Who’s ready for a fresh and light lemony paleo treat that’s incredibly easy to make?
While many of you may be looking out over icy tree branches this time of year, here in Arizona our citrus trees are loaded up with juicy winter fruit.
The other day, my friend Tammy handed me a huge bag of lemons from her backyard tree. They were just begging to be made into a tart lemony treat!
Don’t you just love the flavor of fresh lemons! I sure do. Fresh citrus always gets me in the mood for sweet and tangy recipes. Especially when I really needed to lighten things up a bit after the holidays.
This easy paleo and gluten-free recipe came together super quick. I literally poked my head into the pantry and started grabbing stuff to make some sort of lemon bar. Between the leftover cranberries, shredded coconut and pecans from the holidays, and my enormous bag of lemons, I just jumped in and whipped this one together.
Truthfully, I didn’t expect these to turn out so well on the first try. I usually have to work a recipe at least a couple of times to get what I’m looking for. That’s why when my hubby wandered into the kitchen and asked what I was making, I told him “oh nothing much – just trying a little lemon recipe.” I played it down because I wasn’t sure what I’d end up with. So I pulled my first batch out of the oven, let them cool, sliced a few bars, and took a bite.
Wow! I’m not gonna lie. I was surprised!
These have lemon flavor bursting at the seams, plus the delicate taste of cranberry, and a bit of crunch from the nuts. They are light, tart, and nutty all in one bite!
I should point out these are not dense bars at all – they are very light, fairly delicate, and tend to crumble easily. Perfect for when you want a very light treat more for taste rather than something heavy that’s going to fill you up. Just be aware you’ll need to be extra gentle handling these lemon squares and expect more than a few wayward crumbs!
My hubby and I decided these bars are the ideal after-meal treat. Refreshing and not too sweet. We loved them so much that after a few days, the whole pan was gone! That rarely happens – I usually take leftover paleo treats to work where my co-workers are always happy to dig in. Not this time though! (Speaking of leftovers, you can easily wrap and freeze these lemon bars to thaw and enjoy later!)
So if life hands you lemons anytime soon – consider yourself lucky and make this easy paleo treat!
Paleo & Gluten-Free Lemon Coconut Cranberry Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1 banana mashed
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbs coconut oil – plus a little extra to grease the pan
- 1/4 cup lemon juice approximately 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp (optional) add a teaspoon of zest from the lemon rind for extra lemon flavor
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries unsweetened
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F and grease an 8-inch square pan with some coconut oil
- In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Then add all other wet ingredients: mashed banana, honey, vanilla, coconut oil, lemon juice and combine
- In a separate medium-size bowl, add dry ingredients: coconut flour, shredded coconut, salt. Stir together
- Next pour the bowl with the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient’s bowl and mix well
- Now fold in the dried cranberries
- Press mixture into greased 8″ x 8″ baking pan and spread evenly
- Finally sprinkle chopped nuts over the top and gently press them down a little into the batter a little
- Bake at 350º F for 18 – 22 minutes. Bars will be done when they’re just golden around the edges
- Remove from oven, cool and cut into bars