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Keto Lemon Bars

With lemon in the crust and lemon in the topping, these Keto lemon bars definitely don’t skimp on lemon flavor. A crumbly lemon almond cookie base is the perfect canvas to showcase a tangy lemon topping. These low-carb lemon treats don’t disappoint. Make sure you have plenty of lemons because the first batch will fly off the plate and leave you wanting more.

The Surprisingly Short History of the Lemon Bar

Lemon bars are so popular, it’s hard to believe that they weren’t invented until the 20th century! In fact, the first bar cookies date back to the 1930s and lemon bars didn’t appear on the scene until the early 60s.

The modern lemon bar dates back to 1962 when a recipe for “Lemon Bars” by Mrs. Eleanore Mickelson was published by the Chicago Daily Tribune. A year later, a similar recipe was published in a Betty Crocker cookbook along several other bar cookie recipes and a recipe for “Coconut Lemon Bars.” The lemon bar took off, and the rest is history [1].

Making It Keto

The Shortbread:
The classic shortbread crust is generally made with a mix powdered sugar, cornstarch, flour, and butter. Our low carb cookie base doesn’t contain any of those ingredients but the flavors are remarkably alike.

Baked goods made with almond flour are naturally tender and crumbly because it is gluten-free. This eliminates the need for the cornstarch.  Ghee replaces the butter, providing all the fatty goodness without any of the less desirable side effects. Lastly, our recipe eliminates the sugar altogether, and instead adds flavor with vanilla and lemon juice.

The Topping:
Lemon bars are traditionally topped with a lemon curd, though some recipes take shortcuts using condensed milk or pudding mix. Our lemon topping is the best of both worlds. You don’t have to stand at the stove stirring lemon curd but there are also no hidden carbs or additives like you might find in other shortcuts.

The sugar is replaced with Keto-friendly erythritol and stevia and the butter with ghee. Furthermore, many quick lemon curd recipes rely on cornstarch or flour to help thicken their topping and keep the eggs from curdling. In our recipe, we use coconut flour. Because coconut flour is a dehydrated product, it absorbs large amounts of liquid making it the perfect Keto flour for this recipe.

Lemon Bar Remix

Maybe you love lemon bars but you’re looking for something new, try one of these fun twists for a whole new lemon bar experience. Just remember to keep an eye on your nutritional values.

• For even more lemon flavor, try adding some lemon zest to the cookie base as well as the topping.
• Try replacing half the almond flour with another nut flour like hazelnut or walnut. Just remember that different nuts have different carb counts.
• Or make pink lemonade bars! Simply replace half the lemon juice with raspberry puree. To make the puree run the raspberries through the food processor or blender and then strain.

Keto Lemon Bars

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• Author: Louise Hendon
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 16 servings 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

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Description

These bars are light on carbs and heavy on lemon flavor.

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Ingredients

For the crust – 

• 2 cups (240 g) almond flour
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) ghee
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
• Dash of salt

For the top – 

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) lemon juice – don’t skimp on this!
• 6 egg yolks
• 6 Tablespoons (90 ml) ghee
• 1/2 cup erythritol and stevia, to taste
• 1 Tablespoon (7 g) coconut flour
• Dash of salt
• Lemon zest, for topping

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9-by-13 baking pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.
3. Blend or whisk all the top filling ingredients together.  Pour on top of the crust.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until set.
5. Let cool and top with lemon zest.

Notes

All nutritional data are estimated and based on per serving amounts.

Net Carbs: 1 g

Nutrition

• Calories: 170
• Sugar: 1 g
• Fat: 17 g
• Carbohydrates: 3 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 2 g