Lemon Berry Bars
Sweet & Refreshing Treat
These bars scream summer. While we are nearing the end of summer I’m holding onto the last few days and this recipe helps. These bars are light and fluffy and super refreshing.
The combination of the berries mixed with the yogurt on top is perfect for hot days. I’ve also tried it with vegan cool whip, and it works just as good!
Vegan butter: you can use any vegan butter you prefer. You can replace with melted oil, however, the butter tastes better.
Sugar: any granulated sugar will work (white, brown, coconut, etc.)
Lemon Juice: any fruit juice will work (orange, grapefruit, etc.) If you don’t have lemon juice, you could also use lemon extract. If you use lemon extract, replace the amount of lemon juice with almond milk and add in anywhere from 1-3 teaspoons of lemon juice.
Berries: you can use fresh or frozen and any type of berry will work.
I haven’t tested any other flours besides the combination of almond flour and all-purpose flour. If you are gluten-free you could replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour.
I always get questions about what to substitute applesauce with. While they are things that can be substituted, I find that they don’t taste nearly as good or work as well. Especially for this recipe, I really wouldn’t recommend substituting the applesauce.
Before adding the blueberries into the batter, I would recommend covering them in 2-3 tablespoons of flour. This makes it so they don’t all sink to the bottom of the batter. Also, I find that if you use frozen ones and cover them in flour it won’t make the outcome of the loaf mushy.
TIP: when cutting brownies or a loaf like this, if you use a plastic knife, you will get perfectly smooth cuts and it won’t crumble.
Ingredients:
Vegan butter
Sugar
Applesauce
Lemon Juice
Baking powder
All-purpose flour
Almond flour
Berries
Recipe:
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
¼ cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup almond flour
½ cup berries
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a 9x5 baking pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
3. In a small bowl, melt your butter.
4. Once melted transfer to a large bowl and add in the sugar, applesauce, and lemon juice.
5. Stir well to combine.
6. Add in the baking powder, all-purpose flour, and almond flour.
7. Stir until a batter forms and there are no clumps.
8. Fold in the berries.
9. Pour into baking pan.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
11. Optional: I added unsweetened vegan yogurt on top. You could do any frosting or a glaze. I also added extra berries on top.
Allow to completely cool before cutting into it. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should last up to 5 days. You can also store them in the freezer if you want them to last longer. If you store them in the freezer, allow to thaw for 10-15 minutes before eating or warm up in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
If you try this recipe and enjoy it, I would love if you could press the “like” button at the bottom of this page or leave a comment. Either one of those really helps me out!
