Paleo Lemon Bar Recipe

So what's the best part of a new diet? Finding all the treats that fit into it.  I did some research and found the a recipe for paleo lemon bars.  I made them this past weekend and they are delicious.  Be warned, they are very sweet and heavy which makes them great but if you're someone, like me, who thinks they can polish it off in one sitting, it will present a challenge.  The ingredients call for honey, which I normally would stay away from just because I don't want the extra sugar but as a treat, I allowed it.  I will post the instructions and pictures here and also link you to where I found the original recipe thanks to a CrossFit affiliate. 

Ingredients for Topping:

• 3 whole cage-free eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice

Ingredients for Crust:

• 1 cup of almonds
• 1 cup of pecans (or other nut, I used cashews)
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/2 cup of melted unrefined coconut oil
• 2 whole cage-free eggs
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions for the topping:
I started with the topping to allow it time to cool.  I started by taking a sauce pan and blending the eggs, honey, and lemon juice together.  After they are blended, I turned on the heat to about medium-high and slowly added the coconut oil.  I would probably add it all at once or all in small pieces.  I stirred until the mixture begins to solidify and bubble.  You will see the mixture thicken and in my case, the oil didn't melt before it thickened (which is why I would add it in small pieces and not the glob I used).  Once it got to the point where it started bubbling, I placed the topping in a bowl and put it in the fridge to solidify further.

Instructions for the crust:
I only had a 1/2 cup of almonds so I used that with the other nut I had in the house, cashews.  So I put the 1/2 cup of almonds and the 1 1/2 cup of cashews in a food processor and pulsed them to where they were finely chopped.  I stopped often and mixed the nuts up so that I didn't turn the nuts into a butter.  Having some nut chunks is fine.  From there, I placed the rest of the ingredients (honey, coco oil, eggs, sea salt) in the food processor and pulsed a few times until everything was well mixed and had something that resembled a chunky batter.  I placed the batter into a coconut oil greased 9 x 9 inch baking pan I had and placed it into the oven that was preheated to 400 degrees.  I let that bake for about 10 minutes.  I took it out, placed a knife in and it came out pretty clean.  I placed the crust onto a cooling rack for a while.  Be gentle because the crust will come out very soft like a cake. 

When everything was cool, I placed the cake onto a plate, spread out the topping across it and placed it back in the fridge for a little while until after dinner.  What came out was an awesome dessert.

I found this recipe from EAT THIS.  Check them out!