Lemon squares (gluten and dairy free)

I love lemon desserts. I love anything with lemon, actually. Growing up, my mother made the BEST lemon squares in the world. While it's tough to compete with the taste of butter and white flour in baking, these Meyer Lemon Bars are truly amazing. I did not change a thing.

The crust will come out nice and crispy, but as some commented on the original post, it will get soggy after after a few days. Eat up! Also, the recipe calls for Meyer lemons, including the peel. You will need extra sweetener if you use regular lemons which are not as sweet.

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour, aka almond meal
• 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Lemon Topping:

• 1 whole organic Meyer lemon, washed (organic or unsprayed)
• 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (approx 2 additional lemons)
• 4 large organic eggs, at room temperature
• 4 teaspoons tapioca starch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (make sure it isn’t too hot when you add it in, you don’t want it to cook the eggs)
• Unsweetened shredded coconut for topping or the traditional powdered sugar works, too.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. 
2. Line an 8-inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one going in each direction. 
3. In a medium bowl, mix all of the crust ingredients together. You may want to get your hands in there to really get it mixed together well. This will be a thick crumbly crust that you will need press onto bottom of pan. Make sure it is even and gets into the corners. 
4. Place in oven to pre-bake the crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven.
5. While the crust is baking, cut the whole lemon in half, remove the seeds, and cut the lemon into chunks. Put the chunks of lemon in a food processor or blender (Vitamix works well!) along with the honey and additional lemon juice, and let it run until the lemon is completely broken up. 
6. Add the eggs, arrowroot powder, salt, and melted coconut oil and blend until almost smooth. (A few tiny bits of lemon pieces are ok and totally encouraged.)
7. Once the crust comes out of the oven, lower the temperature of the oven to 300ºF. Pour the lemon topping over the hot crust and bake for 25 minutes or just until the filling is no longer jiggling and is barely set.
8. Remove the bars from the oven and let them cool completely. Once totally cool, carefully lift out the bars out grasping the parchment paper. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. 
9. Add shredded coconut or sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving, if desired.

These bars will keep covered or in an airtight container at room temperature up to three days (I prefer them cold, from the fridge). The crust will definitely get soggy as they sit, however. You can also freeze the lemon bars for up to one month, letting them come to room temperature before serving.