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gluten free lemon bars sliced with powdered sugar

Gluten Free Lemon Bars

  • Author: Ashlea Carver
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 12 bars 1x
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
  • Author: Ashlea Carver
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 12 bars 1x
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons cold butter, diced
  • zest of one lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Lemon Filling

  • 3/4 cup lemon juice
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, sifted
  • powdered sugar, for serving 

 

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Add the almond flour, tapioca starch, maple syrup, cold butter, lemon zest, and sea salt to a food processor. Process the ingredients until a ball of dough forms. You may have the scrape down the sides once to ensure that everything is well incorporated.
  3. Remove the dough from the food processor and press it evenly into an 8×8 pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove the crust from the oven and then turn down the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
  4. While the crust is baking, make the lemon filling. Add the lemon juice, eggs, maple syrup, lemon zest, and sifted tapioca starch to a mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined.
  5. Once the crust is done baking, immediately pour the lemon filling over the warm crust. Pouring the filling over a warm crust will ensure that the crust does not become soggy. Bake the bars for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is set. The edges should be set and the filling should no longer be runny.
  6. Let the bars cool completely until they are room temperature. Once cooled, you can remove the bars from the pan and then place them in the fridge for an hour or two until chilled. Once the bars have chilled, you can remove them from the pan and dust them with powdered sugar. Use a sharp knife to slice the bars into 9 or 12 squares.

Notes

  • Use fresh lemon juice. For the best results use fresh-squeezed lemon juice for the bars.
  • Pouring the filling over a warm crust. This will ensure that the crust does not become soggy.
  • Use a food processor when making the crust. I tested using my hands to incorporate the butter and it did not work well. Using a food processor to cut the cold butter into the almond flour was much easier and yielded the best results.
  • Adjust the amount of lemon juice to your liking. If you do not like really tart lemon bars you can try using 1/2 cup of  lemon juice instead of 3/4 a cup.