Coconut Lime Bars (AKA Lemon Bars)

Coconut Lime Bars

A friend of mine posted on Facebook this week that they were making Lemon Bars.  That was a family favorite growing up and I had not realized til then that I had not made them since I was a kid.  My kids NEVER tasted one of my favorite desserts!  You already know what that meant ;)

I compiled my own recipe by pulling from the components of what has been favorites in our family and modified them to fit the recipe.  We used my Coconut Pecan Pie Crust for the crust and since we always have Limes on hand, I chose to use Limes instead of Lemons.  It just seemed like a perfect finish to sprinkle coconut over the top. I hope you enjoy it as much as our family did!  It's sure going to be favorite in our home!

Coconut Lime Bars

Crust

1 1/2 cups Pecans

*  *  *  *

1 cup Shredded Coconut

1/2 cup Tapioca Flour

1/2 cup White Sugar

1/3 cup Butter, Melted

1) In food processor pulse pecans til largest pieces are about the size of sesame seeds then transfer to medium bowl.  You may have to divide the pecans and do 2 batches if your food processor is a small one.

2) Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well.

3) Press into a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake 350 in preheated oven for 9 minutes or til top appears dry or edges golden.

4) While crust is baking work on the filling.

Filling

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 Large Limes Juiced (close to 1/2 cup juice)
4 TBSP Rice Flour

4 TBSP Tapioca Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder

*  *  *  *

3/4-1 cup Shredded Coconut

5) Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and whip together using a beater or stand mixer for 3 mins.  You want lots of air incorporated, so a beater/mixer will be best, but if you don't have one, you can whisk quickly with your hand til well incorporated.

6) Pour over hot crust and sprinkle the coconut shreds over the top.

7) Bake 350 in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or til edges and coconut are golden.

Fudge Brownies

These can also be made into pre-made mixes by bagging the 1st cluster of ingredients-  Then adding the 2nd cluster when you are ready to make them. When I make my mixes I do 10 at a time and include a post-it note with any remaining ingredients and other instructions and then place all the mixes and the note in a container together.

Fudge Brownies

3/4 cup Walnuts

1 cup Semi Sweet Mini Chocolate chips

1/3 cup Coco Powder

1/6 cup Finely Ground Wild Rice
1/6 cup Tapioca Flour

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 tsp Guar Gum

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

* * * *

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 Cup Water
2 Eggs

1/2 cup Melted Butter

*If you can't have butter, melt the chocolate most of the way and then use coconut cream instead of the butter.

Mix all ingredients together and bake 350 in greased glass 9 x 13 inch baking dish for 25-30 minutes.

Very Berry Coconut Macaroons

With Valentines Day approaching your mind naturally deviates to reds, pinks, baking, and most definitely SWEETS!  It is that time of the year and most definitely one of those times that all enjoy!  In honor of Valentines Day I thought I might make some cookies that were on the Valentines Day theme.  Marachino Cherries seemed like a good pick to start with.  I originally was going to use some of the liquid from the cherries as an extract to boost the flavor, but the liquid is actually not so very tasty, so I used the extract from another red berry-  Raspberry Extract.  The combination of the two really made for an excellent flavor too!

In the cookies pictured I used coconut sugar which is slightly darker than brown sugar.  The pink color was barely tinged by the darkness of the sugar.

Very Berry Coconut Macaroons

2 eggs
3/4 cup Sugar (I used coconut sugar in the cookies in the picture)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Raspberry Extract
1/3 cup Rice Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 1/2 cups Coconut 
1/4 cup Chopped Marachino Cherries, well drained (abt 15)
Red Food Coloring (4-8 drops)

Thoroughly mix first 4 ingredients in Medium sized mixing bowl. Then add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Drop on to cookie sheet in tablespoon drops shaped in a ball. Bake 325 for 20 minutes. Then raise temperature to 350 for an additional 3-5 minutes.

 

*If you have an allergy to egg, you can use 2 small-medium bananas instead of eggs.  Bananas will only slightly affect the flavor.