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4.72 from 7 votes

Lemon Bars

101 calorie Lightened Up Lemon Bars are the perfect dessert and taste so sinful without the guilt! You won't believe they're lightened up!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dessert, Desserts
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Lemon Bars
Servings: 20 bars
Calories: 101kcal
Author: Karina

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 4 tablespoons light or reduced fat butter, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar (or powdered sweetener)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest

Filling:

  • 3 extra large eggs
  • 1 cup superfine or caster sugar (or powdered sweetener)*
  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
  • 2 tablespoons plain | all-purpose flour

Topping:

  • 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar (or powdered sweetener)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper; set aside.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, combine together the butter, apple sauce, sugar (or sweetener), flour and cornstarch. Using a fork or your hands, blend ingredients together until sandy in consistency.
  • Pour into lined pan and press down evenly to form a base; bake for 20 minutes, or until firm and slightly golden.
  • While the base is baking, whisk the filling ingredients until well combined. As soon as the base comes out of the oven, give the filling one more whisk and pour the filling over the base.
  • Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until just set.
  • Allow to cool for an hour before refrigerating for about 2 hours. Dust with confectioners, powdered or icing sugar (or powdered sweetener).
  • Cut into 20 squares and serve.

Notes

*Do not use a granulated sweetener in place of the caster sugar in the lemon filling. The sweetener just creates a 'layer' of granules in the middle somewhere, and tastes AWFUL when biting into them. Powdered sweetener works better if you need to cut the calories down even more.
If baking in a 9-inch pan, the layers will be slightly thinner.
Nutritional information is based on the ingredients I have used.

Nutrition

Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 24mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.5mg