Healthier Lemon Squares

One of those ‘bet you can’t eat just one’ treats!

That buttery crust and tangy filling of a lemon bar can be so addicting…

But the high amounts of butter, sugar, eggs, flour and sugar laden condensed milk used in a traditional recipe for these citrus-infused treats does not play along nicely with a healthy eating plan.

Good thing that my favourite thing to do is take an old fashioned‘not-so-healthy’ recipe and 'healthify' it - turning it into a healthier alternative.

If you are looking for the ultimate lemon bar recipe, then look no further. I promise you these are the best damn lemon bars you will ever taste.

Bold claim I know!

But these bars are truly a minimum fuss dessert. They hit at only 9 ingredients! And the entire process goes like this: grind up the crust in the food processor, press the crust in, blend filling until smooth, pour filling, freeze, cut, done!

And for how easy they are, the flavour and richness are wild. So, SO good. I have the bars all cut up in a container in the freezer, and I just set one out to thaw a bit while we are cleaning up after dinner.

Perfect sweet relief at the end of a busy day.When life gives you lemons, you make lemon bars. It's just what we do. 🙂

This raw version is made up of a nutty, oaty bottom layer topped with a rich, creamy, tangy layer of lemon-y goodness.

They are super easy to make (three cheers for no-bake treats!) and crammed with the perfect balance of tart-sweet flavour. I am quite certain this will be my new go-to item for pot lucks or family gatherings. I hope you like them half as much as my husband does; he may or may not have eaten half a pan of them over the past 24 hours.

I love a good yummy something and it’s become a tradition that I make something for the weekend, almost every weekend. It’s just a nice way to reward yourself I think, and keep the sugar-intake at a minimum.

After all, dessert eating has its limits – if we all could just succumb to our cravings, we would be sick, obese, diabetics and what not.

Basically, I’ve learned that sugar cravings are not all that cute – you just can’t have it all… and the more disciplined you become with your sweet tooth cravings – the healthier you are.

But, but wait! What if this said dessert is incredibly um… Good-for-you! Like for reals! No sugar added, healthy grains, healthy ingredients, amazing taste, completely guilt-free!? Do all my rules and all my discipline for craving sugar go out the window? Ha! They kind of do!!!;)

Because these lemon bars are crazy amazing you can feel good about eating one or two of them, even for breakfast and not feel one piece of guilt about it! 😉

Just trust me on this… this is a no-bake, raw recipe for a dessert so delicious I think you should just make a double batch and call it a day!

 

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Healthy Clean Eating

Keyword heathier lemon slice, heathier lemon squares, heathy lemon slice raw, no bake lemon slice recipe

Servings 16

Ingredients

Lemon Bar Base

• 1 1/2 cups almonds
• 1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, instant or quick
• 1 cup dates, soaked 30 minutes and drained
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1-2 lemons, juice and zest (depending on how lemon-ey you prefer)
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup-
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Icing

• 1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed butter) - or coconut butter or cashew butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 lemons, juice and zest
• 2-3 drops natural lemon essence

Topping

• Dollop of whipped coconut cream - recipe below in notes
• Lemon zest
• Desiccated coconut

Instructions

Lemon Bar Base

• Line an 8 x 8” baking pan or dish with parchment paper on the bottom and sides leaving some overhanging to act as a handle to get the bars out easier for cutting.

  Place almonds and coconut into a food processer and process until broken down and crumbly. Add oats, dates, coconut oil, lemon juice and zest, honey and vanilla and continue to process until mixture is sticky and well combined.

  Be careful not to over process as its nice to have texture variance and different sized “bits” in your slice base.

  Transfer the lemon mixture to the lined pan and spread out evenly with a spatula or back of a spoon.

  Place the slice in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up while you prepare the lemon icing.

Lemon Icing

• Into a small glass bowl, whisk tahini, coconut oil, honey and lemons. If your nut butter is too firm, microwave the glass bowl for 20 seconds to soften.

  Remove the base slice pan from the freezer and pour the lemon icing on top. Tilt the pan to spread all around, or use the back of a spoon.

  Freeze the bar again for at least 15 minutes to set the icing. Lift out the slice using the parchment paper handles and slice into 16 bars (or more smaller squares).

  Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1week.

  Freeze for up to 3 months in zip-lock bags and thaw at room temperature.

   

Notes

Add even more nutrition and healthy qualities to many other dishes with nutrient-dense, fluffy, delicious, whipped coconut cream. Packed with healthy fats, tons of other good stuff and amazing flavour to help support a healthy, fit body.

Go here for the simple recipe:  Whipped Coconut Cream

 

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If you are looking for more delicious, healthy, no bake desserts and treats to help you reach your health, wellness and fitness goals, you will love my collection here: Blended Bites