Last Updated February 2nd, 2023 at 11:32 am by Lisa
A tropical version of traditional Lemon Bars, the toasted coconut shortbread cookie crust, and lemon-lime filling are simply out of this world. The crust on these Coconut-Lime Lemon Bars gets golden topped with tart lemon and lime filling with sweet coconut, what could be better in a dessert...
Only 10 Ingredients!
- Soft Butter: Soft butter makes mixing the shortbread crust easier, and helps to press it into the pan.
- Coconut: Toasting the coconut adds depth of flavor, and "coconuttyness".
- Granulated Sugar: In the filling helps to balance the sweet and the with the fresh citrus juice and zest.
- Powder Sugar: Mixes into the crust well, and adds the sweetness you need in shortbread. And classic dusted on lemon bars.
- Corn Starch: Makes a more tender baked good result in the crust.
- Flour: Flour is used in both the crust and filling. The flour in the crust helps to form the "cookie" shortbread texture and ¼ cup of flour is in the filling.
- Salt: Brings out all the citrus flavors, and balances the sweetness.
- Eggs: Are the custard base of lemon bars, and bring most of the structure in baking.
- Lemon Zest & Juice: Fresh lemons juiced and their zest adds brightness to baking. I highly recommend using fresh real lemons. For this recipe, I used Meyer lemons a dear friend gave me from her tree, regular fresh lemons work perfectly as well.
- Lime Zest & Juice: Fresh lime/s juiced and their zest adds zing and pairs well with the coconut. Again, I recommend using fresh real limes, and not the bottled citrus products or dried citrus peel.
Let's Bake
coconut shortbread color
Toasting the coconut and baking the shortbread crust with coconut in it will give it a golden color, unlike traditional lemon bars which are usually paler in color.
baking dishes
Use either glass or ceramic (not metal pans-they give off a metallic taste) for this recipe, a 9 x 13 works well, if you want the lemon bars to be tall and thicker, you can use an 8 x 10 as I did, but you will need to bake the crust and the filling/crust about 5 minutes longer.
Prep
- Pull the butter out to get it soft.
- Zest limes and lemons. Then, juice the lime/s and lemon.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 (or 8 x 10) dish with nonstick spray.
- In a skillet on medium-high heat, toast the coconut flakes for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Keep stirring and don’t walk away, as soon as the coconut turns brown, remove it from the pan to prevent over toasting so part of the coconut is white and some slightly brown.
- In a bowl, mix all the crust ingredients; sweet coconut, flour, powder sugar, cornstarch, and sea salt. Add 1 cup soft butter, cut into chunks with a hand mixer or large spoon until butter is in small pieces. Use clean your hands to mix it well to get the dough to come together.
- Press crust into the bottom and of your dish, just up the sides a bit. Use a small measuring cup to level and push into the edges.
- Bake till golden brown, 25 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes. Leave the oven on.
- Whisk together flour and sugar in a bowl using a hand whisk. Then whisk in eggs, lemon and lime zest, and lemon and lime juice. Whisk just before you pour the mixture over the cooled crust, that way the lemon and lime zest show on the top.
- Bake for 25 minutes until there is only a slight jiggle, but not a lot of movement. If it still jiggles a lot, bake about 5 more minutes or they will be under-baked in the center. Most recipes call for lower bake time and temperature, and that is the issue.
Lemon Bar Baking Tips
- Bake them until there is only a slight jiggle. If they move too much, they still aren't baked enough. After baking, allow them to set up and cool on the counter for 2 hours, then chill in the fridge.
- Your dish and oven will all affect the baking time, so be sure to check them at 20 minutes and give them a gentle shake.
- The crust for this recipe will be darker than a traditional lemon bar.
- Let cool on the kitchen counter an hour or two, then chill several hours or overnight in the fridge, and cut into bars using a small sharp knife.
- Garnish with sprinkled powder sugar through a small sieve, toasted coconut, lemon, or lime zest!
Use a hot wet, very sharp knife on to cut your chilled lemon bars. Be sure to chill them overnight to get neat edges.
You can keep them on a platter during a party for a couple of hours, but lemon bars should be kept cool in the refrigerator for any longer and overnight as they have an egg custard base.
And they last for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
They can't be left on the counter, chill them in the fridge until ready to enjoy.
Be sure to bake them until there is only a slight jiggle. If they move too much, they still aren't baked enough. After baking, allow them to set up and cool on the counter for 2 hours, then chill in the fridge.
Do you notice the white foamy top of air bubbles, on top of your baked lemon bars? It happens because the air from the eggs rose to the top. This won't affect the taste, sometimes it helps to gently mix the mixture before pouring on the top of the crust, or just sprinkle confectioners sugar on top!
And receive a free guide on How To Build A Charcuterie Board as our thank you!
More Desserts
I love desserts and so many times I don't have time to bake, so that's when I turn to no-bake desserts; Peach No-Bake Cheesecake, S'more Cookie Dough Truffles, or Nut Goodie Bar Candy. These quick desserts take almost no time, and still satisfy your cravings!
For the holidays, try a chocolate dessert like Christmas Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies on a Peppermint Candy Plate made in 20 minutes. If you need classic Thanksgiving desserts or Christmas desserts, we have that, Apple Crumble Pie, made with Homemade Apple Pie Filling is one of our most popular recipes year-round.
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Coconut-Lime Lemon Bars
Ingredients
crust:
- 2 cups flaked sweet coconut
- 1 ½ cups AP flour
- ¾ cup powder sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup butter soft, cut into chunks
filling:
- ¼ cup AP flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons lime zest make optional for garnish
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest make optional for garnish
- ¼ cup lime juice 1-2 limes
- ¼ cup lemon juice 1 regular or Meyer lemon
garnish
- powder sugar
- lemon or lime zest
- toasted coconut
Instructions
Prep
- Pull the butter out to get it soft.
- In a skillet on medium-high heat, toast the coconut flakes for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Keep stirring and don’t walk away, once just turning brown remove from pan to prevent over toasting so part of the coconut is white and some slightly brown.
- Zest limes and lemons. Then, juice the lime/s and lemon.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 (or 8 x 10) dish with nonstick spray.
bake the crust
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients with a hand mixer or large spoon until butter is in small pieces. Use clean your hands to mix it well to get the dough to come together.
- Press crust into bottom and of your dish, just up the sides a bit. Use a small measuring cup to level and push into the edges.
- Bake till golden brown, 25 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes. Leave oven on.
mix the filling
- Whisk together flour and sugar in a bowl using hand whisk. Then whisk in eggs, lemon and lime zest, and lemon and lime juice.
- Whisk just before you pour the mixture over the cooled crust, that way the lemon and lime zest show on the top.
- Bake for 25 minutes until there is only a slight jiggle, but not a lot of movement. If it still jiggles a lot, bake about 5 more minutes or they will be under baked in the center Most recipes call for lower bake time and temperature, and that can be the issue.
- After baking, allow them cool on the kitchen counter for an hour to set up, then chill in the fridge overnight. Cut into bars using a sharp knife.
- Garnish with sprinkled powder sugar through a small sieve, toasted coconut, lemon or lime zest!
OMG Lisa! These coconut lemon-lime bars are amazing. The toasted coconut in the crust is next-level.
I absolutely LOVE these lemon bars! So simple to make and with the addition of toasted coconut- OMG- yum!!
The perfect lemon square. Love the shortbread crust with the coconut addition. Yum!