GLUTEN FREE LEMON BARS

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     I never had a lemon bar, so I really had no idea what I was trying to convert into gluten free.  I expected this to be like a lemon meringue pie filling on a crispy crust.  What these turned out to be were a delicious and creamy lemon custard-like topping on a soft almost cake-like crust.  Whether this is how Lemon Bars are ‘supposed’ to be or not, they are yummy and I love them.  My friends and guinea pigs also loved them and found them a bit addictive.

     This is a recipe by David Lebovitz. I found the recipe on-line and turned it into a GF one.  David Lebovitz’s crust uses less butter than other recipes. His recipe uses the entire lemon, but I only used the zest as using the whole lemon did not appeal to me.  I used Meyer lemons that I bought very inexpensively at the local market.  The Meyer lemons have a nice lemon flavor with less tartness.  They worked very well in this dessert, though I am sure regular lemons would do just as well.  I used a 9”x13”x2” pan by accident. With the larger pan there was a thinner layer of both custard and crust than the photo looked like, but the taste was great. Next time I will use the smaller 8”x8” pan as called for in David’s recipe to get a thicker custard layer and crust.

GLUTEN FREE LEMON BARS

Ingredients

CRUST

½ cup	Sorghum Flour
¼ cup	Chickpea Flour
¼ cup	Tapioca Flour
½ tsp.	Xanthan or Guar Gum
¼ cup	Sugar (I use Evaporated Cane Juice)
¼ tsp.	Sea Salt
½ tsp.	Vanilla Extract
1 stick (8 Tbs.)	Unsalted Butter- melted

TOPPING

Zest	Of 1 Lemon
¾ - 1 cup	Sugar (use less sugar if using Meyer lemons or sweeten to taste)
3 Tbs.	Lemon Juice - fresh squeezed
3 large	Eggs
4 tsp.	Corn Starch
¼ tsp.	Sea Salt
3 Tbs.	Unsalted Butter - Melted

Directions

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare an 8"x8" baking pan by lining it with foil or line bottom with parchment paper and butter the pan and paper.

     In a bowl, mix all the flours, xanthan or guar gum, sugar and salt.  Mix well with a whisk.  Add melted butter and vanilla and stir until mixed. 

Raw crust pressed on to bottom of the pan.

     Place flour mixture into prepared pan and press evenly across the bottom of the pan with your finger.  Make the crust as even and smooth as possible. 

Baked crust.

     Bake the crust for about 25 minutes or until it is a golden brown.

     Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

     Add the cornstarch, sugar and salt to a bowl and stir with a whisk until well mixed.  Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together until smooth.

     When the crust is baked reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Unbaked Topping over baked crust.

     Pour the topping mixture over the hot crust and return to the oven for about 25 minutes or until the filling jiggles slightly and is almost set.  It will get firmer when cooled.

      Cool completely before cutting into squares or rectangles.

GF Lemon Bars baked and cut into rectangles.
I forgot to line the pan.

GLUTEN FREE LEMON BARS Ingredients CRUST ½ cup Sorghum Flour ¼ cup Chickpea Flour ¼ cup Tapioca Flour ½ tsp. Xanthan or Guar Gum ¼ cup Sugar (I use Evaporated Cane Juice) ¼ tsp. Sea Salt ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract 1 stick (8 Tbs.) Unsalted Butter- melted TOPPING Zest Of 1 Lemon ¾ - 1 cup Sugar (use less sugar if using Meyer lemons or sweeten to taste) 3 Tbs. Lemon Juice - fresh squeezed 3 large Eggs 4 tsp. Corn Starch ¼ tsp. Sea Salt 3 Tbs. Unsalted Butter - Melted Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8"x8" baking pan by lining it with foil or line bottom with parchment paper and butter the pan and paper. In a bowl, mix all the flours, xanthan or guar gum, sugar and salt. Mix well with a whisk. Add melted butter and vanilla and stir until mixed. Place flour mixture into prepared pan and press evenly across the bottom of the pan with your finger. Make the crust as even and smooth as possible. Bake the crust for about 25 minutes or until it is a golden brown. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Add the cornstarch, sugar and salt to a bowl and stir with a whisk until well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together until smooth. When the crust is baked reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Pour the topping mixture over the hot crust and return to the oven for about 25 minutes or until the filling jiggles slightly and is almost set. It will get firmer when cooled. Cool completely before cutting into squares or rectangles.

-->