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the center of the bars are set but still soft. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice {starting with 1 tablespoon} and lemon zest in a small bowl. Whisk until you have a nice and thick but pourable glaze, adding more lemon juice as needed.
Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled bars and spread out using an offset spatula. Allow the glaze to set up for 30 minutes.
Pull the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper and cut into 16 even squares. Serve and enjoy. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

- Line the pan with parchment paper. This simple step helps with a couple of things. First of all, it will help keep the bars from sticking. It also allows you to pull the cookies from the pan in one piece which makes cutting them into squares much easier.

- After the cake mix lemon squares have cooled and before you cut them, refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes. This will give the gooey bars nice clean edge when you cut them.
- The best way to store the easy lemon cake mix cookies is in an airtight container at either room temperature or in the refrigerator. Put a layer of parchment paper between cookie bars so that they don't stick together. They will last 2-3 days.