Lemon Raspberry Swirl Bars

[jacksmixedtape]

All natural gluten-free lemon bars with a swirl of raspberry! For all natural sweetening, use erythritol and stevia. They would probably work with splenda as well.

More photos here at my blog.

Healthy Raspberry Lemon Swirl Bars

Makes eight bars

Ingredients:

Shortbread crust:
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon erythritol
1/4 teaspoon pure stevia extract (I use NuNaturals)
Pinch sea salt
1/2 cup plus two tablespoons almond meal
1/4 cup oat or buckwheat flour (Oat flour is a lot prettier!)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum
1 teaspoon acacia gum (optional)

Filling:
2 organic eggs
3/4 cup erythritol
1/8 teaspoon pure stevia extract
1/4 cup organic lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
Pinch sea salt
1/8 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum
2 teaspoons acacia gum (optional)

Raspberry Swirl:
1/4-1/2 cup organic raspberries
1 teaspoon organic lemon juice
1 teaspoon erythritol
Fresh raspberries for garnish

Preparation:
Soften butter for shortbread. Powder erythritol in coffee grinder or blender. Cream butter and erythritol together, then work in flours and gums with a fork until thoroughly combined. Add a pinch of salt and stevia. You want it to be a bit sweeter from the stevia than you can stand it, because some of the stevia's sweetness breaks down under heat. Press or spread into an 8" by 4" loaf pan lined with buttered parchment. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Let crust cool while you prepare the filling. Stick it in the freezer to speed the process.

Powder erythritol. Beat erythritol with eggs, lemon juice, and zest. Add gums. Add a pinch of sea salt and stevia to taste. Pour over shortbread crust.

Puree raspberries with lemon juice and erythritol. Strain through a mesh collander, pushing the puree through with a spatula, if you don't want seeds in your bars. Drop raspberry puree onto lemon filling in different spots and swirl with the spatula. Dot batter with fresh raspberries if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until just set. I left the center of mine slightly jiggly, and it firmed up after cooling.

[jerikay]

your bars are beautiful!!

[rosethorns]

oooooooooooooo That looks great!!!!!!!1

[Nigel]

mmmm....those look and sound so good!! Thank you for the recipe.

[Cats for Texas]

You create such great stuff.

[sungoddess]

Your recipes are divine. Can't wait for a cookbook of yours. I have to eat gluten-free.
Can you sub xanthan gum do you think??

Beautiful photos too!!

[fitnfree]

They look wonderful - sounds like those are well worth the work! nummmmy!

[Tweaker Geek]

Sun - Lauren's recipe uses either xanthan or guar.

Lauren - those look wonderful!

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by Tweaker Geek

Sun - Lauren's recipe uses either xanthan or guar.

Lauren - those look wonderful!

sorry, yes, what I meant to ask is should we use more xanthan gum in place of the optional acacia gum . Thx

[Pam]

Lauren....do you use granular or powdered Erythritol?

[ragtopwife]

those are so beautiful! Cant wait to try the recipe! Thanks

[jacksmixedtape]

Thanks, y'all! Someone give 'em a try and report back, pretty please.

Originally Posted by sungoddess

sorry, yes, what I meant to ask is should we use more xanthan gum in place of the optional acacia gum . Thx

Hi sungoddess, the acacia gum stops the erythritol from turning into crunchy crystals. I like the crunch and don't care that they're not smooth like regular lemon bars. There's not really a sub for it, since xanthan/guar gum gets slimey if you use too much!

Lauren....do you use granular or powdered Erythritol?

Hey Pam, I start out with granular and powder it in my magic bullet or coffee grinder for this recipe. I always start with granular so it's easier to measure and use for cakes and other baked goods that need it to be granular.