Retro Realty

RETRO RECIPES: COCONUT LEMON BARS

Summer is almost upon us, and that means longer days, warmer nights, garden parties, and a bounty of fresh fruits. As much as I love summer, my pale complexion does not, so I prefer to spend those extra hot days indoors baking up some delicious retro treats! 

I know we've all seen those posts on the less-than-appetizing recipes of the 50s and 60s, you know the ones I mean. As much as a turn-off as molded fish paste salad and mayonnaise jello can be, I'm here to tell you there are an abundance of very tasty retro recipes and I plan on showcasing a few of them here.  

My husband is a huge fan of lemon desserts, I personally don't care for them. So when he wants something lemon-y I make a batch of Coconut Lemon Bars from a recipe I found in my 1950s Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book. These bars are simple to make and don't have an over-powering lemon flavor, but they do have a nice tang to them.

Ingredients

Bottom layer:

1/2 cup butter or margarine 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup sifted flour

Top layer:

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup cut up walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° 

Line a 13x9" baking pan with tinfoil. Mix together 1/2 cup of butter or margarine, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup of sifted flour in a bowl until well combined and crumbly (I find mixing it with your fingers works best).

Pour the mixture into the pan. Press and flatten with your hand to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the top layer.

Beat well 2 eggs. Stir in 1 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon rind, and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix in 1 cup coconut and 1 cup walnuts.

Spread the mixture evenly over the cooled bottom layer and return to the oven for 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Allow to cool then cut into bars. These are quite sweet, they taste quite a bit like pecan pie, and they go great with tea or lemonade.