Intolerances: Fructose, Gluten, Soy
Sweet and tart like the traditional lemon bar with a surprise pistachio cookie crust.

Growing up, lemon bars weren’t a treat that my mom made often, but they were always at a party, church gathering, bridal shower, etc. They are one of those desserts that you don’t always treat yourself too (although I’m not sure why), but when you do have them, you can’t get enough of them. I love the traditional lemon bar and I didn’t want to change it up too much, but I also wanted to make sure I added a few alterations to bring something different to the table. Adding vanilla and pistachios to the crust gives it a bit more crunch and a lot more flavor, not to mention that it pairs perfectly with the tart lemon. Sometimes I feel like the crust is an afterthought on the bar, just a vessel to hold the filling; I wanted to do something different and give the crust texture and purpose. I don’t want you to crave the lemon bar for the lemon, but for the lemon with the crust.

Serve With:

• Coffee
• Chardonnay
• Champagne

What you need:

• 9×13 pan Lined in Parchment Paper
• Sharp Knife
• Food Processor
• Mixing Bowl and Spoon
• Whisk
• Gluten Free Flour (Better Batter All Purpose Flour)
• Powdered Sugar
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Unsalted Butter
• Lemons, Juice and Zest
• Shelled Roasted Pistachios
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Kosher Salt

The Crust

The first thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 350°, that way it is ready to go when your crust is complete. Next, melt the butter. I like to melt the butter in a microwave safe dish on power level 3-4, to prevent splattering/exploding butter (and an extremely messy microwave). In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, powdered sugar, melted butter and vanilla and whisk/stir. Next, in a food processor, chop up the pistachios. You are not trying to make pistachio butter, you just want to get a good chop on the nuts. Once this is done, add the nuts to the flour mixture and give it a good stir so that it is incorporated.

Next, line the baking dish with parchment paper. Pour/dump the dough into the pan and use your hands to press the crust into an even layer (this will be a thick batter). Bake for 20 minutes and remove.

Side Note: You can replace the butter with dairy free butter or ghee to make this dairy free.

The Filling

While the crust is baking, it is time to make the filling. I only have one food processor, so I do a quick clean out of the processor to get all of the pistachio bits out. Next, you want to zest the 3 lemons. Make sure that you give them a good wash/rinse first. Add the sugar and zest to the food processor. Pulse the sugar until you can see it starting to turn light yellow (you are trying to get the lemon zest incorporated into the sugar as much as you can). Now that the lemons are zested, you will need to juice them. It really depends on how big your lemons are, but I would guess that you will need 5-8 lemons. I like to juice the lemons directly into my measuring cup to ensure I have the perfect amount. Next, crack your eggs into a separate bowl and give them a good whisk. Now, it is time to mix everything together. In a large bowl, add the sugar mixture, flour, eggs and lemon juice. Whisk everything so that it nice and smooth and pour into the crust.

The Bars

Put your lemon bars back into the 350° oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. It is ok for the filling to have a slight jiggle when you remove it from the oven, as it will set up a bit more once it starts cooling. You do not want to serve these hot, but definitely serve them warm, once dusted with powdered sugar. You can also serve these chilled (maybe my preferred way to eat them). If you are serving them chilled, wait to dust with powdered sugar until right before serving.

Side Note: These will keep in the fridge for up to a week, but please note that the crust will begin to soften a bit towards the end of the week (although it will not lose its flavor). Additionally, you can certainly freeze these for up to 3 months. Just wrap them with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container. Again, wait to add final touches like powdered sugar until they are thawed.