lemon bars - gluten free + dairy free

as you can tell, i've been on a blogging hiatus. i've been very busy with work lately. was in vegas at a convention and now am back in the office catching up on work. i've also been nailing down photo shoots! this past weekend i took pics for another colleague. see them here: www.flickr.com/katiemaryjones . i'm thrilled that folks are noticing my photography and want me to take their pics and i cant wait to purchase some new equipment. i already have another 3 gigs lined up over the next two months!

back to the topic at hand - food. my mom is in town and told me that she had contemplated baking lemon bars and mailing them out to me. ha! did she know that i had been testing lemon bar receipes? i told her about my  failed attempts at making my own allergy friendly version. in doing so, i attempted to make sweetened condensed soy milk. 6 hours and one dead arm (from constant stirring) later i had a disgustingly sweet grey-brown goo. despite that i continued making the bars - disasterous. they turned out mushy and super acidic. acidic to the point that they irritated my thoat after eating them. after telling my mom this she looked surpised. apparently her version was dairy free by default. so we decided to make lemon bars yesterday. the best part of all, they taste good!

lemony love.

lemon bars

• 1 c graham crackers (gluten free)
• 1 tbsp palm shortening
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs
• confectioners sugar (optional, for dusting)

preheat oven to 350 - cooking rack placed in center. in a bowl combine grahan cracker crumbles with palm shortening - i used a pastry cutter to do so. press mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 pan - create a 1/2 inch 'wall' of crust on the sides of the pan. bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

meanwhile, combine sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, baking powder, salt and eggs in a stand mixer and combine on high speed for 3 minutes, until fluffy. pour mixture on top of hot crust, then return pan to oven to bake 25-30 minutes. test for doneness by lightly touching the surface of the lemon mixture. you'll know its done if your finger doesnt leave an indentation. cool on a wire rack, then place in fridge until completely cooled - around an hour. dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

to be honest, this def isnt a finalized version. the lemon filling was absorb into the crust a bit, so there was no clear definition between the two 'layers'. i was so happy to have a good tasting product that i decided to go ahead and blog about them. my intentions are to tweek the recipe to the point that they look exactly like a regular lemon bar.

wishing you all a restful and peaceful weekend! and be sure to check out these great blogs -
little brick ranch
paisley passions
stuff and nonsense
at the picket fence
sweet as sugar cookies