For those embracing a ketogenic lifestyle, finding satisfying desserts can sometimes be a challenge. These keto lemon bar cookies offer a perfectly balanced solution, delivering a burst of citrusy flavor without the guilt. These are tender cookie cups filled with creamy keto lemon curd!
Introduction: Celebrating Spring with Keto Lemon Treats
Spring is the perfect time for lemon desserts, and these keto lemon bar cookies are a delightful way to celebrate the season. With a sweet-tart flavor that's both refreshing and satisfying, these cookies are sure to become a favorite. If you're looking for a bright, happy treat that aligns with your keto goals, look no further.
The Inspiration Behind the Recipe
Inspired by a recipe from Six Sisters Stuff, this keto-friendly version utilizes cookie cups from Keto Boston Cream Pie Bites and ever-popular keto lemon curd. A key tip is to form the wells in the cookies after they've been baking for a bit, preventing the edges from cracking when pressed into the muffin cups.
Key Ingredients: Simple and Keto-Friendly
These adorable lemon treats are essentially keto sugar cookies transformed into tiny tart shells, filled with sugar-free lemon curd. Dusted with a little keto sweetener, they taste just like traditional lemon bars. No crazy products are needed here, just basic keto baking ingredients.
- Almond Flour: The base of the cookie dough, providing a light and fine texture. Other nut flours or seed meals can be used, but the cookies may not be as light in color.
- Erythritol-Based Sweetener: Crucial for achieving crisp cookies. Swerve or Lakanto work well.
- Powdered Sweetener: Used in the filling to avoid grittiness.
- Lemon Juice and Zest: Essential for the signature lemon flavor.
- Eggs: Contribute to the richness and texture of both the cookie cups and the lemon curd.
Making the Keto Lemon Bar Cookies: Step-by-Step
Preparing the Pan
A silicone mini muffin pan or silicone muffin liners are highly recommended for this recipe. Parchment liners can also be used, but the cookie cups may brown more quickly.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Making the Cookie Dough
This is an almond flour recipe, although you could use other nut flours or seed meals. However, the cookies won’t be as fine or as light in color if you switch out the flour.
Rolling into Balls
Try to get 24 balls, which means making them just barely 1-inch in diameter. Leave them as balls at this point and bake for 5 minutes. Allowing the cookies to bake for a bit softens the dough so that it cracks less as you press it into the pan.
Pressing Wells into the Center
Use a blunt, rounded instrument like teaspoon or the end of a wooden spoon, or even your thumb. I use the end of my stone pestle, as it’s the perfect thickness.
Baking Until Just Barely Golden
To mimic lemon bars, you want the cookie cups to be quite light in color.
Remove and Let Cool
If the wells in your cookies have puffed up a bit, reshape them when the cookies are still warm.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Prepare a Half Recipe of Keto Lemon Curd
This is a very simple recipe and results in deliciously tangy-sweet curd.
Spoon into the Cookies
Let the curd cool for a few minutes and then spoon it directly into the cookie cups.
Dust with Powdered Sweetener
To get that classic lemon bar look, dust the cookies lightly with powdered sweetener before serving.
Recipe
Cookie Cups
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line a mini muffin pan with 24 silicone liners (or use a silicone mini muffin pan).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in the melted butter, egg white, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
- Roll the dough into scant 1 inch balls and place in the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake 5 minutes in ball form, then remove from the oven and use your thumb, a rounded teaspoon, or another blunt rounded instrument to press a deep well into the center of each ball.
- Bake another 10 to 12 minutes, until just browning lightly on the edges.
- Remove and let cool completely in the pan. If the wells in your cookies have puffed up a bit, reshape them when the cookies are still warm.
- Once cool, pop the cookie cups out of the silicone molds.
Lemon Curd Filling
- In a glass or ceramic bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, sweetener, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Watch carefully as it will thicken all of a sudden.
- Immediately remove from heat and add the butter. Let sit a few minutes to melt and then whisk until smooth and creamy.
- Let cool 15 minutes.
- Spoon the curd into the cookie cups, filling all the way to the top.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour to firm up, then dust lightly with powdered sweetener.
- Serve cold or room temperature.
Tips and Considerations for Baking
- Lemon Zest is Key: The lemon zest is an important part of this recipe, so don’t skip the step! Zesting a lemon can be done with a microplane or zester, usually found on most cheese graters. Only zest the yellow and avoid getting down to the white pith, which is very bitter. Even more than the lemon juice, it is the lemon zest that gives these fancy dessert bars their bold lemon flavor. So do be sure to include this ingredient. To make your own lemon zest, simply wash a lemon and use a zester or grater to shred the peel. If you don’t have one of these gadgets, use a vegetable peeler.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Use FRESH LEMON JUICE in these keto lemon bars. That bottled stuff just won’t taste the same. Since you need lemon zest anyway, you might as well take a few seconds to juice the lemons you’re zesting for a superior lemon flavor.
- Don't Overbake: Keep an eye on the crust. You’ll add the lemon filling the second it’s done baking. Don’t overbake the bars.
- Cooling is Crucial: Avoid rapid temperature changes by letting the bars cool. First cool them for a few minutes in a turned off oven for five to ten minutes.
Variations and Substitutions
- Almond Allergy: If you are allergic to almonds, can I use coconut flour?No, coconut flour will not work in this recipe. You can try using sunflower seed flour, but be sure to add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to offset the green reaction.
- Sweetener Options: If you want crisp cookies, you must use an eyrthritol-based sweetener in that part of the recipe. Swerve or Lakanto both work very well. For the filling, you want to use a powdered sweetener to avoid any grittiness. I do find that allulose requires more time to set properly in a custard or curd like this.
- Yogurt: Or if you want to change up the flavor, try substituting vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, or even blueberry yogurt. Sugar free lemon blueberry bars?
Storage Instructions
Lemon curd is a custard-style dessert and is thus best served within a few days. Store the completed lemon bar cookies in the fridge in a covered container for up to 4 days.
Freezing Instructions
To freeze: Place bars in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
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Nutritional Information and Keto Considerations
This recipe for keto lemon bars is an absolute low carb dream! With only 4g of net carbs per serving, you'll be happy to indulge in this bright and tangy treat without a shred of guilt!
The fruit in this recipe is lemons…which are about 3.4g net carbs per fruit. And you're not using very much of it so the carbs stay low!