It was one of those perfect weather weekends. One not to be missed. We had the good fortune of being invited to a lovely party down by the lake, where we enjoyed the sunset with refreshing cocktails and great food.

The weekend was way too short, as I fear the summer will be, isn’t it always?

I had some coconut and a lime staring at me on Sunday, seeming to ask; “may we please marry some butter , sugar and flour?” and so they did.

Recipe:

2 1/4 cups of all-purpose gluten free flour blend
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of lime zest
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of cold, unsalted butter, cut into tiny bits.
1 cup of toasted, sweetened coconut

Toast the coconut: Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the coconut onto a cookie sheet and spread it out to form an even layer. Put the coconut in the oven and bake it for about 5-7 minutes or until it just starts to turn brown, stirring as needed. Be careful. Once it changes color, it will burn fast. Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside to cool. Leave the oven at 350F.

Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Have the edges of the foil fold over the edges slightly for easy removal.

In bowl of stand mixer, combine the sugar and lime zest. Using your fingers, work the lime zest into the sugar until it becomes moist and fragrant. Add the flour, and salt. Stir to combine. Sprinkle the cut-up butter over the dry ingredients. stir the butter into the flour mixture with the paddle attachment until barely incorporated. Don’t over beat. You want the mixture to resemble coarse, wet sand.

Pour the dough into the prepared pan and press it firmly down into an even layer. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are gold and the top is slightly brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool completely in the pan.

I think it’s a match made in Heaven. Enjoy.