Paleo Honey Lemon Bars

These honey lemon bars are the perfect marriage between sweetness and citrusy tang! With honey's golden sweetness and lemon's zesty kick, each bite is a burst of flavor that will leave you craving more. It's a dessert that's sure to make your day brighter with every bite!

 

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Plant-Based, Dairy-Free

Ingredients:

For the crust:

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1¼ cups superfine blanched almond flour (not almond meal)

zest of one lemon

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ cup Peace River Honey Pure Unpasteurized Honey

 

For the lemon layer:

4 large eggs, room temperature

⅔ cup lemon juice (from about 4 large lemons)

½ cup Peace River Honey Pure Unpasteurized Honey

2 teaspoons arrowroot flour/starch

 

Powdered sugar, coconut for dusting

Raspberries, optional

 

 

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350° F. 
2. Melt coconut oil in the microwave or stove, let cool.
3. In another medium mixing bowl, whisk the almond flour, lemon zest and salt.
4. Whisk the honey into the cooled coconut oil and then stir this mixture into the almond flour mixture until totally blended (you should see no more dry almond flour).
5. Grease an 8x8" baking dish with avocado or coconut oil spray, then add the shortbread mixture to the pan. Spread it out with your hands into an even layer. I like to then press the crust down with the bottom of a measuring cup or glass. This helps make sure it's an even layer of thickness.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust looks dry and is golden brown around the edges.
7. For the lemon layer:
8. While the crust is baking, make the curd: in a large mixing bowl, use a clean whisk to whisk the room temperature eggs.
9. Add the lemon juice, honey and arrowroot and whisk thoroughly until completely blended.
10. Once the crust is done, take it out of the oven. If the lemon layer has been sitting around for a bit, give it one more good whisk. Hold a fine-mesh sieve over the crust and pour the lemon mixture through the sieve onto the hot crust.
11. Place the dish back in the oven for 15 minutes.
12. Once the 15 minutes are done, turn off the oven but do not remove the dish from the oven. Barely crack open the oven door and stick a wooden spoon in the crack to keep the door just barely open. Let it sit in the oven like that for 20 minutes. This will allow the heat to escape slowly, which will help prevent cracks in the lemon layer.
13. Remove the dish from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until the lemon layer is set, at least 4 hours. Once they're ready, you can enjoy them plain or dust them with powdered sugar.