Lemon Blueberry Bars with Coconut Crust
With a plethora of blueberries practically spilling out of my fridge I needed to put some fresh blueberries to good use. I spotted a recipe on Pinterest for Meyer Lemon Bars with a Coconut Crust from Kelley at Mountain Mama Cooks. I was immediately intrigued. I had a lot of leftover coconut from my Coconut Crusted Chicken. The crunch of the coconut added a fun dimension to the chicken. I knew it would be a unique addition to Kelley’s crust recipe.
I made just a few changes to Kelley’s recipe. I switched out the all purpose flour for a gluten free flour blend, added a little xanthum gum and some blueberries. The results were phenomenal.
It smelled so heavenly while baking that I snuck a piece while it was cooling. I couldn’t resist. Obviously, it tastes event better after it has cooled and been topped with some powdered sugar.
Kudos to Kelley for a great recipe!
Adapted from Mountain Mama Cooks
Ingredients
CRUST
2 cups gluten free all purpose flour*
2 teaspoons xanthum gum
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
FILLING
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons gluten free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Butter a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and line with parchment paper. To make crust: combine flour, xanthum gum, sugar, salt and coconut in food processor; pulse. Add cubed butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine meal and begins to clump together. Press into a prepared baking dish and bake at 350F degrees for 25 minutes.
Shortly before crust is done baking, prepare filling. In a clean food processor bowl, combine sugar, eggs, lemon zest and juice, flour, baking powder and salt. On low, process until well mixed and smooth. Add in blueberries and stir into liquid mixture.
Pour filling over warm crust, return to oven, and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until filling is just set. Cool completely and top with powdered sugar if desired. Cut into 24 squares.
*I make my own gluten free flour blend. The basic recipe is 4 cups brown rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch and 2/3 cup tapioca flour. Combine the ingredients together and then measure out 2 cups from the combined ingredients.
http://laphemmephoodie.com/2012/06/lemon-blueberry-bars-with-coconut-crust.html
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Heather | Farmgirl Gourmet — June 28, 2012 @ 12:47 PM
Wendy – these look awesome!! I wish I could nibble on them with you! Beautiful pics!!
patsy — June 28, 2012 @ 1:13 PM
My oldest would love these!
feast on the cheap — June 28, 2012 @ 1:28 PM
How amazing do these look? Bookmarked, I need to make.
irma — June 28, 2012 @ 5:21 PM
Can egg whites be substituted & shortening? I’m on a special diet for cancer treatment and can’t have yolks or butter.
Wendy replied: — June 28th, 2012 @ 5:32 PM
Irma, I’m so sorry to hear about your treatment. My aunt is stage 4 lung cancer. I know how hard it is for her to find things to eat while undergoing treatment. I think the shortening can be substituted for butter. The good thing about this recipe is that the crust does not need to rise. Even if it is a little crumbly from the shortening it will still taste great. I think egg whites would work fine instead of egg yolks. Make sure to use 2 egg whites for each whole egg. Let me know how it turns out.
Kristina — June 28, 2012 @ 6:21 PM
wow, these look fantastic! I love the coconut addition.
Jennie @themessybakerblog — June 29, 2012 @ 11:02 AM
These look delicious! I love that they have a coconut crust.
Carrie @ Bakeaholic Mama — June 29, 2012 @ 6:48 PM
This look divine! I have made a key lime bar with coconut crust. I think I need to start trying some other variations starting with lemon/blueberry!
Jenna — June 29, 2012 @ 9:21 PM
I love lemon bars! As a health coach, I would have people substitute the granulated sugar for coconut palm sugar. It has a much lower glycemic and still has lots of minerals unliked granulated sugar. Other than that, they look fantastic, and I will even pin them on my sweet and healthy pinterest board!
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme — June 29, 2012 @ 9:28 PM
Oh, my word! These look amazing. What a fantastic combination of flavors you have in these bars.
LauriesCravings — June 30, 2012 @ 6:18 PM
These look amazing. I love a good lemon bar, but with coconut in the crust?! Sign me up!
Elizabeth — June 30, 2012 @ 7:54 PM
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try them. 1 question though…what is Xanthum Gum, I have never heard of it (from Australia so not sure where I would look for it). Is there something that could be use instead? Thank you
Wendy replied: — June 30th, 2012 @ 8:09 PM
Hi Elizabeth! Xanthum gum is typically used by people who are allergic to gluten to add volume to gluten free baked goods. It’s habit for me to use it which is why I included it in this recipe. This crust is not something that needs to rise so you could probably get away without using it. Xanthum gum is really more essential for things like bread, cakes, muffins, etc.
KC — July 1, 2012 @ 11:59 AM
Made these last night. Used Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat cake flour for the crust. Delicious, quick and easy.
Laura — July 4, 2012 @ 3:14 PM
I made them and they are fabulous but they dont look like the picture !!! The picture looks like the topping has peach chunks or something moist ????Io
Wendy replied: — July 4th, 2012 @ 6:30 PM
Laura I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I didn’t add anything other than what is listed to the bars although peach chunks sound like they would be pretty tasty:)
Alana Sterling — July 4, 2012 @ 7:54 PM
I swear you put all my favorite things about summer into one delicious bar. Keep up the good work! And I love the blue background in your photos.
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos — July 11, 2012 @ 5:03 PM
This looks SOOOO scrumptious Wendy – now I need to go get some blueberries to make these lovelies
Betsy — July 12, 2012 @ 5:52 PM
Yes! Great combo! i’m definitely giving these a try
Judimae — July 13, 2012 @ 3:21 PM
Gorgeous photo for an awesome recipe. It has everything I just love in it. Coconut with blueberries — it can’t get any better!
Sarah Bakes Gluten Free Treats — August 30, 2012 @ 12:43 PM
I’m going to have to give these a try! Look soooo yummy!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel — January 14, 2013 @ 12:44 PM
These sound (and LOOK) delicious!! I can’t wait for summer and fresh blueberries to roll around again so I can try them!!