Gluten-Free Lemon Blondies

       Okay, so this week I was stumped.  I just couldn't decide what recipe I wanted to make and present to the world.  I began to look around in my fridge for some inspiration, and I saw that I had a lot of lemons that needed to be used.  For reasons that have yet to be discovered, I had bought an overabundance of lemons, but at least now I had a flavor to build on.   Now I knew I was making something lemony but what???  

       Some of you may know that almost everything I post on my blog, I also sell in the health food store that I manage.  Recently, I have had a few customers mention that there haven't been enough 'healthy' treats for them.  Soooo…this is my answer for all of the people looking for a healthy, yummy dessert.  These delicious citrus bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, and can even be totally sugar-free if you are able to find unsweetened coconut milk yogurt.  Trying to make my own coconut yogurt is on my list of things to do!  I will post an update on that experiment when I have found a great recipe that works.  For now, let's enjoy...

 

You'll need:

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour

1 ¼ tsp xanthan gum

1 ¼ cup xylitol

½ tbsp salt

½ tbsp baking soda

½ cup coconut greek yogurt (I used Blueberry)

6 tbsp liquid coconut oil

6 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Zest of 2 lemons

1 tsp coconut flavor

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp lemon extract

4 eggs

 
½ cup dried blueberries

 Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 11X8 pan and set aside until needed.

   In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, xanthan gum, xylitol, salt, and baking soda.  Mix well.   

Add in coconut yogurt, coconut oil, and lemon juice then stir until well combined.  For this recipe, I used fractionated coconut oil which stays liquid at any temperature, but you could always just melt down regular coconut oil and use that instead.

   Next, add in the extracts and eggs and continue stirring until fully combined.  Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle dried blueberries evenly across the top of the batter.

Bake for 25 minutes then check to see if the top is a nice golden brown color and if a toothpick comes out clean.  Set aside and allow to cool completely before topping with coconut cream glaze.

 Coconut Cream Glaze

 2/3 Cup Coconut Manna or Butter

1 tbsp honey

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1tsp coconut flavor

2 tbsp coconut milk

9 drops vanilla crème stevia

In a glass bowl, melt the coconut manna until it's smooth and easy to stir.  You can either microwave it for 30 seconds or so, or set the bowl over a pot of hot water until melted.  Then mix in the honey followed by lemon juice and extracts.  Lastly, stir in the coconut milk and vanilla crème stevia.

 Pour glaze on top of the cooled bars and spread it evenly across the top. Garnish with another ½ cup of dried blueberries, if desired.  Serve and enjoy!