Luscious Low Sugar Lemon Bars

I was in the mood for something lemony and with it being January and me making slightly healthier treats this month, I thought perhaps a lemon bar with less sugar and less fat might be in order.
Proper lemon bars are gorgeous, a crumbly biscuit bottom topped with a gooey, sweet and tart lemon curd topping - it is a divine treat.

So I looked online for a bit of lemonspiration and came up with my take on these lemon bars which have zero fat in the lemon topping and only some stevia sweetener to add a touch of sweetness.
The cookie base is where the real sweetness comes in, but it’s only from coconut sugar which is a low GI, high in potassium type of sugar. There is also coconut oil to hold the base together.

I baked the base, which also contains oats and pecan nuts, so it was lightly browned and let it cool, ready for the topping.
And the healthier lemon topping consists mainly of 0% fat Greek yoghurt which I had drained overnight. This gets rid of a lot of liquid from the yoghurt, leaving a thicker consistency, much better for topping the bars with. I added some lemon flavouring, real lemon juice and zest, and vanilla extract to the drained yoghurt, plus one packet of stevia sweetener (about 1gram) and a teaspoon of cornflour.

This then got slathered on the biscuit base and baked in the oven for only 5 minutes. This activates the cornflour, making the topping much thicker so it holds its shape when cooled and sliced into bars.This is such a decadent treat, even in a healthier version, with the buttery, crumbly base and topped with the extremely creamy lemon infused topping.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.
The recipe is adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie and minimalist baker recipes.
Here’s how I made it…
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Low Sugar Lemon Barsby S Vettese January-23-2017Lemon bars made from yoghurt and a coconut sugar baseIngredients

• 90 grams porridge oats
• 110 grams pecan nuts
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 60 grams coconut oil , melted
• 1 liter 0% fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon flavouring
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of half lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 1 gram (1 packet) stevia sweetener

InstructionsThe night before you are making your bars, line a sieve with a couple of sheets of clean kitchen roll. Pour in the yoghurt and sit the sieve over a bowl. Let the liquid drain out in the fridge overnight.Next day, line an 8”x8” baking tin with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 180C.In a blender, pulse together the oats, pecans, salt and coconut sugar until they resemble a breadcrumb like texture.Transfer to a bowl and stir in the maple syrup and coconut oil until the mix comes together when pressed.Transfer this to the prepared baking tin and press down firmly so the crumb mix is even over the base of the tin.Bake in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes or just until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Leave the oven at 180C.Take the drained yoghurt and transfer this to another bowl.Add the lemon flavouring, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, stevia sweetener and cornflour to the yoghurt and stir to combine.Pour this over the cooled biscuit base and level with an off-set spatula and place in the 180C oven for 5 minutes only.Remove and allow to cool on the worktop and then transfer to the fridge to cool for a couple of hours.Slice into squares, bars, whatever shape takes your fancy and enjoy the tangy lemon topping with the sweet, buttery base!DetailsPrep time: 25 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 24 squares approx.