Makeover Monday ~ Glazed Lemon Baobab Bars

It is  Monday, so it is time for another recipe makeover. I love to take favorite recipes and make them THM friendly. One of the biggest hurdles people have to overcome is thinking that healthy eating means never having their favorite foods again. The truth is that you can make a healthy version of almost any meal. And most meals don’t require that much work to re-make!

If you’ve been following my blog for long you might be surprised to see this post! I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from my routine posting here. (Is almost a year too much to call a bit of a hiatus?!?) But a good friend and fellow THM Facebook Admin, Conney Keel, asked me if I could remake this recipe and when I tried it I knew I needed to bring it here!

This recipe for Glazed Lemon Baobab Bars was inspired by this recipe for Lemon Brownies. I love lemon bars and Conney suggested the addition of the baobab. That got my wheels spinning. How could I make this recipe not only waist-line friendly, but also a nutritional powerhouse? I decided to add not only Baobab, for its great Vitamin C addition and citrusy flavor, but I also added collagen for more protein as well as all of the joint, skin and hair benefits it brings. If you do not have collagen, never fear, you can still make this recipe, but adding it is really going to up the nutritional benefits of this treat. And we all know that the more nutritious our treats are, the better we feel about it when we have them for breakfast!

Let me just say, I think these are good right out of the fridge, great at room temperature and over the top amazing slightly warmed! Try them with a few blueberries sprinkled on top!

What you will need:

• THM baking blend
• butter
• Xes sweetener or gentle sweet*
• eggs
• Lemons
• Collagen
• Baobab
• Baking Powder
• Xylitol**
• Almond Milk 
• Butter or Coconut Oil

Glazed Lemon Baobab Bars

A tangy, sweet dessert that will leave you wanting more!

Lemon Baobab Bar Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter (Softened)
• 1 1/2 Cups THM Gentle Sweet or XES Sweetener*
• 1 Lemon, Zest and Juice ((large lemon))
• 4 Eggs (large)
• 3/4 Cup THM Baking Blend
• 1/4 Cup Collagen
• 1/4 Cup Baobab
• 1 tsp Baking Powder

Glaze Ingredients

• 1 Cup Xylitol** (powdered)
• 1 Lemon, Zest and Juice ((large lemon))
• 1 Tbsp Baobab
• 1-2 Tbsp Almond Milk ((Start with 1, add more if needed))
• 1 Tbsp Butter or Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.

2. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sweetener until light and fluffy.

3. Zest the lemon and chop zest into small bits. Juice the lemon.

   
   
   

4. Mix zest and juice into butter/sweetener mixture.

   
   
   

5. Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined.

   
   
   

6. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients until combined.

   
   
   

7. Spread the batter into the baking pan. It will be thicker than a normal cake mix but should spread easily.

   
   
   

8. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Do not over bake.

9. While the cake is baking, zest the second lemon and chop zest into small bits. Juice the lemon.

10. In a saucepan, whisk together the powdered xylitol, lemon juice, lemon zest, baobab and 1 tablespoon of almond milk until combined.

11. Put saucepan on medium-low heat and add the butter. Warm the glaze to make sure the sweetener is completely dissolved and butter is incorporated. This will not take long. Just get it completely warmed through. (No more than 2-4 minutes). If the consistency is too thick (it should be a spreadable glaze consistency) you can add a bit more almond milk.

12. When glaze is warmed through, take it off the heat and let it cool completely. You can put it in the refrigerator if desired.

    
    
    

13. When cake is finished baking, allow it to cool completely.

14. Spread the glaze evenly over the lemon bars.

    
    
    

15. At this point you can serve the bars as is or allow them to set up more in the refrigerator. The glaze should be soft, but not runny at room temp and it will be firmer coming from the fridge.

    
    
    

*Any low-glycemic sweetener can be used, but because they vary in sweetness levels that will difference will need to be taken into account when making the recipe.

**I chose to use xylitol because it does not re-crystallize when cooled like erythritol does.  You can use any low-glycemic sweetener you would like however. Just be aware that there may be crystallization in your glaze if you use an erythritol based sweetener.

Do you have a favorite recipe you would like me to THM’ify? Comment below and I will see what I can do!

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