Coconut-Almond Lemon Bars Recipe is a tasty version of the traditional lemon bars. The combination of coconut, lemon and almond is a perfect one.

Some while ago, I was doing some research on old recipes when I found this one in a Taste of Home Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook Annual 2004. I was intrigued by the ingredients used – a tasty combination of coconut, lemon and almond.

This, for sure,  is not your classic lemon bar, but a twisted, delicious version of it.

I like sweets that are not very sweet, because I believe in small amounts of dessert with lots of flavor. For that matter, the only thing I changed in the recipe was the amount of sugar used in the filling. Call me crazy, but the original recipe was too sweet for me.

 I also used blanched almond flour and unsweetened coconut flakes.(yes, it does not have any added sugar)

Few tips on how to make this Coconut-Almond Lemon Bars recipe:

You will need a 9×13″ baking pan which should be greased before you start making the bars.

The butter should be cold from the fridge. Pretty cool if you want to make some bars quickly, right?

These Coconut-Almond Lemon Bars start with a buttery, flaky shortbread that is so good, I’ll happily eat it plain. The crust can be made manually or in a food processor. If you do it manually, a fork is a great tool to start with. If you use a food processor, just pulse few times the ingredients until they come together like bread crumbs.

You will need about 2 lemons to juice. If you want to get as much juice as possible take  the lemon and roll it on the counter roughly, pressing hard on the lemon. This will help to loosen up the juices before extraction.

The crust needs to be even when you place it in the baking pan. A secret to get it as even as possible is to press the crumbs into the pan with your hands, then go back with a hard flat surface(like a drinking glass or a cup) and press down the crust. 

Bake the crust by itself for 20 minutes, then pour the filling over and return the pan to the oven for another 20-25 minutes. The result? A superb dessert that we enjoyed very much! And I hope you will too!

MY AMAZON SHOPPING LIST FOR THIS RECIPE:

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Yield: 2 dozens

Coconut-Almond Lemon Bars Recipe

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Coconut-Almond Lemon Bars Recipe is a tasty, twisted version of the traditional lemon bars. The combination of coconut, lemon and almond is a perfect one.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 minute

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cups powder sugar
• 1/3 cup blanched almond flour
• 1 grated lemon peel
• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

Filling:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar(original recipe requires 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1/4 cup lemon juice(about 2 medium lemons)
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons powder sugar for dusting the bars

Instructions

Crust:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

Combine the flour, powder sugar, almond flour and lemon peel. Add butter and using a fork or a pastry tool, combine the flour and butter until the mixture is crumbly.(The same results can be obtain in afood processor, by pulsing just until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.)

Press the mixture into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Filling:

In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, lemon juice, coconut, flour, lemon peel and baking powder.

Pour over the hot crust and bake again until light golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Cut into squares.