In the Northern Hemisphere winter time is citrus time! Here in Hawaiʻi if you look around during January and February almost every citrus tree is loaded with fruit. This recipe is best with fresh juice but can also be made at any point in the year with just that has been saved and frozen. This versatile filling can be used in a regular lemon bar recipe, as a pie, or with any other crust of your choice. To promote locally sourced ingredients we use ʻulu flour as a thickening agent but if you don’t have ʻulu flour or don’t want the earthy taste it provides you can substitute for regular all-purpose flour (make sure to see recipe notes at bottom). Ingredients:1 disk of pre-made pie dough½ cup lemon juice Zest of 1/2 of a lemon¼ cup honey¼ cup maple syrup3 eggs1 egg yolk½ cup +2 Tbsp. ʻulu flour Directions:
Preheat oven to 425℉Roll out the first piece of dough and press into a 9 inch pie tin. Prick dough with a fork for ventilation. Bake for around 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to 400℉ and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until beginning to brown. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 325℉.
Mix together filling ingredients (lemon juice, zest, honey, maple syrup, eggs, yolk, and flour). Stir well so that there are no streaks of egg left and pour into crust.
Bake for around 30 minutes or until filling is set - does not jiggle when lightly shaken.
Remove from oven, let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until ready to serve.
*if using all-purpose flour instead of ʻulu flour only use ½ cup. ʻUlu flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour**recipe is inspired from the filling used in Healthy Lemon bars from Maxi's Kitchen ***ʻUlu flour is very versatile and can be purchased from Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op