10
May

Luscious Lemon Bars (nut free)

Lucious lemon bars dusted with powdered sugar with just the right amount of tang and sweetness!

 

Don't let what I am about to say turn you off from this recipe or decide that it is not incredible. Because it is. Well, according to a dozen lemon-loving testers these Luscious Lemon Bars are incredible.

I do not like lemon bars. There, I said it.

But don't judge this recipe by the sheer fact that I have never been a lemon dessert fan. My readers consistently ask for lemon bars, lemon meringue, or lemon cakes, so I bit the bullet for you all and worked hard on getting this recipe right. It took quite a few tries because I wasn't sure what the original really tasted like, and came up with a cheesecake tasting bar and a lemon jello bar before hitting the nail on the head. I performed some R&D (I even took a bite of a store-bought one just for the sake of the experiment!) and gathered a team of friends who adored lemon bars and came up with something so close to the original you won't even miss them. Well, you may miss the dusting of powdered sugar because that is so not paleo friendly, but the taste and texture of these is spot on.

The nut-free crust is sturdy like a shortbread and holds its own against the rich, creamy, gooey lemon filling. I dusted these with coconut flour for visual appeal, but it doesn't really do much for the taste so you can either leave it off or splurge and dust them with organic evaporated powdered cane sugar.

Enjoy these lemon bars with the special mothers in your life this weekend. Me? Well you can bet there will be something chocolate and not lemon. 🙂

Paleo Lemon Bars by Against All Grain

 

tip: these seeds are fully raw and all natural. grind the sunflower seeds in a blender or coffee grinder. Sift and discard any large fragments before measuring. Blanched almond flour may also be used in place of the ground sunflower seeds.

 

Lemon Bars by Against All Grain (nut-free, paleo)

 

Luscious Lemon Bars (nut free)



AUTHOR:

SERVES: 1 dozen

Cuisine: American

Category: desserts

PREP TIME: 20 mins

COOK TIME: 30 mins TOTAL TIME: 50 mins

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup finely ground raw sunflower seeds, sifted (60g)
  • ⅔ cup coconut flour, sifted (90g)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil, plus more for greasing dish
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Filling

  • 3 large eggs plus 1 yolk, lightly beaten
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¾ cup fresh lemon juice, strained
  • 3 tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Combine all of the crust ingredients in a food processor. Process for 15 seconds to combine. Scrape down sides if necessary and pulse once or twice more until a dough forms.
  3. Lightly grease a 9×9 square baking dish with butter. Press the dough into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the dish.
  4. Prick the dough a few times all over with a fork then bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.
  5. Whisk together all of the filling ingredients. Allow the coconut flour to absorb for 10 minutes, then whisk again until the filling is smooth. If there are any lumps of coconut flour, pass it through a mesh strainer.
  6. Pour the filling on top of the baked crust, and bake again for 15-20 minutes or until the center is set but slightly jiggly.
  7. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes then refrigerate until chilled.


Keywords: dairy free, dessert, gluten free, nut free, paleo, scd, holiday, bake sale, Mother's Day, lemons