Saturday, September 22, 2012

Pucker Up! GF vegan lemon squares!

I love lemon but even before I took wheat out of my diet I rarely made lemon squares because there was so much sugar in them. I'd happily eat them if they appeared on a dessert table, though!

Last week, our organic delivery box included a very interesting recipe; lemon squares with no sugar or flour or eggs? Say what?

photo

Seriously delicious. Try them. I tweaked the recipe a bit. Here's my version:

Lemon Coconut Bars

1 C + 2 Tbsp. almond meal/ground almonds (I used Trader Joe's)
11/2 C pitted dates
Dash of pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
Zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (zest it first, juice it second)
I C + 2Tbsp dried unsweetened coconut

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8" square baking pan. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp almond meal to 'dust'.

Place all ingredients in a food processor, reserving the 2 Tbsp of coconut. Process until well combined and clumped together. With veg-oiled (or buttered) fingers, press into pan evenly. Dust with reserved coconut. Chill 3 hours. Cut into 25 squares and try not to eat 5 at a time.

- Posted using BlogPress from my sewing lair

14 comments:

karen @ badlandsquilts said...

We are nut free but my mom is GF and loves coconut & lemon so I am going to pass this on to her! They sound so yummy!

Donna~~ said...

I think you read my mind! (I was looking at lemon bars tonight wishing I could have some, but GF/dairy free/soy free makes it hard.) Will have to try soon! (do they taste at all date-like?)

What Comes Next? said...

oh yay! I love lemon squares - I'll have to try these. I have a few other recipes that use dates for sweetening any they are great

Heather D. said...

OOoh, I love lemon bars! I'm going to forward this recipe on to my SIL who is gluten free. I don't know if she's necessarily looking for dessert ideas, but I do what I can!! :)

Charlotte said...

they look delicious! Not sure I could manage the part about not eating five at a time though!

harmony and rosie said...

Oh my, these sound delicious. We are g/f, sugar free (and fun-free say my kids!) in our house .. I will definitely try these. Look good too!

paulette said...

YUMMmmmm! Got to try these!!
Love dates, coconut and lemon!! I will be on the hunt for Almond meal!!
P

**nicke... said...

oh perfect! i have a sister who is basically vegan now! she will love these! thanks for the recipe my dear!

Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts said...

Awesome - my sister is GF also, so it's nice to have a stock of tested recipes for when she comes over. I suspect I might rather like these too...

artsycraftsyivy said...

Thank you! My daughter and I are vegan (the rest of the household isn't)--this is right up our alley :)

Krista Withers said...

YUM! Sugar free and EGG free! I will try these for sure! Or I'll be lazy and just hope you'll make some when I'm there!

Dianne said...

These sound wonderful! Will give them a try - maybe for Friday stitch!

Michelle said...

Holy crap - I made these last night, halving the recipe as I could only scrounge a cup of almonds to grind up. So.Impossibly.Good. Amazingly I didn't miss the creamy lemon curd centres of most lemon squares. And I love how the dates bring sweetness and texture without screaming DATES!

Gina said...

This sounds wonderful, thanks for sharing your recipe!