Classic Lemon Bars - Allergy & Diabetic Friendly

The lemon is such a fun and versatile fruit. Squeeze a little to liven up a glass of water, or squeeze a bunch for a cool and refreshing pitcher of lemonade! And we can’t forget classic lemon bars - yum! Let’s talk about all thing’s lemon today. Go grab yourself a glass of water, squeeze a little lemon in it and read on.

Picking the Perfect Lemon

Picking produce can be a challenge. Do you want firm or soft? As a general rule fruit should be fragrant. For lemons, you want to choose lemons that are heavy for its size as it should give you plenty of juice. It should also have a little give when applying slight pressure. In other words, squeeze the lemon gently. If it doesn’t give a little, move on and try a different one.

Storing Lemons

There seems to be a debate on the best way to store lemons. Lemons store well in the crisper drawer. I have seen lemons stored in water and I offer this safer alternative. Wash them and store them with their produce buddy, the avocado in the crisper drawer to extend the life of both items. I typically buy lemons every other shopping trip. So, for me, I buy lemons every six weeks. They last the entire grocery shopping cycle. It just takes my house about six weeks to work through the bag.

Making Powdered Sugar

I have noticed that purchasing specialty sugar like monk fruit brown sugar or monk fruit powdered sugar can be expensive. Like brown sugar, you can make powdered sugar at home. I typically use my Vitamix to make powdered sugar. Using regular monk fruit and running it through the blender, you can make powdered sugar. This also works for regular sugar as well.

Classic Lemon Bars

Amy Cross

I use almond flour and monk fruit in place of sugar, making these classic lemon bars both allergy and diabetic friendly.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 20 slices

Calories 312 kcal

Equipment

• 9x13 Baking Dish
• Parchment paper
• Citrus Zester Tool
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• KitchenAid Mixer or Stand Mixer
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Vitamix Blender (if making monk fruit powdered sugar from scratch)

Ingredients

  

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CRUST INGREDIENTS:

• 2 sticks Salted Butter (if using unsalted butter, add ¼ tsp. salt)
• ½ c. Monk Fruit or Sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 c. Almond Flour

LEMON FILLING INGREDIENTS:

• 7 Eggs, room temperature
• 3 c. Powdered Monk Fruit (I made regular monk fruit into powdered sugar so it fully dissolved. Watch my video here.)
• 2 T. Lemon Zest, about 5 lemons
• 5 Lemons, juiced
• 1 c. Almond Flour

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°
• Line a 9" x 13" baking dish with parchment paper.
• If making powdered monk fruit from scratch, prepare this now.
• Zest lemons and set aside.

PREPARE THE CRUST:

• Cream 2 sticks of butter, vanilla, and ½ cup of monk fruit together with a mixer.
• Add 2 cups of almond flour and mix until a crumbly dough forms.
• Press dough into a 9" x 13" baking dish lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until firm.

PREPARE THE FILLING:

• Whisk the 7 room temperature eggs together, adding 3 cups of powdered monk fruit sugar, one cup at a time. Making sure sugar is fully dissolved.
• Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice.
• Add remaining 1 cup of almond flour and blend together.

FINAL STEPS:

• Pour the filling over the shortbread crust.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes.

  (If your oven doesn’t heat evenly, rotate halfway through baking time.)
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 hour before putting it into the fridge.

  (Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. It's better chilled)
• Dust with powdered sugar just before serving and enjoy!

Video

Notes

1. Cut into pieces and freeze for a summertime treat anytime.
2. I have noticed that purchasing specialty sugar like monk fruit brown sugar or monk fruit powdered sugar can be expensive. Like brown sugar, you can make powdered sugar at home. I typically use my Vitamix to make powdered sugar. Using regular monk fruit and running it through the blender, you can make powdered sugar. This also works for regular sugar as well. 
3. Watch the full video on how I make these delicious Classic Lemon Bars here.

The Cross Legacy provides estimated nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is collected from the USDA database via Spoonacular, when available. If not available, nutrition information is pulled from other online calculators. Ingredients can vary and The Cross Legacy can make no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 312kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 10gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 95mgPotassium: 62mgFiber: 5gSugar: 2g

Keyword allergy-friendly, Diabetic Friendly, Lemon, Lemon Bars, Monk Fruit

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