Lovely Lemon Bar Cookies

Something you should know about me: I'm a chocoholic.

From the huge CHOCOLATE in the category cloud over to the right, it's kind of obvious.

But there is one thing that I love even more than all the chocolate in the world - which is really hard for me to say, I took like 20 minutes prepping for this post - and that's lemon bars.

These lemon bars, specifically.

Best.  Ever.  Period.

The crust is buttery and thick, and the lemon filling isn't too tart or too sweet or too crusty or too dry - it's moist and delicious and although it could be a little thicker to balance out the awesome crust, I think it's just fine.

I swear, if I hadn't been giving these away, I would have eaten the whole pan by myself.

This is a Joanne Fluke recipe, from her very first book, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, like those Black and Whites and the Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies.

And it's soooo awesome.

Lovely Lemon Bar Cookies

2 cups flour

2 sticks cold butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons flour

additional powdered sugar to sprinkle

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 9x13 pan.
2. Combine flour and powdered sugar in large bowl.
3. Cut sticks of butter into small pieces and cut into the flour-sugar mixture with a pastry blender/in a food processor until it looks like coarse meal.
4. Spread in prepared pan and press in with hands.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden around edges.  Remove from oven, but don't turn oven off.
6. Whisk eggs with fork, and then combine with sugar.  Add lemon juice and zest and mix.  Mix in baking powder and salt.  Add flour and mix thoroughly.
7. Pour lemon mixture over crust.  Return to oven and bake additional 30-35 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and sprinkle additional powdered sugar.  Let cool and cut into bars.  Makes anywhere from 12-36 bars, depending on desired bar size.

Let's break it down now:

Combine flour and powdered sugar...

Add butter, which you want as cold as possible...

Cut it in...

Spread it out and press it down...

And bake for 15 minutes.

Beat eggs...

Add sugar...

Mix, then combine with lemon juice and zest.  Add baking powder and salt...

...and combine.

Add flour...

...and mix thoroughly.

Pour over baked crust...

...and bake for 30 minutes.  Then sprinkle on that powdered sugar, let it cool, slice it up, and EAT.

Yeah, I cut mine into 12 bars.  No, I don't want to know what the calorie count was.  No, I didn't want to share.  But I did.  Which makes me a good person.  Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed these.

Hope you enjoy them too!
-JJ

Lemon Cake

I made this delicious cake from Martha Stewart for Easter, and now I've finally gotten around to posting it!  It was a big hit among friends and family, and despite its complications, it was totally worth it.

It also looks very pretty.

Lemon Cake
REQUIRES SOFTENED BUTTER
REQUIRES CHILLING TIME
DON'T THROW EGG WHITES AWAY (use in frosting/other recipes)
(It also takes 3 lemons.)

Lemon Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 sticks unsalted butter, SOFTENED
2 cups sugar, divided
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded

Lemon Curd Filling:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2/3 cup lemon juice
8 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Whipped Frosting:

3 large egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice (if you like really lemony frosting - I used 1 1/2 and it worked just fine)

For the Lemon Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour (Pam probably works fine) two 8-inch round cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time.  Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and combine.
4. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour.
5. Divide batter between pans and smooth tops.  Bake 32 to 35 minutes, or until sides pull away from pan.
6. While cakes are baking, boil remaining 1/2 cup sugar and water in a saucepan.  Add lemon slices and simmer for 25 minutes.  
7. Using a slotted spoon, transfer candied lemon slices to a wax-paper-covered plate.  Stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice to sugar water to make lemon syrup.
8. Remove cakes from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in pans.  Run a plastic knife around sides of pans and turn out onto wire racks.
9. Using toothpick, poke holes in tops of warm cakes.  Brush with lemon syrup.  Let cool completely before frosting.

For the Lemon Curd:

1. In a saucepan off heat, whisk sugar, zest, and egg yolks.  Whisk in lemon juice and salt.
2. Add butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium high, until butter has melted, the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and small bubbles form around the edges of the saucepan, about 5 minutes.  Don't boil.
3. Continue to whisk and remove from heat.  Pour curd through fine-mesh sieve into a glass bowl.  Press plastic wrap against surface of curd and refrigerate until totally cool.

For the Whipped Frosting:

1. In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites, sugar, salt, and water.  Cook over medium, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes or until sugar has dissolved.  Transfer to large bowl.
2. Using electric mixer, beat on medium-high until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Do not overbeat.  Reduce speed to low and add lemon juice, then beat until just combined.  Use immediately.

Assembly:

1. Spread lemon curd over the flat side of one of your cakes.  You'll have leftover curd.
2. Place the other layer, flat side down, on top.
3. Spread fresh whipped frosting over cake with a spatula or frosting knife.  It will easily spread over sides and top.
4. Garnish with candied lemon slices on top of cake.
5. Serve immediately or before you need to refrigerate it.  FROSTING DOES NOT KEEP IN FRIDGE.

Some tips before we dive in:

• The lemon syrup was... very lemony.  In my opinion, you can probably skip the syrup because the cake is already so dense and moist.  Just add some more lemon juice to the actual cake and you'll get away with a not-too-sour cake.
• You can try to eat the candied lemon slices.  I don't recommend it.
• If you plan on refrigerating the cake to keep until later, don't use the whipped frosting.  Find a nice vanilla that you can make lemon, or just wait to frost it until before serving.  It's a meringuey frosting, and will dissipate/melt in the fridge.  It won't look very good anymore. :/ Personal experience at ya.

Anyway, now with my tips/warnings in place, we can break it down:
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest...

In a separate bowl, beat SOFTENED butter...

...and sugar...

...until fluffy.

Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time.

RESERVE THE WHITES FOR THE FROSTING.

Mix in lemon juice.

Add some flour mixture...

Then some buttermilk...

...and repeat until both are gone.

Pour into pans and smooth the tops.

Bake for 32 minutes.  Meanwhile, slice a lemon...

...and boil sugar and water.  Add lemon slices and simmer for 25 minutes.

Remove from saucepan with a slotted spoon...

...and place on a wax-lined plate.

Add lemon juice to your to-be syrup mixture.

Your cakes should be done by now, so remove them from the oven and let cool 10 minutes in pans...

Then run a plastic knife around the edges of the pans (so that you don't scrape them up too badly) and invert them onto wire racks.

Poke holes into the tops all over with a toothpick...

...and brush with lemon syrup (you will use all of it - the cake soaks it up really fast!).

Now, start on your lemon curd by whisking sugar, zest, and egg yolks...

Whisk in lemon juice and salt...

Add butter...

...and cook until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  It'll thicken even more in the fridge.  Transfer to a glass bowl...

...cover with plastic wrap like so...

...and refrigerate until thoroughly cool.  Once the curd is coolish, start making your whipped frosting.  Combine egg whites, salt, sugar, and water in a homemade double boiler...

...until the sugar has dissolved; transfer to a large bowl.

Beat until stiff peaks form and mix in lemon juice until just combined.

Insert strips of wax paper underneath your first layer on its serving platter to catch drips.  Spread your cooled lemon curd over the flat side of one cake...

You'll have a lot of leftover curd, I guarantee it.  Serve it in little cups with blueberries or shortbread cookies, plop it in some mini tarts, or do what I did: eat it with a spoon! :3  Anyways, place the other cake, flat side down, on top...

Spread whipped frosting on top and around the sides of your cake...

Remove wax strips and garnish with candied lemon slices.

Enjoy!

-JJ