This recipe from the Farm Journal Country Cookbook is not your usual lemon bar. The lemon is in the very, very thin glaze that is poured over the warm pecan-coconut bars. Delicious and different, they were good with coffee and they froze well too. They need to be cut into small squares, as they are very rich.
Lemon Coconut Squares
Crust:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
Filling:
2 large eggs -- beaten
1 cup brown sugar -- firmly packed
1 ½ cups coconut -- shredded
1 cup pecans -- chopped
2 tablespoons flour, all-purpose
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter -- melted
1 lemon -- For juice
Mix together crust ingredients; pat down well in a buttered 13 x 9” pan (I used a quarter-sheet pan lined with parchment paper). Bake in 275° oven 10 minutes. Remove from oven, increase oven temperature to 350°.
Combine filling ingredients, spread on top of baked mixture. Bake 20 minutes in 350° oven.
While warm (not hot), spread with frosting made from combined frosting ingredients. Cut into 24 squares. "One 13 x 9" pan"
$3.79 or 16¢ per square
Per Serving: 175 Calories; 10g Fat (47.6% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 22g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 29mg Cholesterol; 87mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.
I found this recipe in one of Farm Journal's cookbooks, which was a wedding gift. These bars are wonderful, so wonderful that despite many years without them, I remember exactly how they tasted and today searched, and found, against all odds, the recipe. I'll take this opportunity to say that I never used a recipe in that book that failed...even if I hadn't tried it before inviting guests, I knew that any recipe I used would be successful, and it was. If you need a truly distinguished bar, make these...they have just enough raggedy edges to appear totally confident, the taste is complex with the lemon accenting the richness in an exciting subtle way, and the juicy crunch is delicious. If you can find frozen grated coconut, without preservatives and/or added sugar, the bars will have a totally authentic flavor...I've never tried using fresh coconut, but that's probably the pinnacle!
ReplyDeleteI too received that book as a wedding gift, in 1970, and despite being taped together now and well worn from use, it is still my go to resource for older recipes. And this is one of my two very favorite recipes from it! Also my sons favorite for all his 47 years. I put red and green sugar on it at Christmas. The other is the cinnamon leaf ring, which I’ve made every Christmas season for almost that long. I encourage you to try both!
ReplyDeleteI have this cookbook and I must make this recipe! It sounds and looks delicious!
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