Raw Lemon Bars
I was dreaming about those lemon bars the other day at work, because one of my coworkers was making lemon cookies, and they smelled amazing. I decided that I needed to make a revamped version of lemon bars, free of dairy, refined sugar and eggs. I ended up making a pretty easy to make and simple recipe which I know you can all appreciate.
The bars were made creamy from the coconut butter I used in the filling, and I added plenty of tart lemon and zest for a flavor explosion in your mouth! I kept the crust simple, just one of my classic raw cheesecake crusts so the lemon filling could shine. Lastly I topped off the bars with a dusting of coconut "powdered sugar" because how could I not? I was looking to recreate the classic after all. They were amazing! Tart and sweet, and perfectly balanced. I shared some with my Mom and she loved them as well, stating right away that they had the perfect amount of lemon. Which made me happy.
Raw Lemon Bars
Makes 12
Crust:
1 cups finely shredded dried coconut
1 cup sprouted buckwheat groats (or additional shredded coconut)
1/2 cup soft medjool dates, pitted
1/4 tsp himalayan salt
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
Filling:
1 1/2 cups raw coconut butter (NOT oil) warmed to liquid
3/4 cup filtered water
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp organic lemon zest
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp raw coconut nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
coconut powdered sugar* (optional)
For the crust, combine all ingredients in the food processor and process until small crumbs and starting to hold together.
Press into an 8x8 inch (or 9x9 inch if you want the bars thinner) pan lined with foil or parchment and oiled with coconut oil (for easy removal). Set aside in the freezer.
For the filling, whisk together all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Spread out over the prepared crust, and dust with coconut powdered sugar (I like to put it in a fine meshed strainer and tap it over the top of the bars).
Place in the freezer to set, about 30 minutes. Cut into bars and serve!
Store any extra bars in the refrigerator.
*Buzz 1/4 cup finely shredded dried coconut in a high speed blender for about 15 seconds until it is powder.
11 Comments
These look delicious! I Love your blog very much :)
Thank you :)!
I've never seen coconut butter here in Australia, is there something I could substitute?? This recipe looks oh so good but I'm not sure what else I could use. Many thanks.
You can make your own! To do so, in a high speed blender, add 3 cups finely shredded dried coconut and blend at high speed using the tamper to press it into the blades until it is smooth and creamy. This will take about 1 minute. Pour into a jar and enjoy! You can store at room temperature, and it will become solid but it will need to be warmed for use in recipes. I simply place mine in the dehydrator in a glass measuring cup (or in the glass jar I am storing it in if it fits) until it is melted.
Hi! Just a question about this butter since I read that it takes 18-19 minutes to make it ina food processor. Whisch one is correct? Thanks in advance!
I am not sure what butter you are talking about. If you are talking about the coconut butter, I am not exactly sure how long it takes in a food processor because I have always made it in a high speed blender, and that takes about 2 minutes.
Hi Amy. These look totally yummy!!! I'm just checking that there are no other ingredients in the filling? Water and oil and zest don't look like it would create the density shown in the photos. No coconut or cashews!?! Thanks indeed!
If you read the ingredients, there is coconut butter and lemon juice as well as a few other things. Other people have made these and they turned out just as good as mine :).
Perfect! Just checking - thanks Amy!
I'm fascinated by your recipes, but all the ones I'd like to try have coconut products, and my husband is dangerously allergic to coconut. Are there any substitutions?
It depends on the recipe, some can be substituted, and some can not. For this one, you could just swap more additional buckwheat groats for the coconut in the crust, and cacao butter melted for the coconut butter in the filling and just skip the "powdered sugar coconut" topping.