Lemon Bar Recipe

I found this recipe online and tweaked it a bit to fit our family’s allergies and taste preferences.

Makes 18 individual “bars”

Ingredients:

FILLING
2 cup raw cashews
2 cans coconut cream* (only the hardened portion at the top of full-fat coconut milk)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup lemon juice
1 heaping Tbsp lemon zest (or the zest of one lemon)
2 pinches sea salt
1 cup maple syrup
powdered sugar

CRUST
1.5 cup gluten-free oats
1.5 cup almonds
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1.5 Tbsp maple syrup
4-6 Tbsp coconut oil (melted)

Instructions:

1. Add raw cashews to a mixing bowl and cover with boiling hot water. Let rest for 1 hour (uncovered). Then drain thoroughly.
2. In the meantime, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Add oats, almonds, sea salt, and sugar to food processor and mix on high until a fine meal is achieved.
4. Transfer dry meal to a medium mixing bowl and add maple syrup and melted coconut oil, starting with lesser end of range on the coconut oil (4 Tbsp to start) and adding more slowly if it’s too dry. Stir with a spoon to combine until a loose dough is formed. You should be able to squeeze the mixture between two fingers and form a dough instead of it crumbling. If too dry, add a bit more melted coconut oil.
5. Transfer crust mixture to three 6-serving silicone muffin tins (2 on one cookie sheet and 1 on another cookie sheet) and distribute evenly (one ice cream scoop each). Press down firmly until it’s evenly distributed and well packed.
6. Bake crust for 15 minutes at 350 F, then increase heat to 375 F and bake for 5 minutes more, or until the edges are golden brown and there is some browning on the surface. Remove from oven to cool slightly, and reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F.
7. Once cashews are soaked and drained, add to clean dry food processor with coconut cream, corn starch, lemon juice, lemon zest, sea salt, and maple syrup. Mix on high until creamy and smooth.
8. Transfer filling to nutribullet up to the max line and blend till completely smooth and creamy. Takes 3 batches to finish.
9. After blending each batch, pour the filling over the pre-baked crusts, each one filled to about 3/4 full.
10. Tap each tray on counter to remove any air bubbles before placing in oven.
11. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges look very slightly dry and the center appears “jiggly” but not liquidy.
12. Let rest for 10 minutes, then transfer to refrigerator to let cool completely (uncovered) – at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
13. To serve, sift powdered sugar on top.
14. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.