A bite of these delightful lemon bars is like tasting sunshine. They're simply irresistible with their thick coconut cookie crust and lusciously tart lemon filling. They make the perfect make-ahead dessert to brighten up any occasion, and they're surprisingly easy to prepare with ingredients you're likely to have on hand.
Ingredients
Crust
1 ¼ cupsall-purpose flour
⅓ cupbrown sugar
½ teaspoonsalt
1cupsweetened flaked coconut
½ cupcold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cupcoconut oil
Filling
1 ¼ cupsgranulated sugar
5largeeggs
½cup+ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4teaspoonslemon zest, from 2 large lemons
4teaspoonsall-purpose flour
1pinchsalt
Powdered sugar, to serve
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 9x9-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang. Combine flour, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the coconut, butter, and coconut oil and process until the mixture is crumbly and begins to clump together.
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, ½ cup cold unsalted butter, ¼ cup coconut oil
Spread the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and press down so it forms a crust. Bake crust until golden at edges, about 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, flour, and salt.
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 5 large eggs, ½ cup + 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 4 teaspoons lemon zest, 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour, 1 pinch salt
Pour filling evenly over hot crust then return the pan to oven and bake until filling is just set and springy to touch in the center, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and let the pan cool completely.
Using the parchment paper as an aid, transfer the lemon bars to a work surface then cut them into 16 bars. If you'd like, sift a little powdered sugar over the top.