Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Bars - Williams Sonoma

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Bars

My folks have a great Meyer lemon tree. They are lovely lemons...very fragrant, thin skinned, less tart than regular lemons.

Sometimes, you have a few lemons on the counter and some leftover buttermilk. Solution? These bars!

This was originally created for regular lemons, but I substituted meyer lemons. It has a simple crust that is pressed into the bottom of a pan.

Topped with some powdered sugar, these are a nice treat. Lemon bars are always a delight 24/7, no?

Daylight savings is back! Although I'm jetlagged for a week (even though I try to get up and go to bed earlier the week before the time change), I love daylight savings. Cidney the Girl Dog loves it too...longer walks, more to see and smell, and a happier Auntie Mary.

Recipe:
Lemon Buttermilk Bars - Williams Sonoma
Found in Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Baking, by Lou Seibert Pappas (Oxmoor House, 2006) and Weeknight Cook (Oxmoor House, 2009)

Crust:
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sugar
2/3 cup (3 ounces) flour
1/8 tsp. salt

Topping:
2 eggs
2/3 cup (5 ounces) granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (I used Meyer lemons)
1/2 cup buttermilk

Confectioners/Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
2. In a mixer with paddle attachment, beat together the butter and 1/4 cup granulated sugar on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the speed to low, add 2/3 cup flour and the salt and beat until blended. Spoon the dough into the prepared pan and press evenly into the pan bottom. Bake until the crust is golden, 15 to 18 minutes.
3. While the crust is baking, make the filling. Beat the eggs and 2/3 cup granulated sugar on medium speed until blended. Add 2 Tbs. flour, the lemon zest, lemon juice and buttermilk and beat until smooth. Pour the filling over the baked crust.
4. Bake until the top of the filling is set and barely browned at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into bars, dust with sifted confectioners’ sugar.

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Meyer Lemon Muffins - Los Angeles Times

Meyer Lemon Muffins from the Los Angeles Times

My dad has a meyer lemon tree and I always have a few lemons around. I know...I'm totally lucky! If you happen to have access to some meyer lemons, try this muffin!

This recipe comes from the Los Angeles Times Food Section... my favorite reading of the week. I changed up the topping a bit, but hope to try the original soon. The original has a cinnamon-sugar mixture with a thin slice of lemon on top.

You take two Meyer Lemons and process them...skins and all. I don't think you should do this with a regular lemon. Meyer lemons have thinner skin and are sweeter than regular lemons. The muffins don't rise very much.

Meyer Lemon Muffins
Los Angeles Times
I adapted the Meyer Lemon Muffins that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, but I changed up the topping. I skipped the cinnamon, sugar, thin slice of lemon topping for a powdered sugar/lemon glaze.

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 Meyer lemons
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep muffin tins with liners or Pam with Flour spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Cut two of the lemons into 1-inch pieces. Remove the seeds. Put them in a blender or food processor and pulse until the lemon is finely chopped. (I would only make this recipe with Meyer lemons, not regular lemons.)
4. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the milk, butter and chopped lemon mixture, and stir to combine.
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the lemon mixture. Stir just until all ingredients are moistened.
6. Spoon the batter into muffin pans, making about 18 muffins.
7. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
8. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.
9. Glaze: Combine powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to make a glaze. Pour over the muffins.
Note: The LA Times recipe has a cinnamon, sugar, lemon slice topping. Please see the recipe for those instructions.

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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)

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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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Lemon Ginger Scones - Flour Bakery Cookbook

Lemon Ginger Scones

My friend Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet in really cold and snowy Connecticut is forming a support group. Those who can't stop baking from Joanne Chang's new book, Flour. The book was sold out for some time on Amazon (it's back in stock now), but I found a copy last night at my local bookstore. Whoo hoo!

I immediately went home, threw on some PJs and curled up with this bestseller. It's really pretty and practically every page is tagged! I love that every recipe has scale measurements too! :)

This morning I made the Lemon Ginger Scones. The recipe makes 10 scones but I scooped them out with a small ice cream scoop and got 23 small scones.

While warm, a lovely lemon glaze is poured on top. I used my dad's Meyer lemons. Yum!

Be sure to put this book on your wish list! I can't wait to make some more items...and meet up with Mary in our little support group! :)

Recipe:
Flour : spectacular recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang (page 46): Available on Amazon, your local bookstore, or in your library

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