Fresh Ginger

I don’t really have much of a sweet tooth, I have what you might call a tarty tooth. I love tarty cocktails and desserts. I like things spicy and on the hot side too and the tartness half of a dish cools the palate off quite nicely. These lemon bars fit the tarty bill perfectly.

I may have to make these again, this week. Perhaps I could cut the batch in half and find a 4×4 pan to bake them in. So tart, tangy, buttery and a hint of sweetness. I love lemon bars and have decided that I think they may be better than brownies for me. With a brownie, I want to eat 1 or 2 and then maybe 1 more the next day and I am done - unless they have raspberry in them. Lemon bars, on the other hand, I can barely keep away from and ate them all week. Ate them to the point of wondering, when does a lemon bar go bad? After all it is mostly lemon, eggs and sugar. Eggs being the worry point here, even if they are cooked. So cutting the batch in half will save me the worry trouble and the waist band, hopefully! This recipe is based on one I liked and altered from Bon Appetit several years ago.

Gluten Free Lemon Bars with Almond crust:

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature ( I actually like a bit of salt in there to highlight the lemon, but you can use unsalted most certainly)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs (separated) gluten free flour
1/2 cup almond meal, finely ground
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 - 3 tbs lemon zest (about 3 lemons worth, depending on size)
1/2 tsp baking powder

Optional: powdered sugar for sprinkling on top (I didn’t do this)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a mixer, beat the butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in your powdered sugar. Add only 1/2 cup of the GF flour and the 1/2 cup almond meal, beating until almost comes together in clumps. Using your fingers, press dough over the bottom of a 9×9x2-inch baking pan. This is the messy part, filling in all the dough gaps and trying to not let the dough stick to your fingers. Bake the crust until it is light browned along the edges, about 20 - 25 minutes.

For the filling: beat the sugar and eggs in medium bowl until blended. Add in the fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, baking powder, and the remaining 2 Tbs of GF flour and continue to mix until blended.

Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust. Bake until the filling is set in center and begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Cool completely. One tip I found for cutting the lemon bars is to put the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the filling and then slice into square. This will help to not rip up the edges. I was too impatient and didn’t let the above pictured bars chill long enough. Taste however was not affected!

i’m out

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