tropical lemon bars

Lemon… is one of my all-time favorite flavors!  Savory or sweet … main course or dessert … international or all-American … in my mind, you can’t beat the taste of lemon. I’ve made many different versions of lemon bars over the years; meringue topped, layered with cream cheese filling, raspberry topped, and so on. The flavor of the day is a lovely tropical blend of lemon, coconut, and almond. Until just recently you always had to toast most nuts yourself, but now you can find already toasted almond slices (and pine nuts too) at Trader Joe’s – another wonderful gift of convenience given to us by the wonderful TJ”s!

Dave and I are traveling down to Tucson for a quick 24-hour turn-around trip to visit our darling daughter, Marissa. After the Cut-Out Sugar Cookie post of the other day, Marissa asked me to bring her and her roommates, Kaley, Petra, Page, and Kelsey, a batch of decorated cookies. But as I said in the post, I don’t enjoy making those darn things, so the answer is “No!” But lemon bars, that’s another matter, these come together in moments, so girls, we, and these luscious lemon bars, are on our way down south…. see you soon! xoxo

Almond-Coconut Lemon Bars

Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled

Filling
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon flour
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9x13x2-inch baking dish. Combine flour, powdered sugar, and almonds in the bowl of a food processor and blend until almonds are finely ground. Add butter, and using the pulse button, mix in butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the coconut and pulse until just blended. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Maintain oven temperature.

Filling: Place eggs, sugar, lemon juice, flour, and lemon zest in the same food processor bowl, no need to clean first, and turn on the machine for a few seconds, just long enough to blend well. Pour filling into warm crust. Bake until mixture is set, about 20 to 22 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.

When completely cool, cut into 24 bars. Sift powdered sugar over top before serving.

Makes 24