Lemon bars are lemon stars!

LEMON BARS ...

I am a lemon bar fanatic.  As a vegetarian, I would make them on the regular using eggs.  However, vegan lemon bars cannot contain any animal by-products.  Consequently, now when I want some lemon bars, I simply tweak a recipe from one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, Veganomicon.  There are a few vegan recipe books I highly recommend, and as I use recipes from them (whether I tweak them or not), I'll let you know what they are.  I will not post recipes that I have not tweaked because I believe that to be unethical without being given expressed permission by the author.  In the cases that I do not tweak the recipes, I'll simply refer you to the book.

These lemon bars are made by substituting the egg ingredients with agar.  As a mentioned before in my previous blogs on gummy bars and vegan jello, agar is a nutritious seaweed and vegans use it to gel various foods, especially desserts.  Agar combined with fresh organic lemons are both essential parts of this dessert. You want to make sure you only use organic lemons for this recipe because you zest the lemons and you want to avoid any harmful pesticides that may be on lemons not grown organically.  

Lemons are so good for you!  Let's talk a bit about their nutritional composition.  One lemon provides vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin C) and minerals (calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc), but it is widely known as a source for Vitamin C.  One lemon provides 139% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C.  This is important to fight sickness, such as the flu, and boost the immune system.  Lemons also have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which also make it a great food for healing.  They also have a variety of other uses. For example, to relieve constipation and flush the liver, enjoy at the start of each morning a warm (almost hot) cup of water with 1/2 of a lemon squeezed into it.  Who doesn't know that lemon water (sans the sugar) aids in weight loss?  If you didn't, now you know.  Google the other wonderful nutritional and health benefits of lemons!

Lemons just aren't a tough sell!.  They have a wonderful scent, which is used in a variety of cleaning products, but they are also one of my go-to foods when cooking.  Lemon add a tart and tangy flavor to many recipes.  Who doesn't love lemonade in the summer?  It's refreshing!  Many desserts are made with lemons as well.  As I said before, I love lemon bars because lemon bars are lemon stars to me!

Once set, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into slices.

LEMON BARS (about 24 small squares)

Crust:

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose winter spelt flour
• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine (8 tablespoons)

Filling:

• 1 1/3 cups water
• 3 tsp agar powder
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (1 large organic lemon)
• 1 1/4 cups cane sugar
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 3 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup So Delicious Coconut milk, unsweetened
• confectioners’ sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. 
2. Pulse the spelt and sugar in a food processor, then add the margarine in spoonfuls and pulse to blend the mixture spreadable.  With a spatula, spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan, evening the layer and forming slightly raised sides to hold the filling. Bake the unfilled crust for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and let cool.
3. While crust is baking, prepare the filling.  In a sauce pan, let agar powder dissolve in the water for about 30 minutes.  Zest the lemons and squeeze the lemon juice.  Mix the arrowroot into the lemon juice to dissolve.
4. Once the agar has been dissolved for 5-10 minutes, turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.  Boil for about 3-5 minutes, or until the agar is completely dissolved.  
5. Add turmeric into the agar first and combine and then add sugar and combine, and boil until they have dissolved, about 3 minutes.  
6. Turn down the heat to medium and add the arrowroot mixture, then add the lemon zest and coconut milk.  Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes, but do not rapidly boil (low bubbling allowed).
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.  Let cool for 20-30 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours (I usually make it at night and let it refrigerate overnight), until the filling has set, slightly jiggly.  Use a fine-mesh strainer to sprinkle the bars with confectioners’ sugar.  Slice in squares and serve.

To serve, sprinkle a bit more powdered sugar and
watch them disappear!

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If you like lemon bars, tell me all about it!  I'd love to hear from you!