Vegan Lemon Bars

If you love citrus as much as I do, you will fall head over heels for these delicious lemon bars. 

My grandma on my mother's lives in Costa Rica. When I go to visit her in the summer, I always see her slicing up lemons and squeezing them into juice. Most Costa Ricans eat lemons them like an orange, except, after it's sliced up, salt is sprinkled over the top. 

I've always wondered how people could do that. I've tried drinking pure lemon juice, and boy is it sour! The sourness of the lemon + salt? That might be fatal.

Luckily, these bars aren't that sour. They won't hurt your mouth if you try to eat them. They're sweet and creamy, just like a lemon bar should be.

Ingredients:

crust:

• 1 cup almond flour 
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 1/2 cup almond butter or cashew butter

filling:

• 16 oz soaked cashews 
• 1 cup maple syrup 
• 5 lemons (juice and a teeny bit of zest!)
• 1 cup water 
• 4 tbsp agar agar flakes

Directions: 

Using your hands, combine all of the crust ingredients in a large bowl. Press the dough onto a lined baking sheet and set aside. In a high-speed blender, combine the soaked cashews, maple syrup, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Once the filling is smooth and creamy, set aside. In a small pot, boil the water and agar agar flakes. Let the water boil as you continuously stir. Once the agar agar flakes are dissolved, immediately pour the mixture into the blender with the rest of the filling. Put the blender on high speed for 30 seconds until the agar agar and water mixture are incorporated into the filling. Pour the filling onto the crust and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve right away or keep it refrigerated. Enjoy!