I was taking food to a family who had recently had a baby and wanted to treat them to a healthy, yummy dessert. I was kind of over the whole chocolate thing (at least for a couple days haha) and wanted something lighter that reminded me of warmer, sunnier days. Which led to the creation of these lemon bars!
Think salty and sweet pie crust meets a sweet and sour filling that will remind you of the creamiest, dreamiest lemon cheesecake ever. These were absolutely divine and as always vegan! And I went the extra step to make them gluten-free and refined sugar free since our friends were avoiding it.
The winter days are gray and loooooong right now….lighten things up with these yummy bars!
Enjoy!
Vegan, Gluten-Free Creamy Lemon Bars
Author: Desserted Planet
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 Stick (1/2 c.) Vegan Butter
- ½ c. Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener (or xylitol, stevia, etc)
- ½ t. Sea Salt
- 1 t. Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1½ c. Bob's Red Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 2-3 t. Lemon Zest
Lemon Filling
- 1, 14 oz. Pkg. Extra-Firm Tofu, liquid drained
- ¾ c. Raw Cashews
- 1 c. Fresh Lemon Juice (5-6 large lemons)
- ¼ t. Sea Salt
- 1 T. Lemon Zest
- 1 c. Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener (or xylitol, stevia, etc)
- 6 T. Lakanto Powdered Monkfruit Sweetener, plus more for dusting bars
- 3 T. Cornstarch
- 1 t. Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, monkfruit sweetener, sea salt and vanilla until everything is smooth and creamy.
- Beat in flour and lemon zest. Gently press down into the bottom of the 9x9 pan with your hands.
- Bake for 5 minutes then allow to cool. Make filling while the crust bakes/cools.
For the Filling
- Place the tofu, cashews, lemon juice, salt, lemon zest and classic monkfruit sweetener into a high powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add the powdered monkfruit and cornstarch and blend again on high until everything is well combined.
- Pour evenly onto the prepared crust and bake for 35-40 minutes until the filling is set.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack and then chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- Dust with powdered monkfruit sweetener just before serving.
Notes
Makes 16 bars.
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