Healthy grain-free lemon bars made with an almond flour and coconut flour crust and a naturally sweetened custard filling made with fresh Sunkist® lemon juice, eggs, maple syrup, and coconut flour.
1 ½ cups blanched fine almond flour
¼ cup coconut flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
3 tablespoons melted and cooled coconut oil
1 egg
⅔ cup freshly squeezed Sunkist® lemon juice (from about 5 Sunkist® lemons)
Zest of 1 Sunkist® lemon
½ cup maple syrup or honey
4 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon coconut flour (3 tablespoons of arrowroot or tapioca starch )*
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper. (If using a glass pan make sure to turn the temperature down by 25°F)
Make the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg. Add in the coconut oil and maple syrup. Mix together until smooth. Add in almond flour, coconut flour, and salt. Mix together until a dough forms.
Place the dough into the prepared pan. Using a spatula or your hands, press dough evenly into the pan making sure the dough comes up the side of the pan ½-inch. Press the top edge of the dough into the side of the pan to close any gaps. This is important in order to prevent the filling from seeping over the edge and baking underneath the crust. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the crust is slightly golden. (Mine took 18 minutes)
While the crust bakes, make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk until completely smooth. Sift in the coconut flour and stir until smooth. If using tapioca or arrowroot, make a slurry by taking ¼ cup of the lemon juice and mixing it with the starch to let it dissolve, then add it to the eggs. Add in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and maple syrup. Whisk together until smooth.
Remove the crust from the oven and turn down the temperature to 325°F. Push down the center if it’s risen, and press any of the crust on the side back into the pan to seal off the edge. Quickly pour in the filling. You want to do this when the crust is hot so start cooking the filling quickly. This prevents separation from the crust.
Bake at 325°F for 18-22 minutes, or until the filling is still slightly jiggly (like Jell-O). Overbaking will cause the lemon bars to crack when cooling as the heat continues to cook them once they’re out of the oven. If this happens, it’s okay. they still taste amazing!
Let the lemon bars cool completely on a wire rack then refrigerate for 2-4 hours to firm up bars before slicing. While powdered sugar looks pretty, it melts into the bars after a few minutes. sift powdered sugar over the bars and slice. I recommend just leaving them plain or placing a sliced lemon on top for decoration.
Store the bars covered or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
I’ve found the lemon bars are more likely to crack with coconut flour. However, I prefer to use coconut flour since it’s also used in the crust. If you have arrowroot or tapioca flour on hand, you can use 3 tablespoons in place of the 1 tablespoon of coconut flour in the filling.
Find it online: https://nourishedbynutrition.com/healthy-grain-free-lemon-bars/