Two of my mother’s favorite flavors are brown sugar and coconut: when she was a child she mixed up a big jar of coconut and brown sugar, planning to eat it. Not only did her mother punish her for “wasting food,” she also threw out the mixture. Now, I ask you, who wasted that particular food?
Anyway, I arrived home yesterday from several days in the foothills of Amador County. In my absence, Mom had made a pot pie and roasted a pork loin and some vegetables. As we ate the pot pie for lunch, Mom said, a little sadly, that there were no sweets except chocolate and that she might have to just eat oranges.
My Mom is a hard worker and she has a sweet tooth. Plus, she had been given some Meyer lemons by our next door neighbor. I offered to make something since it was blogging day. I had just seen a recipe for lemon bars from Sawsan at Chef in Disguise this morning, which had sent me running to my Alice Medrich Pure Dessert cookbook and my binder of recipes to compare ratios for lemon bar base ingredients. I like lemon bars and will eat anything that even looks like one, but Mom and I agree that the crust on lemon bars is often too thick, too rich and too sweet. I asked if there was pie crust left from the pot pie. Negative. That meant I would be starting from scratch. Mom asked if I would want to make a lemon pudding instead. I naturally thought she meant our favorite lemon pudding which has lemon filling trapped between two layers of a rich mixture of Wheaties, butter, coconut and brown sugar. And then I thought, “Why not combine them? What if I made a base of butter, brown sugar, crushed Wheaties, flour and coconut and then put lemon filling on top of that?”
Down to the kitchen I went, taking the Medrich cookbook with me: I would use her recipe as a guideline for my lemon filling because she likes a tart lemon bar. I dug out the recipe for lemon pudding from a file box in the cabinet and studied the crust ratios for three recipes. I decided I would use 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/3 cup crushed Wheaties and 1/3 cup flaked coconut, plus 1/4 cup brown sugar for the pastry base, which I combined with a pastry blender and baked for twenty minutes in a 350 degree oven. I then turned the oven down to 300.
I meant to use Medrich’s measurements for the lemon filling, but I couldn’t bear the thought of 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of white sugar, so I decided to use 1 scant cup instead. I was aiming for her 1/2 cup of lemon juice, but after I zested and squeezed five small Meyer lemons and one stray tangerine that some cat had batted under the sideboard (it resurfaced last week and had seen better days, looking a little battered), I had 1/3 cup juice plus a little and decided to go with that. I used 1 Tbsp of whole wheat pastry flour and 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour, whisked that with the 1 cup sugar, whisked in three eggs, added the lemon juice and zest, and poured the result onto the hot crust.
I baked the bars at 300 for nearly half an hour until the filling no longer jiggled when I tapped the pan. I cooled the pan on a rack while I went to Berkeley to pick up my vegetables. It was a bad day for bus service: I returned three hours later, put the vegetables away and cut the first square from the pan. I cut it in half and brought half to Mom who was watching T.V. She approved of the strong lemon flavor, but wondered why there was no topping. I said that lemon bars usually don’t have a topping and if I had made crumb topping for the top it would have taken twice as much butter. She asked why I hadn’t dusted them with powdered sugar and I said I was afraid that they would be too sweet.
These lemon bars came out buttery and lemony with a delicious brown sugar and coconut crust. Despite the scant cup of sugar they were not too sweet. Many lemon bar recipes call for shortbread crusts that take an entire stick of butter: with 1/3 cup of butter, the flavor of butter comes through beautifully.
Food notes: To get a generous 1/3 cup of juice I used five small Meyer lemons and one small battered tangerine. If you use Eureka lemons, you may not need more than two. Meyer lemons are sweeter and less acidic than ordinary lemons, so you may need to increase the sugar to a generous cup and add a dusting of powdered sugar. If you have access to Meyer lemons, you can follow my measurements exactly, if that is your style. I was afraid to use all whole wheat pastry flour in the filling, but it worked fine in the crust. If you do not have Wheaties, you can substitute ground oatmeal (put rolled oats or quick oats in a blender for a few seconds), crushed wheatmeal biscuits, or a dry cereal of your choice.
I love the idea of coconut and brown sugar
I can only imagine how good the combination tastes
Thank you for mentioning my recipe 🙂 you are too kind
You are welcome, Sawsan — your recipe is what started me on the road to these bars: maybe the coconut-haters will make yours instead.
What a great job you did!
I think those bars would be a big hit with me, I love coconut, but prefer it incorporated with other goodies, as the texture of coconut flakes is not something I particularly enjoy.
Plus, a bar that is not overly sweet, sounds perfect!
Thanks, Sally. I was a little worried about using almost a cup of sugar, but the lemons came through (they were not quite ripe).
These really do sound good, Sharyn, and using that coconut and brown sugar to make a crust was a great idea. I can only imagine how good it tastes in combination with the lemon “top.” Yum!
Thanks, John. I was pleased at how they came out and will make them again.
These sound wonderful, Sharyn, and I was missing you so am glad you’re back and all is okay. Unfortunately, my husband isn’t a huge fan of lemony things…but who knows? I might sneak these by him anyway!
Thanks, Betsy, for your kind words. I was off having fun.Take the lemon bars to a tea-party, or have some girlfriends over. People who don’t like lemony things should not have to eat them (and should not make these).
Oh, yummy! I never cared for lemon bars because I didn’t like the shortbread crust. Your variation with coconut sounds good. I don’t buy wheaties, so I might try it with oatmeal.
Thanks, Nancy. You can also go hunting for another bar with a crust you like and swap the crust for this one. We buy Wheaties only to cook with: Mom considers them an essential ingredient in meat loaf. I almost painted the big orange box, but it was a small painting.
What a great recipe, and I’m still swimming in lemons! I do have ordinary Eureka lemons, but thanks to my neighbor’s overhanging tree, I am rich in them! I love the coconut addition and don’t think I’ve ever had a lemon bar like this! I love the way you and your mother go back and forth sharpening those cooking “tools”–it’s a delight to hear your cooking process! Debra
Thanks, Debra. I thought it was quite a success and my brain is working on tweaking other recipes. I have a whole bag of limes, so I might have to make lime bars, too.
Love your funny saga about getting juice from the lemons. Sometimes a change in ingredients is a happy accident. Love these lemony bliss bars.
Well, I could have kept squeezing lemons, but my crust was nearly done and I needed to get on with it. The amount of lemon in these was about perfect. Neither the tangerine nor the lemons were particularly sweet — I taste my ingredients whenever practical.
My mouth is watering after reading this! Perfect Friday afternoon treat! 🙂
Do make some. Lauren — they are really good.
I bet the lemon and coconut go together so well! It just sounds like a great combo! Also I wanted to let you know that I’m subscribed to your blog but I never get emails…. it’s weird???
That would be WordPress, not me, but I’m sorry that you don’t get the emails. Have you tried unsubscribing and then subscribing again? I like these lemon bars a lot: they have a thinner crust than others and the coconut, butter and brown sugar provide plenty of flavor.
sounds awesome! I also often end up combining recipes because I bookmark too many at a go and I always have trouble sticking to a recipe ><
Sometimes I want features of two different recipes, Shuhan, and combining or swapping elements saves me having to invent freehand from scratch. Thanks for stopping by.
I sit here suffering. This is my fifth day without any chocolate or treat of any kind. It was a personal choice, out of the blue, and one that I seem to be sticking with presently for some odd reason. Ha! but these remind me of my mother’s brown sugar patties and now I am certain they would have been even more irresistible combined with your lemon bars recipe. As I recall, she simply filled the middle of raw pie crust with a mixture of brown sugar, heavy cream and butter and folded the crust over this concoction in four neat flaps before baking. This made it look like a sweet, packaged gift served on a plate. Your improvised lemon bars sound like such a gift.
Wow. I’d better not let Mom hear about combining brown sugar, butter and heavy cream in pie crust or she’ll be wanting that everyday, perhaps with coconut sprinkled into it.
Ho! Yes, don’t forget the coconut! I …am …feeling …weaker …by …the …minute.
You do what you have to do: I’m thinking of going and baking some parsnip chips…
Sounds good. Have a good weekend.
These bars look delicious 😀
Want to gobble them up!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: two Twix fudgy Whities
Thanks, Choc Chip Uru, and thanks for stopping by. They are delicious.
That must have been so wonderful to come home to a pot roast and a pork loin. Great effort on sorting out the dessert.
Thanks. We liked the dessert. It was pork loin and turkey pot pie, not pot roast: we don’t eat beef anymore unless we know who raised the cow — feedlots are just too gross.
I think you’d do fabulously on one of those challenges taking odd ingredients and making something delicious out of it!! I agree with the crust on those lemon bars – it’s always too much for me. You pulled together a very interesting recipe here and I’d like to give it a try. My son eats Wheaties and he’s out of town right now, I suppose he won’t mind 🙂
I don’t think he’ll mind, especially if you promise him some lemon bars when he returns. But you could pulverize some oats as well as use that in lieu of Wheaties. I used to read those chef challenges with fascination: there was one where two chefs showed up at someone’s house and had to each make a three-course meal out of what the family had on hand, plus one secret ingredient that they were given. Then the family voted on which courses they liked best and the winning chef went on to do it again.
What do they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I’m glad that you and your mothers talking about sweets brought about creating this dessert.
I’m glad, too, Karen. I liked them better than conventional lemon bars.
Mm, my grandmother used to cover the tops of her mini cheesecakes with coconut and brown sugar so I know how awesome it is. I remember Sawsan’s post well – lovely that it inspired you to rush off and make something yourself which sounds so fabulous. I’m feeling left out now – maybe I need to dash into the kitchen and get squeezing lemons myself 😀
If you do, Charles, I’ll look forward to reading about your variation.
You and your mum make a great team, and this sounds like a lovely nibble when you want something sweet.. c
Thanks, Cecilia. They are so good. You’ll hear a little more about our teamwork and the division of labor when I post a new recipe on Monday.
I saw Sawsan’s post too and immediately made me want something lemony. I opted for a squeeze of lemon juice in my water. Sigh.
Are you dieting, Eva? The only thing that has ever worked for me is eating smaller portions and limiting sweets to one a day.
These bars sound scrumptious! I love a tart lemon bar, and I love that you have included coconut in the crust as well!
Sounds like we like the same kind of lemon bars, Amy. Thanks for visiting.
I am loving that coconut crust! Sounds delicious! 🙂
Thanks, Christina. The coconut and brown sugar worked out well.
I love lemon puddings too, your experiment sounds delicious! one question what are wheaties?
Wheaties is a prepared cereal, known in the U.S. as “the breakfast of Champions.” Its flakes are made of wheat, sugar, salt and God knows what else. They used to be less sweet than they are now. You could try substituting your local crushed wheat cereal (Wheetabix?), or pulverize some rolled oats or some wheatmeal biscuits.
Thanks Sharyn, I’ve also just googled them, and it’s a bit clearer now. And I think you are right Wheatabix would be the answer, but oats sounds a bit better to me 🙂
I’m sure oats would be fine and crushed Carrs’ biscuits would be delicious.