Meyer Lemon Ginger Scones - Lemon Week 2011

Meyer Lemon Ginger Scones

Happy Friday! It's the last day of Lemon Week 2011 for justJenn and me. And my friend Mary is going crazy with her lemon week...she's on Day 6! We are all shouting, "Make something lemon this weekend!"

I love the scone. So easy to make and such a great morning treat. I've made La Brea Bakery Ginger Scones and Flour Bakery's Lemon Ginger scone, so this time I wanted to try Martha's recipe. It is a variation of her currant scone recipe found in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook cookbook. I made half the recipe and upped the sugar and zest. I wasn't serving the scones with any butter or jam, so I upped the sugar a bit. And I upped the lemon zest because it is lemon week! I like to make square scones because they are super easy and made 16 small scones with half the recipe (the full recipe says it makes 16 scones...oh dear, those scones must be huge!)

This recipe asks you to freeze the uncooked, cut scones for at least 2 hours or overnight. Perfect if you want to pop them into the oven in the morning. However, I started in the morning and these only had 45 minutes in the freezer, but they still turned out very yummy.

How do all three scone recipes compare? I like all of them! The La Brea Bakery recipe has more ginger and less lemon. That is my go-to recipe for any ginger lover. And the Flour bakery Lemon Ginger scone? That lemon glaze is sooo good. That one is good for someone who likes lemon more than ginger. So this one? Perfect for that person in the middle who likes a hint of lemon and ginger. Both are more subtle in this scone, and yet very pleasing. I hope you get a chance to make all three...and invite me over for tea!

Lemon Week 2011:
Meyer Lemon Ginger Muffin, Whole Meyer Lemon Bars, Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Bundt, Avgolemono Soup

Recipe:

Meyer Lemon Ginger Scones

Adapted from the Currant Scones recipe, Lemon-Ginger Scone variation (page 42) in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
I got 16 mini scones from this recipe (which is half the original recipe)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar (I increased the sugar from the original recipe)
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 stick butter, cold, cut into small pieces
Zest of 1 lemon (I used Meyer lemon)
2 ounces crystallized ginger, cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream, cold
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 egg yolk + 2 T of cream
Sanding sugar or Raw sugar

1. Whisk together in a large bowl: flour, sugar, powder, salt.
2. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender or your finger (my choice) until the mixture has pea size butter bits.
3. Combine lemon zest and crystallized ginger in the flour mixture.
4. Pour cream and lemon over the flour mixture. Gently combine with your hands or spatula. Don't overmix.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat into a square, rectangle or circle about 1 inch thick (depending on the size you want to make) and cut to size.
6. Place on parchment paper covered baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm. (Martha says at least 2 hours or overnight. I only had 45 minutes to chill and they still turned out).
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Beat together the egg yolk and 2 T cream. Brush on the scones and sprinkle with sanding sugar or raw sugar.
9. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

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Avgolemono Lemon Rice Soup - Lemon Week 2011

Avgolemono Soup

Lemon Week continues! I'm usually baking, but a girl needs to eat. And I love to eat soup!

Last month, we had a Lemon Fest at work. My colleague has a huge lemon tree and brought in baskets and baskets of lemons. We had a potluck of lemon themed foods and one of my colleagues made this Greek lemon rice soup. I couldn't wait to make it at home!

Just wanted to show you where the lemons are coming from! Here are my folks in front of their Meyer lemon tree.

The recipe is from the LA Times Food Section's Culinary "SOS". Here, you find people writing letters begging for recipes from their fav restaurant. Luckily, someone asked for the Avgolemono soup from Taverna Tony in Malibu! (I'm hoping that one day they get the Surfas Cafe Lavender Lemon Bars recipe! :)

Recipe:
Avgolemono soup at Taverna Tony - Los Angeles Times Food Section
My adaptations: I had some leftover rotisserie chicken so I used that instead of poaching chicken in broth. I used long grain white rice and Meyer lemons.

Lemon Week 2011:
Meyer Lemon Ginger Muffin, Whole Meyer Lemon Bars, Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Bundt

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Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Bundt - Lemon Week 2011

Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Bundt

It's Day 3 of Lemon Week! Hello. My name is Mary and you may have heard...I Like Big Bundts. So, of course we had to have a Bundt cake. But this one is a Meyer Lemon Bundt!

Friends Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet and Jenn of JustJenn are celebrating lemons this week.

I made Martha Stewart's recipe for a pound cake but made 1/2 the recipe. I think I baked it a bit too long or over-mixed the ingredients because it was a bit dry. I'll have to try the recipe again!

I baked it in the pretty Bavarian bundt pan. I really like this bundt pan...just be sure to spray the heck out of it...them curves? Very sexy but lots of opportunities for stickage.

Be sure to check out JustJenn and the East Coast Mary recipes too. You don't have an excuse not to make something lemony! :)

Recipe:
Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
I made 1/2 the recipe and baked it in 10-cup Bundt cake pan. I baked it for 60 minutes but found it a bit dry so I would check it much earlier next time.

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Whole Meyer Lemon Bars - Lemon Week 2011

Whole Meyer Lemon Bars

It's Day #2 of Lemon Week! justJenn and I are making five days of lemon recipes with my dad's Meyer lemons. I have about 10 minutes to write this post so I'll just say: Crust. Lemon. Done. Yum.

David Lebovitz created this recipe using one whole lemon. A shortbread crust is topped with a food processor mixture of whole lemon, eggs, corn starch, sugar, and butter. I used a Meyer lemon, but David prefers the regular lemon (I only have Meyers in the house since I get them free from my folk's backyard! :)

Come back tomorrow for another lemon recipe!

Recipe:
David Lebovitz - Whole Lemon Bars
My adaptations: I used a meyer lemon and I removed most of the pith before putting it into the food processor. I know that runs against the "whole lemon" part of this...but it's just what I did. I also think I should have baked the crust a little longer to get a darker brown like David's.

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Meyer Lemon Ginger Muffins - Lemon Week 2011

Meyer Lemon Ginger Muffins

For the past couple years, I've dropped off a big bag of Meyer Lemons on justJenn's porch...a lemon fairy. justJenn had Lemon Week 2009 and 2010 and this year, I'm celebrating my dad's Meyer lemon tree with a week of lemon recipes too. Sure, I'm losing enamel on my teeth, but Meyer lemons make your kitchen smell fantastic so it's worth it!

It's Lemon Week 2011! Check out what justJenn is making, and check out my friend Mary on the East Coast who received a box of lemons from the Lemon Fairy. So far, she's made scones, muffins, and pasta.

This recipe has fresh ginger and lemon zest. You whiz them together with some sugar in a food processor.

I always use a disher to, well, as the name implies, dish out the batter so they are all relatively the same size. The crown on the muffin is really nice and perky. :)

After coming out the oven, a lemon/powdered sugar glaze is drizzled on top while the muffins are still a bit warm.

Recipe:
Simply Recipes - Lemon Ginger Muffins
My adaptations: I used Meyer lemons, I rubbed the zest into the sugar before adding it to the butter, and I used sour cream instead of yogurt because that's what I had in my fridge! I made 1/2 the recipe and got 9 muffins...so you might get more than 12 if you make the full recipe.

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