Gooey Lemon Bars

Gooey Lemon Bars!

These lemon squares have a perfectly tart & sweet, sticky lemon filling. They are not cake-like, they have a gooey texture, which is how a proper lemon bar should be! Paired with an almond flour crust, they are both dairy and gluten free!

Fresh lemon juice?

Using juice from freshly squeezed lemons is always ideal. I like to make these lemon squares especially when meyer lemons are in season because they are so special! Meyer lemons are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, making them sweeter, and not as tart and acidic as regular lemons. If you don’t have fresh lemons, you can use bottled lemon juice. I do recommend checking the ingredients on your lemon juice bottle, you might be surprised that there are a few fake additives, not just lemon juice!

Almond flour crust

Usually, a shortbread crust for lemon bars is made with all purpose flour and butter. My recipes are gluten free, and I have formulated a wonderful crust using almond flour and coconut oil instead. The crust is moist, and just a bit sweet, the perfect pairing to the zing of the lemon filling. Coconut oil is a perfect substitution for butter. In this recipe the coconut oil should be solid, not liquid, when incorporating it into the almond flour. The crust is partially baked before adding the lemon filling.

Print Recipe

Gooey Lemon Bars

Courses: Desserts Recipe Keys: Dairy Free Gluten Free V Vegan

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 15 min Rest Time 1 hour Total Time 1 hr 25 mins

Servings: 10

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

You Need

Servings

• 1 & ³⁄₄ cup Almond Flour
• 3 tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
• 3 tablespoons Coconut Sugar
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 6 tablespoons Solid Coconut Oil

For the Lemon Filling

• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ²⁄₃ cups Coconut Sugar
• 3 tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
• 3 Eggs (Room temperature)
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ²⁄₃ cups Lemon Juice
• Zest of 1 Lemon

Method

Make Crust

1. Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

   • Whisk dry ingredients for crust to combine.
   • Mix in solid coconut oil. Use the back of a spoon, and press coconut oil against dry ingredients to massage the two together, and combine. 
   • Press into a glass baking dish. This will be crumbly, and will combine when baked. 
   • Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. 
   
   Coconut oil will turn to liquid at warmer temperatures. To harden it, put the jar in a bowl of ice water or in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Make Lemon Filling

1. • Whisk all dry ingredients. 
   • Add eggs, and whisk vigorously for at least 2 minutes. Incorporating air in this step is important to make the bars light when baked. 
   • Add lemon juice, whisk to combine.
   • Pour over slightly cooled crust.
   • Bake for 15-20 minutes until edges are just slightly brown.
   • Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
   
   To make serving the lemon bars easy, refrigerate them for 1 hour before cutting.

Keywords: lemon squares, dairy free lemon bars, gluten free crust, lemon desserts