Gluten free Lemon Squares are rich, refreshingly sweet and slightly tart. A buttery shortbread crust is covered with creamy lemon filling & sprinkled with powdered sugar. Itâ€™s like a little lemon pie you can hold in your hand!

Itâ€™s that time of year again when I go crazy baking every type of cookie imaginable. Do you do the same thing? I think I got it from my Mom who always baked so many yummy cookies and then made tins to give out to all her friends and family. Sheâ€™s the perfect example of a true giver at Christmas time, always thoughtful, always loving and caring and was the best mom I know!

So that brings me to our 5-day series all about Christmas cookies. I know itâ€™s rather late in the season but some of us are still baking up a storm. So here are some easy, almost foolproof, Christmas cookie recipes for our delicious Christmas Cookie Marathon.

First up is a fantastic recipe for gluten free lemon squares. Iâ€™ve love anything lemon flavored so these lemon squares have been a favorite of mine for years. Of course, I wasnâ€™t making them gluten-free at the time and it wasnâ€™t until my daughter found out she was gluten-intolerant that I tried my hand at making my favorite bar cookies in a gluten-free form.

Trying to keep true to the recipe, the shortbread cookie was made with a combination of rice flour and cornstarch in lieu of the regular flour. It works well at creating that buttery texture that shortbread cookies are known for.

The filling used the same rice flour and cornstarch so you donâ€™t have to feel like you are buying the rice flour for only one thing. Recently there was a new product introduced to the market by Bobâ€™s Red Mill (one of my favorite companies) called Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. This flour can be subbed for any recipe that calls for regular flour and bake as usual. I really must try this recipe again using this new flour for a quicker easier baking experience.

This recipe reminds me of lemon pie but, since itâ€™s in bar form, you can hold it in your hand. Yum, a pie that you can grab on the go â€“ woohoo! Itâ€™s tangy & sweet all at the same time with a wonderful buttery cookie to hold it all together. If you love lemon, youâ€™ll love this cookie!

I received tons of compliments on these cookies from my husbandâ€™s co-workers who, by the way, are my guinea pigs for all my baking efforts. They usually hear that what theyâ€™re eating is gluten-free and they turn up their noses before even tasting it. I fooled them with this one and it got a hands down delish rating so it must be good, right?!

Enjoy! And donâ€™t forget to check out more of our Christmas Cookie Marathon deliciousness below.

Gluten Free Lemon Bars

Gluten free Lemon Bars are rich, refreshingly sweet and slightly tart. They're like a little lemon pie you can hold in your hand!

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 40

Chill Time: 2

Total Time: 2 55

Servings: servings

Calories: 179kcal

Author: Linda Warren

Equipment

Ingredients

Crust

½ cup butter, melted
1 cup 1:1 gluten-free flour
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 pinch salt

Lemon Filling

4 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup 1:1 gluten-free flour
½ cup lemon juice, fresh (about 2-3 lemons)
2-3 teaspoons lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon)
Garnish: powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8-inch pan by lining with parchment paper. Extend the parchment paper up both long sides of the pan so that you can easily lift the finished bars out in one piece to cut. I also leave extra on the short sides, about half way up, just enough to hold the crust and filling.
Mix flour, salt, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Drizzle in melted butter and mix until it becomes a dough.
Pat into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes then set on a wire rack to cool slightly.
While the shortbread crust is baking, beat or whisk eggs then add all remaining ingredients for the filling and mix until smooth.
Pour into slightly cooled cookie crust and return pan to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes of baking time. The filling should slightly jiggle when you move the pan.
Remove from oven to wire rack and let cool for 1 hour then set in refrigerator for 1-2 hours to make it easier to cut.
When ready to cut, lift out the entire bar by the parchment paper to a wooden cutting board. Dust with powdered sugar. Cut into 16 pieces. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container, with wax paper between layers, or place back in the baking dish and cover with plastic wrap.

Notes

STORE/FREEZE

STORE: in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

FREEZE: on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with room between them. Once frozen, wrap them with a layer of plastic wrap then either a layer of aluminum foil or place the plastic-wrapped bars in a freezer-safe container or plastic freezer bag. They will last up to 3 months.