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    Home » DESSERTS

    Lemon Coconut Shortbread Bars

    Modified: Jan 4, 2023 by Susan Pridmore · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

    Easy dessert of lemon coconut shortbread bars for a casual nibble or throw in the picnic basket.

    Lemon bars with coconut and shortbread, with a twig of thyme, arranged on a plate.

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    Yes, I know I promised another recipe for my Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes next. But I've been thinking about posting desserts on Fridays, and here we are at Friday already. I swear yesterday was Monday, but somehow I slammed through TuesdayWednesdayThursday in the time it takes to make an omelet.

    When I was in school, Friday was dessert day. It was one of the only days we weren't on a strict schedule with dishes due up at specific times for judging.  Instead, Fridays were spread out like a blanket for a picnic, and the pace was, relatively speaking, more leisurely with excited chatter in the kitchen sprinkled with plans for the upcoming weekend.

    Each Friday had a focus. We might all make a variety of custard dishes one week, and candies the next. Piping meringues to make baskets for strawberries was a very fun day; my first attempt at constructing and decorating a sad-looking Princess cake a little less successful. At the end of the day, our projects were placed on a long wooden table to loud swoons. Finally, soaring on a sugar high from all the tasting, we split up the desserts to share (or hoard) over the weekend. For me, it was a great way to end a stressful week of trying to keep up with all the students who were soooo much younger than I.

    Ever since, Fridays conjure up images of dessert. And it's so practical, when you rationalize think about it. It gets you all set up for any weekend plans you might have with friends and family, or just by yourself.  So I'm kicking off this little Friday Desserts series with these little lemon shortbread bars. They're a great ending for a casual dinner or BBQ, or the perfect addition to a picnic you might have planned for this holiday weekend. If you don't want them right away, just cut them into squares and freeze them. When you're ready to eat one, or all of them,  just thaw on the counter for 30 minutes, or zap in the microwave for 20 seconds (depending on the strength of your microwave).

    Tomorrow, without fail, I promise to post another recipe for my Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes. But for today, I just want to relax with these little lemon treats and a great book I'm reading.

    Cook's Notes:

    • The recipe calls for baking the base first, but I've done it several times now without doing it. The consistency is a little more tender if you don't do a little prebaking, but it will definitely work.
    • I added ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves sprinkled over the lemon curd in my recent versions, with great success.
    • The best way to know it's done is to watch for a slight darkening of the crust around the edges. When that happens, I pull it from the oven. It will firm up as it cools. I don't remove the bars from the pan until they cool. This helps to retain their shape.
    • It might not seem that there's a great deal of coconut oil in the recipe, but the lemon and thyme is very easily overwhelmed by the coconut flavor, and I was looking for a hint of coconut while allowing the lemon to shine through.
    • I used a jar of lemon curd for this recipe, but you can absolutely make your own!

    I hope you enjoy these, and have a wonderful holiday weekend!!

    Want to Save This Recipe?

    Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

    Save Recipe
    Lemon bars with coconut and shortbread, with a twig of thyme, arranged on a plate.
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    Lemon-Coconut Shortbread Bars

    Easy dessert of lemon shortbread bars made with coconut oil, for a casual nibble or throw in a picnic basket.
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    Prep Time25 minutes mins
    Cook Time50 minutes mins
    Cooling time25 minutes mins
    Total Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Any
    Keyword: lemon coconut shortbread squares
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 149.4kcal
    Author: Susan Pridmore
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    Equipment

    • 8" X 8" Baking Dish
    • Parchment paper or aluminum foil
    • Food Processor
    • Bench Scraper
    • Cooling rack

    Ingredients

    Shortbread Base

    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
    • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, if you prefer
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
    • 3 tablespoons rice flour
    • 1 pinch kosher salt

    Lemon Filling

    • ⅓ cup of your favorite lemon curd

    Shortbread Topping

    • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
    • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 ½ tablespoons rice flour
    • 1 pinch kosher salt

    Instructions

    • Line an 8″ X 8″ square baking pan with parchment paper or foil. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.
    • Combine the Shortbread Base ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a blade. Pulse until it comes together into a ball of dough.
      Alternatively, use a pastry blender by hand.
    • Press the dough into the prepared baking dish, and flatten to evenly cover the bottom. Be sure to work the dough quickly with your fingers.
      If the dough becomes sticky, lightly flour your fingers. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, transfer it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
    • Dock the dough by poking it with the tines of a fork about 20 times. There will be a lot of fork holes all over the dough, to keep it from bubbling up during baking.
    • Slide the dish into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes, or until the dough begins to firm on the edges.
    • While the Base bakes, mix together the ingredients for the Shortbread Topping in the food processor, and wrap in plastic. Place in the refrigerator until the Shortbread Base is finished baking and cooled.
    • Remove the Shortbread Base from the oven, and cool. Increase the oven temperature to 375˚ F.
      Spread the lemon curd evenly across the top once the Base is cooled.
    • Remove the Shortbread Topping from the refrigerator and tear into pieces. Flatten the pieces with the heel of your hand on a workspace, scrape them up using a bench scraper, and arrange on top of the lemon curd.
      It’s fine to overlap the Topping in places, leaving little openings to allow the curd to ooze through during baking. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
    • Cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a cooling rack. This is a very tender cookie bar, and will harden slightly during cooling, making it easy to handle.

    Notes

      • The recipe calls for baking the base first, but I've done it several times now without doing it. The consistency is a little more tender if you don't do a little prebaking, but it will definitely work.
      • I added ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves sprinkled over the lemon curd in my recent versions, with great success.
      • The best way to know it's done is to watch for a slight darkening of the crust around the edges. When that happens, I pull it from the oven. It will firm up as it cools. I don't remove the bars from the pan until they cool. This helps to retain their shape.
      • It might not seem that there's a great deal of coconut oil in the recipe, but the lemon and thyme is very easily overwhelmed by the coconut flavor, and I was looking for a hint of coconut while allowing the lemon to shine through.
      • I used a jar of lemon curd for this recipe, but you can absolutely make your own!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 149.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.6g | Protein: 1.2g | Fat: 9.4g | Saturated Fat: 6.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 18.8mg | Sodium: 20.1mg | Potassium: 12.9mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 7.5g | Vitamin A: 218.7IU | Calcium: 3.6mg | Iron: 0.4mg
    « Umbrian Lentils & Roasted Tomatoes
    Smoked Trout Deviled Eggs »

    About Susan Pridmore

    Susan Pridmore is an award-winning cookbook author and the owner of The Wimpy Vegetarian. She has been featured in Huffington Post, Healthline, BuzzFeed, and has written for and developed recipes for The Food Network and Parade Magazine. She is professionally trained and focuses on easy vegetarian recipes for busy lives, bread-baking, and tips for new vegetarians. Susan lives in the mountains in Lake Tahoe with her husband and mini-labradoodle.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. lizthechef

      May 24, 2013 at 1:27 pm

      Yum - lemon and thyme, a favorite combo of mine. I'm working on updating my mom's shortbread recipe to include both. Yours is gorgeous -

      Reply
    2. TasteFood

      May 24, 2013 at 1:48 pm

      While I love your tomatoes, I am very happy to see these sweet things instead!

      Reply
    3. apuginthekitchen

      May 24, 2013 at 2:16 pm

      I am happy you digressed and posted this delicious recipe. I love anything with citrus. This sounds wonderful!

      Reply
    4. Liz

      May 24, 2013 at 5:24 pm

      Beautiful bars, Susan! I love just the hint of coconut!

      Reply
    5. Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious

      May 28, 2013 at 9:46 am

      That looks magnificent! I wonder....I don't have rice flour. Wonder if I could sub cornstarch? Whaddya think?

      Reply
    6. chopping board set

      August 06, 2013 at 3:30 am

      The important information above is actually helpful. I have uncovered quite a few ideas guidelines.

      Reply

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