Blueberry Lemon Coconut Squares

posted on August 1, 2011 by Beth // 17 Comments »

 

Yesterday I woke up brainstorming blueberry confections. With an abundance of blueberries in my fridge, I knew I wanted to bake up some special treats, but what? The first thing I saw when I stepped into my kitchen was the fruit basket on our bar, filled with lemons.

Lightbulb. I’ll use up some blueberries AND some lemons.

Envisioning a cool, summery treat, I skipped over several recipes for breads, muffins, and cakes, finally deciding on a bar. What caught my eye and made this particular bar stand out from the rest was the addition of coconut, which I love.

Then as I read further, I was intrigued that the creator used to own a low fat cookie bakery and had perfected a low fat shortbread crust, which she used for this recipe. Score!  A tart lemon filling combined with sweet fresh blueberries and coconut resulted in a perfect hot weather dessert without a lot of guilt.

So what are some of your favorite summer treats?

Blueberry Lemon Coconut Squares

Makes 12 squares. From babble.


Print Recipe

Ingredients:

Base:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 scant* cup all purpose flour

pinch salt


Topping:

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.


In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add flour and salt and stir until well combined and crumbly.


Press into the bottom of an 8” x 8” pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just barely golden around the edges.


In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add egg, egg white, and lemon juice and stir until well blended and smooth.


Sprinkle the blueberries and coconut evenly over the base, and pour the lemon filling over top. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden and set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then place in refrigerator to chill for 1 hour before serving. Cut into squares and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.


Note: Bars will keep in the refrigerator for 3- 4 days.


*Scant means "just barely." In this case, I used just slightly less than a cup, not filling completely to the top of the measure.