Paleo Lemon Bars (Gluten-Free)

Thank you to George over at Civilized Caveman Cooking for turning me on to these awesome lemon bars, made Paleo style.  I'm now on Week 3 of primal (i.e. grain-free) eating, losing weight, firming up, and feeling great!  It's nice to know that even cavemen and cavewomen can still enjoy some baked goods, once a while.  These lemon bars hit the spot!  My reluctant caveman husband just "Mmm... mmm... mmm"ed his way through a slice.  I'm savoring some myself, while sharing my tweaks to this recipe with you.

Due to shipping delays, I had to make do with ingredients on hand, and made a few substitutions.  I thought the crust was looking a little wet, so I added 1/3 cup of organic coconut flour (essentially, ground up dried coconut).  That worked like a charm! I also started the lemon topping the night before, and let it set in the fridge overnight, and made the crust the next day.  Here's how I made our super-lemony lemon bars:

For the lemon topping:

6 organic eggs

1 cup freshly-squeezed organic lemon juice (about seven lemons)

1/2 cup local honey

1/2 cup organic virgin coconut oil (measured in solid state)

For the crust:

1 cup raw whole almonds

1 cup raw whole pecans

1/3 cup organic coconut flour

1/2 cup melted vegan organic margarine

1/4 cup local honey

2 organic eggs

To make the filling:

Slow and steady warming, and continued whisking -- that's the key here for a thick, smooth, silky topping, and not lemon-flavored scrambled eggs.

- Whisk the eggs, honey, and lemon juice in a cold sauce pan

- Turn heat on medium, and continue to whisk 

- As mixture warms, add the coconut oil

- Continue to whisk, allowing mixture to reduce and thicken

- When the mixture starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low, and whisk for two more minutes

- Remove from heat, and allow to cool to room temperature, before transferring to a lidded container, to chill in the refrigerator.  Lemon topping can be made a day in advance.

To make the crust:

To get that nice crumbly texture, pulse the nuts in your food processor, to ensure some chunks and pieces.

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (I used 375 degrees F in a convection oven)

- In a small mixing bowl, combine the honey, melted margarine, and eggs

- Chop the nuts in a food processor on pulse setting, to achieve a crumbly, mealy texture (not powder)

- Add the chopped nuts and coconut flour to the wet ingredients

- Grease a 9"x9" baking dish with vegan margarine

- Spread an even layer of the nut mixture in the baking dish

- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until nuts are golden brown, and edges are crisp

- Allow crust to cool to room temperature before layering on lemon topping

- Serve chilled

These are seriously delicious!  Our first flourless dessert is a success!  Seriously, you won't even notice those missing whole (and not so whole) grains.  I plan to make a few different versions of this delectable treat; raspberry and lemon, cranberry and lemon, and I can't be a resident of the Florida Keys without making a Key Lime flavor sometime ;)

Enjoy!