Meyer Lemon Curd Bars

 

Meyer Lemon Curd Bars

Make These Lemon Bars.

Just do it.

There isn't much to say about it.
So, go. Make them!

I like lemon bars made with cooked curd because the lemon flavor is just soooo much more intense. 

I used Meyer Lemons. Look at that color!!! I didn't sprinkle powdered sugar on top because...that color!

This is a Cook's Illustrated recipe - found on Leites Culinaria:  http://leitesculinaria.com/3357/recipes-lemon-bars.html

I made these as part of a gift package I brought to one of our libraries. It's a small library... hope this was enough for the eight person staff! I made some to go boxes too...because it's good to share. :)

What are you doing still reading this post?! Get the recipe, grab lots of lemon and eggs, and make it! :)

Lemon Scones

Lemon Scones

I made these scones in January and am finally getting around to posting them. I can't believe today is the first day of June! What happened to 2014?!

This is a super easy recipe. It uses buttermilk instead of heavy cream so I think it has a bit fewer calories (but don't worry, it has a stick of butter so it's plenty rich). The lemon flavor is delicate as zest is the only lemon flavor used in the recipe.

Remember, when making scones, you should be able to see little bits of butter. When heated, the water in the butter will create steam and cause the dough to puff up.

The original recipe from Taste of Home says you should make one large circle and cut it into 10-12 scones. However, I made two circles and made 12 scones from the two circles.

These are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee...perhaps some lemon curd or jam too.

Lemon Scones
Adapted from: Taste of Home

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar plus additional sugar for top
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (original called for 1 1/2 teaspoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry cutter, two knives or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in the lemon peel. Pour the buttermilk over the mixture and stir until just mixed.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead a couple times and shape into two balls (or one big one). Place the ball on a parchment paper covered baking pan, and pat into a 1/2" to 3/4" thick circle. Using a knife, cut circle into wedges but don't go all the way through the dough - you are just scoring the dough. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown on the bottom and edges. Enjoy! These are good on their own, and can be served with butter, jam, or lemon curd.

Meyer Lemon Glazed Cookies

Meyer Lemon Glazed Cookies

Our coasts in the US are polar opposites right now. Los Angeles has been going through another heatwave...we've been in the 80's. And the East Coast is getting hit by a snow storm. What to do?

Make cookies. That's the answer for everything.


My parent's have a great Meyer Lemon tree and come winter, it's bursting with lemons. Meyer Lemons are very fragrant and sweeter than your regular lemon. They've gotten super popular in recent years and they deserve the attention! I hope you are able to find some...and I hope they are from California.

This is a simple cookie to make. I made it while watching Sherlock. Oh, I love that show. Don't you? I tried really, really hard to stay up to watch it after Downton, but didn't make it so I watched it the next day while baking these cookies.

I made smaller cookies - the original recipe from Martha Stewart has about double the yield.

Both the cookie batter and the glaze include lemon zest.

Fresh from the oven. Let them cool completely before glazing the cookies.

After glazing the cookies, let the cookies rest for an hour so the glaze sets up.

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Glazed Cookies
Adapted from: Everyday Food/Martha Stewart Glazed Lemon Cookies

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (original recipe was 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated meyer lemon zest (I used two meyer lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh meyer lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze
2 cups confectioners'/powdered sugar
zest of 1 meyer lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh meyer lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the lemon zest until damp and fragrant. This will release the lovely meyer lemon flavor.
3. In an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter with the lemon zesty sugar until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. It may look curdled but that's okay.
4. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture until just combined.
5. Drop dough onto cookie sheets (I line my half-sheet pans with parchment paper). I used a small cookie scoop and got 42 cookies. The originally recipe uses one heaping tablespoon and yields 24 cookies.
6. Bake until edges are golden, 12-15 minutes for small cookies or 15-20 minutes for larger cookies, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. To make the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest until pourable. Spread glaze on the cooled cookies and let sit for an hour until the topping is set.

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 14

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bundt

I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 14

Dude, tomorrow.
Tomorrow is National Bundt Day!
Whoo hoo!

I hope you are celebrating with me by making a Bundt for your friends, family, co-workers, or even your frienemies. Bundts are great - easy to make, little or no frosting, shapely cakes that always deliver love and deliciousness.

If you make a Bundt, let me know and I'll post a photo/link on a round-up! You have til November 23rd to submit. If you want, I'll send you some homemade food gift tags (so you can gift your next bundt to friends). If you are in the U.S., I'll enter you in a raffle to win the pretty new Jubilee Bundt pan. Submission info here.


Today's bundt is super yummmmmy. If you follow my instagram, you know that I often bring food to meetings at the library. One my monthly meeting colleagues sent me a link to this recipe that she makes all the time. Ricotta, Lemon and Blueberries - sign me up!


Ricotta makes the cake rich and moist. Definitely make this - it's perfect for a meeting with a cup of coffee or tea. I like baking with ricotta - try this delicious Orange Ricotta Bundt!



I baked this cake in a 10-cup Heritage Bundt pan. This is one of my favorites. Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook instagrammed this photo for me. Yes, it's MINI Heritage Bundts. So cute! It's on my list to Santa.


Lemon, Blueberries, Ricotta... do it.

Finally, thanks to the American Libraries for mentioning my crazy little project in this week's eNewsletter, ALDirect (November 6, 2013). See it here (scroll to the bottom or search for "bundts"). Thanks for the shout-out!

Whew! I'm almost done with this year's light version of I Like Big Bundts...

I Like Big Bundts 2013
Day 13: Fresh Ginger & Molasses Bundt
Day 12: Matcha Green Tea Crème Fraîche Bundt
Day 11: Triple Chocolate Bundt
Day 10: Biscoff Speculoos Cookie Butter Bundt
Day 9: Zucchini Bundt with Chocolate Ganache
Day 7: Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Day 6: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day 5: Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt
Day 4: Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake
Day 3: Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Day 2: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bundt Cake
Adapted from Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bread on Tasty Kitchen

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/4 cup (250 grams) sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used whole milk ricotta cheese)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons lemon zest (from about 3 lemons)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cup (245 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup blueberries (I used Trader Joe's organic frozen blueberries)
Powdered sugar

My directions are different than Tasty Kitchen's directions (they didn't use a mixer and started by mixing the eggs and sugar together).

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 10-cup Bundt pan by spraying it with Pam with Flour or Baker's Joy, or greasing and flouring the pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute after each addition.
4. Add the ricotta, vanilla, and zest and blend to combine.
5. On low speeed, add half the flour mixture followed by the buttermilk, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined - don't overmix.
6. With a spatula, fold the blueberries into the batter.
7. Pour into prepared Bundt pan and smooth out the top.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes (depending on your oven and pan used)until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let sit for 15 minutes and then invert onto wire rack until completely cool.
8. Sift powder sugar on top of the cake and enjoy!

 

OMG. I totally want this Mini Heritage Pan.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt from The Lemonade Cookbook - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 5

Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt

I Like Big Bundts - Day 5

Welcome to Day 5 of I Like Big Bundts 2013! I'm counting down to National Bundt Day on November 15th and I hope you join me in baking and sharing a bundt with your friends, family and co-workers. Nothing like bringing a Bundt to breakfast, snack or dessert time!

Salads at Lemonade in Downtown Los Angeles, from 2010

Today's Bundt comes from the brand new and highly anticipated The Lemonade Cookbook by Alan Jackson. Lemonade is a great casual dining restaurant or "modern cafeteria" in Southern California and I love it! Read about my first visit on this post from October 2010.

Alan Jackson also brought So Cal The Farm of Beverly Hills restaurants and is the son of LA radio host Michael Jackson (who knew?!) He describes the food as "Southern California comfort food" - that's a perfect term! Lemonade has a bunch of great salads, braised meats, sandwiches, soups, and desserts. Of course, there are also a slew of yummy lemonades to pick from including Cucumber Mint Lemonade (my favorite) and Ginger Peach Lemonade (second favorite!)

I'll be making some other desserts and savories soon - including the to-die-for Cauliflower, Golden Raisin, Almond and Curry Vinaigrette salad. That is soooo good, and I can't wait to make it at home.

I think this cookbook would be a great holiday gift - to those in Los Angeles, and well as those who want a taste of Los Angeles. And Lemonade is now in Terminal 5 (Delta) so if you are at LAX in my fair city, grab a bite (I just had some breakfast before my flight to Seattle last month!)

Lemonade's Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt is filled with poppy seeds, lemon zest and topped with a lemon glaze!

The Bundt uses 1/2 cup (yes, half a cup or 8 Tablespoons) of poppy seeds. It's filled with poppy seeds! Lots of other recipes call for 2 or 4 Tablespoons, but this has 1/2 cup. That's a full spice jar of poppy seeds. If you want to stretch your poppy seeds (my jar of organic poppy seeds was $6.25), you can get by with 1/4 cup or 4 Tablespoons of poppy seeds too. The recipe uses cake flour so the crumb is soft and tender.

The lemon juice and powdered sugar glaze is really important. The cake itself only has the lemon zest, so you need the glaze to give it more lemon flavor. I used organic lemons from Trader Joe's.

I get lots of questions about how to prepare the Bundt pan so that the cake comes come easily. First, I have had disasters in the kitchen too - with half the cake stuck in the pan...so you are not alone! I use Pam with Flour spray (It is labeled BAKING and there is a picture of a BUNDT cake on the bottle). This is different than regular Pam - it has flour in it so it takes the place of greasing and flouring a pan. You can also carefully rub soft or melted butter all over the pan (be sure to hit all the curves) and sprinkle flour in the pan, knocking it around to cover and then dumping the excess flour. Finally, you might also try melting butter and then adding flour to the melted butter to create a slurry. Apply this to the pan with a pastry brush. Unless the recipe tells me different, I usually let the pan sit for 15 minutes on a cake rack before inverting it for completely cool.

There are many, many poppy seeds in this recipe. Did I tell you the story of me failing a drug test because of poppy seeds? Really, it happened (not just a Seinfeld Elaine myth). About 10 years ago, I had two pieces of whole wheat bread with nuts and seeds - including lots of poppy seeds - for breakfast and then another two pieces for a sandwich at lunch before taking the test. Imagine my surprise when they called to tell me I tested positive for opiates! We went through my diet, realized what happened, and I took it again in a couple days! She did say that the test they used was ultra-sensitive, and it was 10 years ago so technology may have changed...but just wanted to give you a little warning!

Have you dusted off your Bundt pan? Find it this weekend so you'll be ready for National Bundt Day on November 15th! See you tomorrow for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

I Like Big Bundts 2013 (so far)
Day 4: Moosewood's Fresh Apple Spice Bundt Cake
Day 3: Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Day 2: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Recipe: Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt from The Lemonade Cookbook (page 209)
Find it on Amazon or in your local library!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Lemonade Cookbook from the publisher, St. Martin's Press (retail value: $30.00). All opinions and reviews are my own.

Bundt:
3 cups cake flour (I used 12 ounces)
1/2 cup poppy seeds (I used a jar of organic poppy seeds. I feel you can use less poppy seeds too)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
3 Tablespoons lemon zest (from 3-4 lemons, try to use organic lemons)
1 cup milk or buttermilk (I used buttermilk)

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons, depending on size)

My directions (slightly altered from the book's directions):
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan with Pam with Flour or by greasing and flouring it.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add the poppy seeds and whisk the mix together.
3. In a small bowl, measure the sugar. Add lemon zest, and rub zest and sugar together with your fingers.
3. In a bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar/zest together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl.
5. On slow speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and the milk to the creamed butter and sugar mixtures in 2 additions. Beat for 1 minute after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the cake's structure. Mix until the batter is smooth.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth surface. Tap pan a few times to release air bubbles. Bake in oven for 60 to 90 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the cake springs back when touched.
7. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes and then invert onto wire rack until completely cool.
8. Mix the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Add more juice or powdered sugar to get a thick, but pourable glaze. Pour glaze over cooled cake and let dry 30 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 2

Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt

Day 2 of I Like Big Bundts 2013

We're on Day 2 of this year's (light edition) of I Like Big Bundts - 15 days of Bundts leading up to National Bundt Day on November 15th! I hope you join me in celebrating the Bundt and bake something special for your family and friends on Nov 15th.

When offered a choice of desserts in a restaurant or bakery, many people go straight for the chocolate. Me? It's all about the lemon (next on the list are ginger, other fruits, mocha/coffee, and then chocolate).

Today, I'm showing the Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake from the classic book Luscious Lemon Desserts by former food editor for Gourmet, Lori Longbotham.

This is a nice big Bundt...just the way I know you like them ;) It's lovely with a cup of tea or coffee. You can also serve it with raspberries or other fruit.

Made with cake flour, this cake's texture is soft and refined. I think the cake is better the next day so the lemon flavors have time to develop (I kept a piece and had it the next day...research purposes, right?!)

It has lots of zest so be sure to have your microplane ready for action. If you aren't lucky enough to have a lemon tree in the backyard, then try to purchase organic lemons since you are using so much of the zest. There is zest in the cake as well as the glaze. In this close-up photo, you can see the pieces of zest clinging to the cake.

My parent's Meyer Lemon tree didn't have any lemons for me so I went to the Farmer's Market and purchased these Eureka Lemons.

Last night, I went to Target to buy a new shower curtain. I got that...and the new iPad Air (no, it wasn't an impulse purchase, I was going to the the iPad at the Apple Store but Target had it on sale for $20 off...and I was able to use my Target gift cards from last Christmas!) Anyway, if I'm not baking Bundts, I'll be playing with my new toy - it's way lighter than older iPads. And special thanks to my UCLA grad school friend Laura who sent me this fabulous mini Bundt from a doll house collection! So cute!

Ahhhhh lemon. You rock. 
Come back tomorrow for another Bundt!
I Like Big Bundts 2013 (so far)

Day 1: Orange Marmalade Jubilee Bundt

Recipe: Ultimate Lemon Pound Cake Bundt
Adapted from Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham, 2001 Chronicle Books

Bundt Cake:
3 1/2 cups (12 1/4 ounces) sifted cake flour (not self rising)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups (450 grams) sugar
6 large eggs, room temp
1 cup milk (I used 1% milk)
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 300⁰F.  Butter and flour or spray with Pam with Flour a 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together TWICE. I sift onto a piece of parchment paper so it is easy to pour into the bowl later.
3. Beat butter with an electric mixer and paddle attachment on medium until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar to the butter, and beat until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well (30-60 seconds) after each addition.
5. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in batches, beginning and ending with the flour.
6. Stir in zest, lemon extract and vanilla.
7. Pour into Bundt pan and smooth top. Bake for 60-90 minutes (depending on your oven) until skewer comes out clean. **Check early because mine was almost done at 70 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack and glaze the warm cake.

Glaze:
1. While the Bundt is resting on the wire rack, make the lemon glaze.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let simmer for 5 minutes until it thickens a little and the sugar has dissolved.
3. Turn the cake onto the rack and brush hot syrup over the hot cake with a pastry brush. Let cake cool before cutting into pieces. Enjoy!

Find the book on Amazon, or find the book in your Library via WorldCat

Lemon Blossom Cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake Cookbook

Lemon Blossom Cupcakes from Georgetown Bakery Cookbook

Libraries are so rad. Ok, I'm a little biased...but I am like many and check out lots of cookbooks from the library (cookbooks are one of the most popular non-fiction circulated titles in public libraries). Recently, I picked up The Cupcake Diaries: Recipes and Memories from the Sisters of Georgetown Cupcake by Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne.

I've been to Georgetown Cupcake in 2009, and the cupcakes were very pretty. My friend Rosie came over and we made the Lemon Blossom Cupcakes.

Rosie, who recently graduated from Johnson and Wales with Bachelors of Science in Baking and Pastry Arts and Foodservice Management (Yay Rosie!!), made a few gum paste flowers. We put a little candy pearl inside the flower. Doesn't it look wonderful on my Whitney Smith pottery?


We had some issues with the measurements though. The recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes. Since I needed more for a work thing, we doubled the recipe - thinking we'll get 24 cupcakes. However, we got 36 cupcakes plus a 6-cup Bundt cake! So...we think the yield in the cookbook is slightly off or they are making huge cupcakes. I think the basic recipe can get you 20-24 cupcakes, not the 12 cupcakes listed.

Also, the recipe says to use 1/2 CUP lemon zest from 2-3 lemons. I used 4 organic lemons and got only 1/4 of a cup when using the microplane. Do they have really big lemons on the East Coast or am I missing something? Since the recipe called for 1/2 CUP zest in both the batter and the frosting, I zested all the lemons I had (about 6) and used all the zest I got out of them.

I made my first Instagram Video! It shows Rosie frosting the cupcake (with Macklemore playing in the background). Find it here. The frosting was tasty...it was a combo of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest!

Thanks to my UCLA college roommate, Agnes for these adorable little cupcake stands. They are making their debut on the blog! :) Also, congrats to the UCLA Baseball team that recently won our first College World Series championship. Woooo hoooo! That gives UCLA 109 NCAA Championships...the most of any college. #GoBruins

Lemon Blossom Cupcakes
From: The Cupcake Diaries: Recipes and Memories from the Sisters of Georgetown Cupcake by Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne
Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick/8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly graded lemon zest (2-3 lemons) - this is what is listed in the recipe...I didn't get close to this amount from four lemons.
For the Lemon Cream-Cheese Frosting
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 stick)
6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup freshly graded lemon zest (2-3 lemons) - again, they must have crazy big lemons in Washington DC! :)

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard cupcakes pan with 12 paper baking cups.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt on a sheet  of wax paper and set aside.
3a. Measure out the sugar in a small bowl. Add the zest and rub together with your fingers to release the lemon's oil.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream together the butter and lemony sugar for 3-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla to the milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
5. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the milk, and mix thoroughly. Repeat. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the last third of dry ingredients followed by the last third of milk. Mix slowly until just incorporated. Add lemon juice, and mix at low speed.
6. Scoop the batter into the cupcake pas using a slandered size ice cream scoop until the cups are 2/3 full, and bake for 16-18 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes) , or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
1. Combine the ingredients in a mixture and whip together at high speed until light and airy, approximately 3-5 minutes.
2. Frost cupcakes. We used a large tip. See my instagram video: http://instagram.com/p/a69_nbx-Ms/


Disclosure: I'm in the Amazon Affiliate program and get a small percent if you purchase something by following this link. (You don't have to buy this book, you can buy other stuff and I magically get a few cents...and don't worry, I never know who buys what so thank you if you do use the link!)

Meyer Lemon Bars

Meyer Lemon Bars

My folks have a Meyer Lemon tree in the backyard. Thus, lemons galore! When life gives you lemons, you need to make some lemon bars!

I adapted a recipe from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich. Oh, by the way, the FTC says I'm supposed to disclose that the link to Alice's cookbook goes to Amazon. I'm in the Amazon Affiliate program where I get a few cents if you click through this link and buy stuff on Amazon (don't worry, I never know who buys what so you can add that Fifty Shades of Grey to your cart too). Anyway, I have to tell you this with all the links now! Oy vey. And what do I do with those few cents? I plow them back into Amazon buying cookbooks...so the cycle of Amazon is complete.

I really like the crust. It'll be my go-to lemon bar crust from now on. It uses melted butter and is super easy to assemble. The "blob" (yes, I think that is a baking term) of dough gets pressed into the bottom of the pan. Because it is "wet", you can get a really smooth surface. I used an off-set spatula to spread and smooth out the crust. The crust is on the thinner side...if you like a big, hardy crust, then this one may not be for you.

Here's a photo of my mom and dad last year holding their Meyer Lemons!

I increased the amount of lemon juice from 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup. I like a big, thick layer of lemon on my lemon bars!

Meyer Lemon Bars
My yield was 25 bars (cut 5 x 5)
Adapted from by Alice Medrich's "Very Tangy Lemon Bars 2.0" (page 182) of her book Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-Mouth Cookies


Crust:
7 Tbsp unsalted Butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
¾ tsp  vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1 cup (4.5 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour

Topping:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (I used 7 ounces of sugar because Meyer lemons are milder than regular lemons. Alice suggest using 4.375 ounces but I missed that note in her recipe!)
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (I didn't measure my zest...used zest from two Meyer lemons)
2/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, strained (Alice Medrich's recipe calls for 1/2 cup juice, but I just kept squeezing my juicy Meyer lemons and just threw all the juice into the bowl!)

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with foil or parchment (create a sling for easy removal).

Crust: In a bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the flour and mix until just incorporated. Spread the dough evenly in the bottom of the pan (I used a small offset spatula). Bake 25-30 minutes until fully baked and golden brown.

Topping: While the crust is baking, stir together sugar and zest until damp. This will release the lemon oils. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the eggs. Add lemon juice and zest and stir until combined.

When the crust is baked, turn the oven temperature down to 300 degrees. Slide the rack out and pour the filling over the hot crust. Baked for an additional 20-25 minutes until center no longer jiggles. Let cool completely in pan before slicing. (I tightly wrapped and refrigerated my bars overnight)