Lemon Coconut Crumb Bars
Updated April 30, 2020
Lemon Coconut Crumb Bars-an easy dessert that is perfect for spring and summer!
A few weeks ago, I made Jam Almond Crumb Bars and Josh was a little disappointed because he couldn’t have any. He is allergic to nuts and I try to not to make nut recipes when he is around, but sometimes I can’t help myself. I love nuts. I felt guilty eating the bars in front of him, but I wasn’t about to let them go to waste. They were soooo good!
I told Josh I would make him a special treat to make up for the Jam Almond Crumb Bars. Josh loves all things citrus, so I made Lemon Coconut Crumb Bars. The bars are similar to my Jam Almond Crumb Bars, but there are no nuts! I used coconut instead of almonds and lemon curd instead of the jam. Josh was very happy with the bars. So happy he almost didn’t let me have any. I had to fight him for a bar:)
I go lemon crazy every spring. Spring and lemon just go together. Lemon is refreshing and reminds me of sunshine!
I tried to keep the bars somewhat healthy so I used my favorite white whole wheat flour from Gold Medal Flour. I love using this flour because you still get the benefits of whole wheat flour, but it’s lighter in color and has a milder texture. Josh had no clue he was devouring a whole wheat treat. I am such a trickster:)
I recently made Lemon Cookies with Toasted Coconut Frosting and now I am hooked on the lemon/coconut combo! For this recipe, I used coconut oil, coconut extract, and flaked coconut to make up the coconut crumb crust. A triple threat of coconut…my kind of treat!
I used lemon curd for the filling. You can make homemade lemon curd, love our recipe, or use store bought. Easy peasy! The lemon curd was the perfect filling for my bars!
Lemon Coconut Crumb Bars didn’t last long at our house. Josh loved his special treat. He is already asking for them again so I think I will whip up another batch for our Easter dessert. Hurry up Easter Sunday:)
Lemon Coconut Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup coconut oil at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
- 3/4 cup flaked coconut plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 3/4 cup lemon curd
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream coconut oil and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and coconut extract. Mix well. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture. Mix until combined, the dough will be crumbly. Stir in the ¾ cup coconut.
- Stir the lemon curd to loosen it up. Gently press half of dough into bottom of prepared baking dish. Evenly spread the lemon curd over dough. Sprinkle remaining dough over the top, making sure you cover the entire bars. Press gently to form the top layer. Sprinkle the additional coconut over the bars.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool completely and cut into squares.
Have you tried this recipe?
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Disclosure-this post is in partnership with Gold Medal Flour, but our opinions are our own.
Lemon and coconut is one of my most favorite flavour combos! I am LOVING that you used coconut oil and whole wheat flour here…this is my kind of bar! Pinned
I love the lemon and coconut combination!
These bars are unbelievably gorgeous! I love the combination of coconut and lemon. Can’t wait to try these bars with leftover lemon curd! pinned.
I <3 lemon! These bars are the perfect snack!
Saw these first thing in my email this morning and started drooling! These look amazing! Happy Friday.
Just wondering,did you use sweetened coconut?
Yes, but you can use unsweetened if you would like.
This is like a tropical paradise in a dessert!
Such a good combo!! That coconut on top looks to die for!
Lemon and coconut is such a delicious combo. Love these!
So pretty!
lemon and coconut are like PB&J to me! yum!!
What a great way to start the weekend!!!
Oh my lemon bars are my weakness, and in coconut, I think I could eat the whole pan. Yum!
Love lemon. Thank you.
I have all of the ingredients in my pantry except for the wheat flour. If I substitute white flour would I use the same amount?
Yes, you can use regular all-purpose flour. Use the same amount. Enjoy!
Such pretty spring bars!
These look soo yummy! My hubby loves coconut but I never seem to use it. I love a citrus taste, though! I am definitely trying this bars real soon!
I am a sucker for anything lemon, these look great!! I will definitely have to give them a try!
I have always wondered – what is the difference between white whole wheat and just regular whole wheat flour?
Never mind……just read what you wrote about it!
Lemon + Coconut is one of the best flavor combos, ever. So is Lime + Coconut, so now I’m think I may need to try making these but with lime curd, instead! Thanks for the completely beautiful inspiration!
These bars look so perfect for spring!
I love these bars!! So yummy!
I’m loving all your lemon coconut desserts lately! Keep ’em comin’! 🙂
I love all things lemon and then you added lemon which just kicked it up a notch in my book! Yummy! I love that you keep even your decadent desserts sorta healthy!
All I can think about is grabbing one and biting it, they look amazing!
Love the idea to swap nuts for coconut and jam for lemon curd. I may never go back to traditional crumb bars again!
These look incredible Maria! Josh is one lucky man 🙂
These look soo good.
L x
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Woww.. looks absolutely delicious.. love them!
I would definitely have a hard time sharing these luscious bars! Love the lemon coconut combo!
Mmmmmm! LOVE all that coconut 🙂
Just made these this afternoon. Yum, yum, yum. Thank you for sharing a great recipe!!
Lemon is one of my favorites! Can’t wait to try these out!
LOVING these Maria!
Hi, you mentioned making your own lemon curd….care to share a recipe?
Oh thank you for the recipe, it looks wonderful! Can I double the recipe to make a 9×13 pan?
Sure!
Can you use something else besides lemon curd? I can’t find it in my area anywhere!!
You can use jam! Check out my recipe for Jam Almond Bars-link is in the post!
When I saw this pop up on Facebook, I stood up, walked to the kitchen and had these in the oven in about 10 minutes. It never works out that I have all the ingredients, but the stars lined up this time! Had just bought some lovely lemon curd at the farmer’s market and everything. Husband declared them the best dessert I’ve ever made (and I’ve made A LOT of desserts) so just wanted to thank you! These will be a regular fixture this summer, I can tell 🙂
I can’t seem to find coconut extract at my grocery store. I have almond extract on hand, do you think that would mess up the flavor combination too much?
You can try almond extract or add more vanilla. Sorry couldn’t find coconut!
These are amazing! I love lemon & coconut so this was a winner! I’ve never had lemon curd and boy is it tasty. Will be making this one again. Thanks!
I love these bars! Made them for several parties and everyone loved them. I’ve recently needed to cut out gluten and was wondering if you could offer advice to convert the flour to gluten free. I have brown rice flour and almond flour on hand, but not sure if they would work or how much to use. Thanks!
Have you tried Cup4Cup or Pamela’s gluten free flour? I like them both!
Oh my goodness, just made these for my grandma’s birthday party and they are divine! Swapped out WW flour for oat flour (1c) and almond meal (1c) to make gluten-free, dough was a little stickier but with some adjusting they came out absolutely delicious! Wonderful recipe 🙂
Glad you liked them!
I doubled the recipe and put it into a 9×13…Just pulled them out of the oven and they are just gorgeous and the house smells so good….It’s going to be tough to give these away.
could you use regular whole wheat flour or regular white flour??
Thank you
hii..im from malaysia..there is no coconut extract in my pantry so can i just ignore the coconut extract or substitute with others extract?? Tqsm
Can you freeze these?
these sound amazing, any way to cut the sugar? Not a fan of granulated sugar. Would honey work?
Can these cookies be frozen? I have a friend who loves them, I wanted to serve at my Christmas party.
My daughter’s been begging for lemon bars, but I had no lemons and no way to get to the store. Was searching for recipe that might use the bottled lemon juice I had… no luck there, but best luck here!!! No, no lemon curd, but did happen to have jar of lime curd, plus most other ingredients. (No coconut extract, so slipped in lemon extract to empasize the citrus.) Soooooo good, really hope there are still some left by the time my girl gets home. Thanks!!
These were nice. Next time I will make them with butter instead of coconut oil. I really think the flavour of butter would make these next-level amazing
These look delicious! Do you think they would ship well? If wrapped individually in saran wrap and in a tupper ware container? Or are they too soft?
Hi! This is a delicious recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Hello! I’ve been making your recipes for years and love many of them. I made these a while ago and they were a hit. I’m wondering if you think it would work to sub in raspberry jam for the lemon curd? What could I replace the coconut with? My child has tree nut allergies so no nuts for us. Thank you!
Jam should work. You can use more oats.