Lemon Bars

Besides good old chocolate chip cookies and boxed brownies lemon bars were probably the first dessert I made on a regular basis. I think I started making them when I was in high school. I have a deep love for citrus which I often forget. Then I make some citrus dessert again and I remember. Don't tell my husband (the chocolate fanatic) but sometimes I think I might take a lemon bar over something chocolatey. I absolutely love the refreshing taste and the slight tang that goes with them. I saw a recipe a while back that called for using an entire lemon (peel and all) in the lemon bars. I already have a delicious recipe for lemon bars so I kind of disregarded it, but ever since that day I have had this desire to use an entire lemon in my lemon bars. Well this time I decided that I was going to try it! I didn't remember the site that I first saw the recipe, but I found one that also used a whole lemon. I kind of took what he did and combined it with the recipe I already had. The result was a tangy, lemony, almost perfect lemon bar. I don't think there is anything I would change. These lemon bars aren't for the mild lemon bar lover. These are real lemon bars and will knock your socks off!

Lemon Bars
One 9X13-inch pan

Crust
2 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
14  tablespoons melted butter

Lemon Topping
1 lemon, organic or unsprayed
2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4  large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons (45g) melted unsalted butter

Optional: powdered sugar, for serving

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

2. Overturn an 9X13-inch pan on the counter and wrap the outside snugly with foil, shiny side up. Remove the foil, turn the pan over, and fit the foil into the pan, pressing to nudge the foil into the corners. The smooth it as best you can.

3. In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients for the crust. Once combined add the melted butter and mix until combined.

4. Smooth the batter into the bottom of the pan, using your hands or a small offset spatula to get it as level as possible.

5. Bake the crust for 15- 20 minutes, or until it’s deep-golden brown.

6. While the crust is cooking, cut the lemon in half, remove the seeds, and cut the lemon into chunks.

7. Put the chunks of lemon in a food processor or blender along with the sugar and lemon juice, and let it run until the lemon is completely broken up. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons (45g) melted butter, and blend until smooth. (A few tiny bits of lemon pieces are fine if desired. I wanted mine nice and smooth.)

8. When the crust comes out of the oven, reduce the heat of the oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 25 minutes or just until the filling stops jiggling and is barely set.

9. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, carefully lift out the bars grasping the foil. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. Sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving, if desired.

Storage: The bars will keep in an airtight container at room temperature up to three days. You can freeze the lemon bars as well for up to one month, letting them come to room temperature before serving.

Recipe Source: Adapted from David Lebovitz

Lemon Olive Oil Cookies

I'll be honest I have never made cookies with anything other than butter. I am a huge fan of butter in my cookies. You can imagine my curiosity when I saw this recipe that only had olive oil. Olive oil is a healthy alternative to butter. I use it all the time in my cooking, but have never really used it in my baking. I'm pretty sure the only oils I have in my house and regularly use are olive oil, coconut oil, and butter. Now I'm not saying I'm going to stop using butter in my cookies. I absolutely adore the buttery taste of most cookies, but in these cookies I didn't mind not having it. These cookies were crisp on the edges and soft and chewy in the center with a delicious flavor of lemon. They were really quick and easy to make. I think I threw them together in 10 minutes or less and they only took 12 minutes to bake. It turned out to be a quick, easy, and delicious mid day snack!

Lemon Olive Oil Cookies

• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup Lemon Olive oil (I didn't have this so I used regular Olive Oil with great results)
• 4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• Juice of 1 ½ lemons
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Sugar, for rolling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, salt and baking soda together in medium-sized bowl. In another small bowl, stir together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.
3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then mix lightly until it resembles wet sand (I like to use my hand, when the dough is squeezed it should form a solid clump). Using your hands, roll dough into balls about the size of a walnut.
4. Roll in a  little sugar and roll the cookie balls gently in your hands to distribute it. Put the cookies about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets and bake for about 12-15 minutes

Recipe Source: Field of Cakes

Meyer Lemon Loaf

Have I mentioned that I love lemon? Well its true. Luckily this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge incorporated my love for bread, sugar, and lemon all into one recipe! The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

Meyer Lemon Loaf

Makes two 8” x 5” (20 x 13 cm) loaves
Adapted from Recipe Girl’s Meyer Lemon Loaf

Ingredients

LOAF:
2 2/3 cups (640 ml) (375 gm/13¼ oz) all-purpose (plain)unbleached flour
¾ teaspoon (3¾ ml) (3¾ gm) baking powder
zest of 3 Meyer lemons (regular old lemons will work just fine)
2 cups (480 ml) (450 gm/16 oz) white granulated sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup (180 ml) sour cream or creme fraiche, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (30 ml) rum (can omit – I did!)
1½ tablespoons (22½ ml) fresh Meyer lemon juice (again, regular lemons can be used)
pinch of salt
9 tablespoons (135 ml) (125 gm/4½ oz/1 stick + 1 tablespoon) butter, melted and cooled

SIMPLE SYRUP:
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gm/4 oz) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 ml) water
Juice from 1 medium Meyer Lemon (or regular lemon)

Directions:
Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Butter and flour two 8” x 5” (20 x 13 cm) loaf pans.

Sift together flour and baking powder; set aside.

Place sugar, lemon zest, and eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until the mixture is a light lemon color and thickened a bit. This can also be done with a mixer. Whisk in sour cream, then salt, then rum (if using) and lemon juice.

Gently whisk in the flour in four parts, then whisk in the butter in three parts. You’ll have a thick, pourable batter flecked with lemon zest.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

While the loaves are baking, prepare simple syrup. Boil together sugar and water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice.

Turn the loaves out of their pans onto a cooling rack and brush liberally with the lemon syrup, repeat brushing as you feel necessary. Let cool.

Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:
Loaves can be kept wrapped tightly on the counter or in the fridge for approximately 5 to 7 days. Loaves last 6 months if wrapped tightly and kept air tight in the freezer.

Microwave Lemon Curd

So apparently I really enjoy lemon curd. I have realized lately that I' love citrus! I think I realize this every time I make something orangy or lemony. I really do love it. I know I have a couple recipes on here for lemon curd. I have my traditional lemon curd (which is fantastic), my healthier version (which is also quite good) and now I'm posting this quick and easy version. All are great. This one is probably the most tangy and sour of the 3 recipes, but I love it when I'm in a hurry. Who knew you could make lemon curd in the microwave? Well now I know and if you are reading this you now know as too! Now you might be asking yourself what would I use this lemon curd for. Let me answer that for you. I like to use it for the filling of cakes, on graham crackers, for lemon bars, you could make up little individual pie crusts and pour this on top to have little tarts, you could pour it over ice cream. Really you could do whatever your heart so desires and I'm sure it would be amazing.

Microwave Lemon Curd

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3 lemons, zested
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted


Directions
In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the microwave, and pour into small sterile jars. Store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.

Lemon Curd Bars

I found this recipe last month when I was searching for desserts that didn't use sugar. This recipe intrigued me. I have always loved lemon bars, but these didn't look like your typical lemon bars. These bars are completely gluten and grain free. Now if you have ever looked at my blog you know that I am addicted to breads and most my recipes use some sort of grain in it. I considered changing the crust portion and make them with flour, but I decided to try them first just the way the recipe was given. I was a little nervous to try them. Of course the first time I make them I make them to serve to people. I always have this nervous moment right before we all try them. I just hope and pray for those few moments before I bite in that they actually taste good. Well much to my surprise they were great! They are very lightly sweetened, not heavy or greasy. They are a perfect little snack. Since that first night that I tried these I have found myself craving them! Desserts like this made not eating sugar a cinch!

Tangy Lemon Curd

This is a more frugal version of curd, because, like the Joy of Cooking’s version, I use whole eggs instead of just the egg yolks. However, you could substitute 6 egg yolks for the whole eggs for a super rich curd. 

3 large eggs
1/4 -1/3 cup of honey
Grated zest of one lemon (I used about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup of lemon juice
6 tablespoons virgin coconut oil (or you could use ghee or butter).

1-In a medium stainless steel or enamel saucepan, whisk together the first three ingredients until light colored.

2-Add the the coconut oil, breaking it into small clumps as you drop it into the pot for even melting. Then add the lemon juice.

3-Cook, whisking over medium heat until the coconut oil is melted. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens and you start to see a few bubbles popping at the surface.

4-Remove from heat, and scrape into a fine sieve set over a bowl. Strain the curd, gently stirring if needed.

5-Refrigerate for several hours to thicken. Will keep about one week in the refrigerator.



Lemon Curd Bars
Makes 16

1 recipe of tangy lemon curd (Recipe above. Save extra zest for the the cookie base).
1 cup of raw almonds
1 cup of raw cashews
1/4 cup honey (These are very lightly sweetened. If you want the bars sweeter, you could up this amount)
1/2 cup of melted virgin coconut oil
2-4 teaspoons lemon zest
2 eggs
1 teaspoon sea salt

1-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make the lemon curd (recipe above) Place the curd in the refrigerator to cool.

2- Place the almonds and the cashews in a food processor. Grind them into a medium fine “flour”. You don’t want to turn it into a nut paste, so don’t over do it. There will still be little chunks here and there.

3-Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until combined.

4-Evenly spread the nut batter into a greased 8 by 8 pan. Place in the middle of the hot oven. It will take between 15 to 18 minutes to cook. It may puff up as it cooks, but don’t worry, it won’t stay that way once you take it out of the oven. When the top is lightly brown, and a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle, it’s done.

4-Cool completely, then spread one recipes of lemon curd on top. Let set in the refrigerator for at least several hours. The curd will continue to set, and we liked it even better the next day. When ready to serve, take them out and cut into squares (16 bars worked well for us), and serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe Source: The Nourishing Gourmet

Lemon Cake with Lemon Filling

My husband and I took the long way home the other day and decided to go on one of our favorite drives. It is this beautiful drive that takes us up over one mountain and down into another valley. We accidentally stumbled upon this road when we were trying to take the scenic route home, but took the wrong scenic road. We ended up in city we weren't planning on going to, but it was totally worth the few extra miles. Luckily around here all of our cities are pretty close so it didn't take us that much longer to get home.I have been talking about the fall colors recently and how I love them. I just thought I would first share with you all a little glimpse of how our mountains are looking right now.

There still is a surprising amount of green up in the mountains so we plan enjoying the beautiful fall colors more over the next week or two.

Ok now on to more drool worthy topics. It was my brother in law's birthday last weekend and I was lucky enough to make his birthday cake. He had some very specific requests as to what kind of cake he wanted. He wanted a lemon cake with lemon filling, cream cheese frosting, and lemons dipped in sugar on it. I set out to meet this challenge, just hoping it would turn out well. I personally think that lemons are often forgotten, or not valued as they should be. I would have never thought to make him a lemon cake, but let me tell you I was sure glad that I did. The cake turned out delicious. Everyone really enjoyed the cake. The cake itself had a mild lemon flavor, the filling is tart and very lemony, and the cream cheese frosting has a little bit of tang all on its own that was absolutely delicious. I used the whipped cream cream cheese frosting that I posted the other day and it was perfect! I hope this post reminds you all of how much you love lemons!

Lemon Cake with Lemon Filling

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
3/4cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup white sugar
4 egg yolks, beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon juice. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make filling: In medium saucepan, mix together 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Mix in 6 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup sugar, and bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. In small bowl, with a wire whisk, beat egg yolks until smooth. Whisk in a small amount of the hot lemon mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan, beating the hot lemon mixture rapidly. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes, or until thick (not to boil).

Pour mixture into medium bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming as it cools. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 3 hours.

To assemble the cake, trim off any excess on the top of each cake so that when they are placed on each other they will sit as flat as possible. Place bottom cake layer on a cake pan. Spread with lemon filling. Place second layer on top of filling. Frost as desired.


Recipe Source: Adapted from Allrecipes

Lemon Ice Box Dessert

I wish I knew who to thank for this yummy dessert. My husband was emailed this recipe and thought it would be something we would like. It definitely was. We shared it with some friends and they all liked it as well. This dessert is easy to make and tastes fabulous at the same time. If you are looking for a yummy simple dessert this is it. I also love that it is frozen because this means you can make it ahead of time!

Crust-
2 c crushed graham crackers
1 stick butter- melted

Filling-
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 c lemon juice
2 c whipping cream
1/2 c powdered sugar

For the crust mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together with a fork. Press crust into 9x13 inch pan.

Filling: Mix cans of sweetened condensed milk with lemon juice, set aside.
Beat cream and sugar until peaks form.  Fold whipped cream into juice/milk mixture and pour over crust.  Freeze.