Grandma Mac's Lemon Bars

Usually when a woman, particularly a mother-in-law or grandma, has mastered that one famous recipe, you don’t try to replicate it. My dad’s mother would always make her famous fudge chocolate cake on my dad’s birthday. No one was allowed to even touch the frosting before my dad had eaten his first piece. And with a family of seven kids, that is nearly impossible. Years later when my grandma was sick, my mom attempted to bake this famous cake for my dad. The chocolate frosting was great, but the cake was a bit dense… In other words, never attempt to be like your mother-in-law.

So instead of trying to measure up to my mother-in-law, I decided to measure up to grandma-in-law. Well, I didn’t really decide. It was forced upon me by Ryan. Grandma Mac makes lemon bars that Ryan would literally jump off a cliff to eat. Ryan asked if she could give us the recipe. And she did. Along with a whole cook book. Too scared to attempt this feat, I buried the cook book and recipe under the nine other cookbooks given to me when I married Ryan.

I had forgotten about it until the 4^th of July this year. I was trying to decide what to contribute to the celebration and fireworks show at my parent’s house. I pulled the recipe out and Ryan practically started drooling on the spot. The day had finally come and I embraced the attempt.

Ryan assisted me with cooking these lemon bars and encouraged the hell out of me. We followed the recipe in complete exactness. Carefully transporting the goods, we climbed into Ryan’s truck and drove to my parent’s. We arrived and an intense game of football had begun in the backyard. I was too absorbed in the game to notice that Ryan had disappeared.

Ryan came back out and congratulated me for my success. He said the lemon bars were wonderful and that I should have a little more self-confidence. And partly because of that experience, I decided to start this blog. Thanks Ryan.