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For those of you waiting on the edges of your seats since my last post (written in my 40th week of pregnancy!), I am happy to announce that our sweet bundle of joy did finally made her first appearance in the world this past week. We are absolutely over the moon and soaking up every last snuggle we can with our beautiful baby girl (all the kids included, they line up for their turn to hold her every time I bring her out haha!). Thank you for all of your kind thoughts and prayers over the past few weeks of eager anticipation! And on the theme of sweet, delightful things, I’ve got a killer recipe to share with you all today 🙂

When I first began making the shift to living a healthier lifestyle, one of my priorities was to not compromise on taste/flavour. As someone who loves food and cooking, I knew that there must be good tasting healthy alternatives out there and I was determined to find them; you will never catch me eating weird, bland, unsatisfying food in the name of “health”, sorry! As I experimented in the kitchen with unrefined, lower glycemic sweeteners and dairy and gluten free alternatives, I slowly gained confidence that I would, in fact, be able to create a “healthy” alternative to all my favourite treats, and that my healthy alternatives would be just as delicious, if not more than, the originals. Want proof? Just check out my drool worthy brownies, tagalong bars, chocolate pecan pie bars, salted oat dark chocolate tart, apple crisp, and sourdough cinnamon buns. I take my dessert seriously, folks!

I am thrilled to add a new favourite to the list with these Lemon Bars! I’ve always loved a classic lemon bar; you can’t go wrong with a shortbread crust, and the delightfully bright flavoured lemon curd topping is the perfect treat to have with tea on a sunny afternoon. On a quest to make these healthier, I knew I would use crust similar to the almond flour shortbread bases in my tagalong and chocolate pecan pie bars. Ambitious Kitchen’s recipe added coconut flour to the almond flour base to make it extra firm and crispy (it needs to hold up under the runny lemon curd topping while it bakes and sets). This worked perfectly! The lemon curd is sweetened with honey and we use cornstarch as a thickener to keep it gluten free (arrowroot powder would also work!). These bars came out perfect, exactly what I was hoping for! The crust holds up beautifully and absolutely captures the shortbread essence. The lemon curd topping is bursting with tart lemon flavour and just the right amount of sweetness. These are absolutely delightful. I made a batch for Easter Sunday and my kiddos were over the moon. One of them wandered in here while I was editing this recipe and seeing the pictures said, “Mom can you PLEASE make those again?!”. I think I shall!!

Some notes on the recipe method: One of the things I noticed when reading the review on the Ambitious Kitchen recipe, was several people complaining that their topping had seeped through the crust and baked inverted, making for a very messy result. I wanted to make sure to mitigate that problem in my recipe, so we take extra care to press the crust firmly and leave a bit of a raised edge around the perimeter to hold the filling in place. After par-baking the crust, we’ll press it down again in the same way for extra insurance. I did not experience any problems with the filling seeping through doing it this way! It is important to make sure you bake the squares until the lemon curd is fully set (it should jiggle like jelly, not be wobbly or loose in the centre). Let the lemon squares cool to room temperature and be sure to refrigerate for at least 4 hours (I like to make them the day ahead) before slicing. Perfect lemon squares await, no one will ever guess these are “healthy”.

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5 from 5 votes

Lemon Bars (Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar Free)

These lemon bars have a delicious shortbread crust, topped with a delightful lemon topping that is brightly flavoured; not too tart, not too sweet! The whole thing is gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free, though you would never know it!

Course Dessert

Keyword bar cookies, Dairy free, easter, gluten free, healthy baking, healthy treat, honey lemon, lemon bars, refined sugar free, shortbread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 24 squares

Author Garnish at Home, adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• 6 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (cold or room temperature) use cold cubed butter if not dairy free

Topping:

• zest from 2 lemons
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 5-6 lemons)
• 1 cup honey
• 6 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
• pinch sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13" pan* with parchment paper.

For the crust:

• Add the almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the coconut oil/butter and eggs and pulse until the mixture starts to form a ball. You can also combine the mixture in a bowl using a pastry cutter or two knives.
• Dump the mixture in to the parchment lined pan and press firmly into an even layer with slightly raised rim around the perimeter of the crust (this will help hold the lemon topping in place).
• Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool and reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

  After a minute or two of cooling, press down firmly with a spatula (or your hands) all over the crust and reinforce the shape of the slightly raised perimeter. This will help your crust stay firm and keep its shape once the lemon topping is added.

Topping:

• While the crust is baking, prepare the topping. Add all ingredients to a bowl and beat or whisk until frothy and well combined (a few minutes). Filling will seem quite thin and liquid-y, don't worry – it will set nicely in the oven! Pour the topping over the crust (after you have pressed it firmly).
• Bake at 325°F for 25-30 minutes, until filling is set (it should jiggle like jello, not be wobbly and loose in the centre). Cool fully on a wire rack, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours (I like to leave mine overnight) before slicing and serving. Keep bars in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy!
  

Notes

*To make this recipe in an 8×8″ pan, simply cut the recipe in half and reduce final bake time to 20-25 mins, or until topping is fully set. 

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This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!

Yupik Coconut Sugar – Coconut sugar is my go to dry sweetener. It has about half as high of an impact on the Glycemic Index (how much it spikes your blood sugar) compared with table sugar, and contains many beneficial nutrients derived from the coconut palm. I don’t notice any sacrifice in taste or texture when I use coconut sugar in my baking. This brand is a great price and they have excellent customer service. One time I received a bag that had ripped open in the box and spilled everywhere and they sent a new one out right away, no questions asked.

Almond Flour – This is my favourite gluten free flour for baking. It is low in carbs and high in protein and fats, making it a great choice for low carb baking. This almond flour is made from finely milled blanched almonds which provides the optimal texture for baking. The Yupik brand has been the most reliable for baking ingredients on Amazon, it is consistently very good quality!

Coconut flour – a good stabilizing gluten free flour used in conjunction with other gluten free flours that helps provide the perfect texture to your baked goods! It is nut free and packed with fibre and natural sweetness. Be aware that coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture so it does not substitute 1:1 with other flours. Use in recipes already formulated with it!

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