SCD Lemon Squares
This tartly sweet SCD Lemon Square recipe is super scrumptious for any season- particularly the warmer months, and it also makes a lovely and bright Paleo dessert for Easter!
I grew up on lemon squares as I’m sure many of you did. My mom makes a mean lemon bar—so good it will bring a tear to your eye. I wanted to try to capture that same deliciousness, but in Specific Carbohydrate Diet form, and the result is truly scrumptious, we can’t wait for you to try them!
What we have here is basically a buttery vanilla shortbread crust with an SCD lemon curd-like filling, topped off with coconut cream and berries-or you can forgo the coconut cream and serve them with a lemon wedge and sprig of mint or a twist of lime—so many yummy possibilities.
Dress them up or down, all that matters is that delectable flavor—you will find any excuse to have more than one, we certainly did! If you like these SCD Lemon Squares, you’ll love our SCD Key Lime Pie!
Happy Baking + Enjoy The Recipe!😊
SCD Lemon Squares
- Total Time: 50 min + refrigeration
- Yield: 12 squares 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
***Read through all of the ingredients + instructions first, it will make the process easier and more fun. 🙂
***These can be made with our SCD Graham Crust if preferred, you can find that crust in our SCD Key Lime Pie recipe.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1.5 cups almond flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1.5 teaspoons gelatin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter, chilled + cubed
- 2.5 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
SCD Lemon Filling:
- 2 + 1/4 teaspoons gelatin
- 1/8th teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup honey
- juice of 2 lemons
- 4 egg yolks (yolks only)
- Zest of one lemon for extra flavor (optional)
- 1 tablespoon butter
Coconut Cream Topping (optional)
- The solid cream from two cans of chilled coconut milk (view instructions for details)
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon gelatin
- a drizzle of honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Start with the crust: In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, gelatin + salt.
- Cut butter into the flour in the same manner you would for a pie crust.
- Add water, honey and vanilla extract. Work liquid into flour with your hands slowly until dough forms. It will feel dry at first, keep working it until the dough forms, it will be a bit sticky to the touch. Form the dough into a ball–use the dough immediately.
- Press the ball of dough with the palm of your hand into the middle of your parchment paper lined 8 x 8 baking dish. Spread the dough out evenly to the edges. Place the baking dish into your preheated oven and bake for about 22 minutes. It will be golden around the edges and still feel a bit soft. It will firm up during the cooling process. We like to place it in the freezer to cool while making the filling.
- For The SCD Lemon Filling:
- While your crust is cooling, go ahead and make your filling. In a large and dry mixing bowl, whisk together gelatin and salt.
- Then while whisking, slowly add in your water, followed by honey, lemon juice + egg yolks. Whisk in lemon zest at this point if desired. Blend until evenly combined. Save the pat of butter for later.
- Pour liquid mixture into a medium sized pot and cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until it reaches a boil. Let it boil for just about 5-10 seconds then remove from heat. Now add your tablespoon of butter, whisking until it’s melted and combined evenly. Filling will not thicken until refrigerated. Let the liquid filling cool completely, stir occasionally while it’s cooling.
- After your liquid filling has cooled, pour it through a strainer onto your cooled crust in the 8 x 8 baking dish. Then carefully place your dish into the freezer for 3 hours to firm. (Cover very loosely with aluminum foil, creating a dome so it does not touch the filling and do leave air vents). You can alternatively place it in the fridge overnight to set up if you don’t have enough room in the freezer.
- *If you are making the coconut cream, you’ll want at this point to place your two cans of coconut milk in the fridge to chill along with a small mixing bowl-this will make your coconut topping more firm.
- When the lemon filling is fully set, remove it from the freezer and place on your countertop. Pull the tips of the parchment paper to lift the dessert out of the dish and place it onto a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve immediately. Place any unused portion into the fridge to be stored, otherwise the lemon curd filling will start to soften. We store ours in an airtight container. (They can be frozen).
- If you are making coconut whipped topping, put it together right before serving the lemon squares. Open the two cans of coconut milk and remove just the cream on top, being careful not to transfer liquid a long with it. Place the cream in your chilled mixing bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of gelatin overtop and add a very small drizzle of honey and 1/8th tsp of vanilla extract. Blend for just 10-15 seconds, over blending tends to loosen the cream. Place in piping bag with star tip or spoon a dollop on each lemon square.
- Serve with raspberries, mint leaf, lemon or lime wedge-anything goes! Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 20 min baking +
- Category: Specific Carbohydrate Diet
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Sweets
I inherited my love for lemon from my mom, so these lemon squares will definitely remind me of her when I bake a batch. How perfect for Easter too! They look divine Catherine 🙂
Aww thank you so much Noelle for your beautiful comment! I hope you love them, Happy Easter!! 😀
These look life changing yummy! Pinned and hope you are staying safe!! xo
Thank you so much dear Kim!! 😀 I really hope you and your family are staying safe and well too!
I made these for the first time and 22 minutes overcooked my crust – I’ll keep a closer eye next time and pull it out when it looks golden.
Also when I poured my filling on top of my crust – the filling fell to the bottom and the crust floated on top! Not sure what I could have done differently. Maybe omit the parchment paper so the crust sticks to the pan? Flavors of filling and unburnt crust were amazing! It’s quite a bit of work but I think I would make again on special occasion.
Thank you for your comment, so sorry we’re just seeing this now! I’m delighted you enjoy the flavor of the lemon bars, we love these too, especially this time of year! Each oven varies just a touch, I’ll definitely make note in the recipe to keep it 20-22 minutes, or a piece of foil over top for the last 5 minutes could work as well. For the filling and crust, make sure the crust is 100% cooled and the liquid is cooled as well before pouring it over top. Then it goes straight into the freezer. If the crust or liquid is warm, the filling will sink to the bottom. Hope this helps! 🙂
Gorgeous bars and beautiful sentiment!! These look incredibly delicious and that buttery crust is calling my name. Can’t wait to try these beauties.
Aww thank you so much, that makes my day thank you dear Natalie! I really hope you love them! 😀