Lemon "Brownies"

I hesitate to call these "brownies" with their dazzling yellow hue, but that is what the recipe dubbed them, and so I give you "Lemony Lemon Brownies" as seen in various Pinterest and facebook posts.  :)  I tried these out of curiosity, and  they're certainly no show-stopper.  However, they are a tasty little treat that are quickly whipped-up, and could be paired with other desserts (various ice creams come to mind) for an escape from the ordinary.

Lemon Brownies (with lemon glaze)

Brownies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup flour (all-purpose or cake)
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. lemon zest
3/4 cups granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Glaze:
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
8 tsp. lemon zest
1 cup icing sugar (powdered/confectioners sugar)

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8"x8" pan.  Zest and juice 2 lemons.  Beat together the flour, sugar, salt and butter.  In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, zest, and lemon juice.  Add this to the flour mixture. Beat until creamy, pour into greased pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown around the edges.  Cool completely before glazing.  (To make the glaze, simply whisk the three ingredients together until smooth.)

Berry Bounty Cake

This cake recipe was originally called a "Blueberry Bounty Cake" in a Country Woman magazine that I found laying around.  I used mixed berries in mine, so I adjusted the title of it here.  :)  I also used the Berry Best Cheesecake recipe (previous post) as the base-layer for this cake.  The lower tier was 1/2 cheesecake (baked without the crust) and 1/2 bounty cake.  The top tier was a 2-layer bounty cake.  I frosted it with plain-and-simple whipped cream (with a touch of vanilla and lightly sweetened with sugar).

Berry Bounty Cake

1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel (I used the zest of one lemon)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup lemonade (I simply juiced my lemon and added about 2 tsp. of sugar to the juice, then watered it down to one cup total liquid)
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each.  Beat in the lemon peel and vanilla.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the flour mixture and the lemonade alternately to the sugar mixture and beat until well blended.  Fold in the berries.  Baking time will vary depending on the pan of choice.  For 2 10" rounds start checking your cakes at about 22 minutes.  You don't want to dry them out, but a toothpick inserted near-center should come out clean.  If you do choose to use the cheesecake along-with, and/or the whipped cream frosting, you WILL need to refrigerate this cake.

Berry Best Cheesecake

This is an adaptation/alteration of a blueberry cheesecake recipe that I found in a magazine (I believe it was Taste of Home?).  I decided to make it for Easter this year, and it turned out fabulous.  I used a crust-less version of it as the base layer for a cake that I did last month.  That also turned out well.  This cheesecake does not require a hot water bath or gradual cooling, making it one of the simpler recipes.  It has a thick texture (though seedy if you don't strain your berries a bit) and a very rich flavor; a perfect use for ripe spring and summer berries.

Berry Best Cheesecake

12 graham cracker boards
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 packages (total of 24 oz) Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
6 oz plain low-fat greek yogurt (recipe calls for 2%)
3 Tbsp. lemon juice (I used the juice of 1 lemon, it worked well)
2 tsp. lemon zest (one lemon should be plenty for this)
3 eggs
1 cup mixed berries
1/4 cup sugar

(I used frozen berries for this and had a good result, but I'm sure that fresh would be even better).

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.  Crush the crackers as finely as possible, mix them with the melted butter and 2 Tbsp of sugar, and press them firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch round spring-form pan.  In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and yogurt.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the lemon juice and the zest.  Add the eggs and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl at least once.  Rinse the berries and toss them with the flour before folding them into the filling.  Pour the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edge.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the cheesecake, then allow it to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about an hour.  This cake should be refrigerated for at least 3 hours before serving, in order to set.  Just before serving you may want to add additional berries and/or glaze to the top of your cheesecake.

Thoughts of a 4-year-old girl.

Some time ago my newly 4-year-old daughter was having some deep thoughts while riding in the car on the way to her cousins house.  The following conversation took place:

Abby:  "Mom?"
Me: "Yes?"
Abby: "I've learned something.  'Almost' means 'no.'"
Me: "Well, what do you mean exactly?"
Abby: "Like when I race with Lily and I say, "Did I win?" and you say, "Almost."

I guess she has a point there....

Later, on the way HOME from that same visit to her cousins she piped up from the back seat, "Mom, I learned something ELSE today!  Boys are ALMOST like people!"

In summary, Boys = Almost People, Almost = No

I guess this was an educational day for her.  :)

Fondant uses and ideas

Marshmallow Fondant

A much easier and cheaper alternative to the "real" stuff, this is what I make and use on my cakes.

Marshmallow Fondant:

1 bag of marshmallows

1/2 tsp Vanilla (clear if you want it to be really white)

Vegetable shortening

1 tsp water

2-4 cups of sifted powdered sugar

Grease the inside of a microwave safe bowl (and your spatula or spoon) with vegetable shortening.  Dump in your marshmallows, vanilla and water.  Microwave in 30 second bursts until the marshmallows are fully melted (depending on your microwave this should take 2-3 minutes).  Stir in your powdered sugar until it gets to firm to stir, and then knead it until smooth.  At this point you can divide it and add coloring.  Remember, food coloring can "ripen" or "mature" as it sits, meaning that it often will get darker.  When using colors, less is more in most cases.  Make sure your fondant stays sealed so that it doesn't lose moisture.  It can be stored for a few days at room temperature, weeks in a fridge or months in a freezer.  Allow it to come to room temperature before working with it.  You'll want your surfaces greased or dusted with powdered sugar or corn starch when using fondant, and keep it covered with plastic or a plate to prevent it from drying out and cracking as you're working with it.  

Coconut Macaroons

When I was hunting for a good coconut macaroons recipe I came across a video-tutorial on the Joy of Baking website (link at the bottom of the page) that looked pretty unique.  Pre-heating the eggs, and using cake flour rather than all-purpose, make these cookies AMAZING.  Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.  After only 2 tries I had mastered the recipe (it is not as difficult as it sounds) and I decided to enter them in our county fair.  Out of hundreds of cookie entries they won best in show!!!  So I'm passing this great recipe along for anyone who loves a good coconut macaroon.

Coconut Macaroons:

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
3 cups sweetened coconut flakes/shredded coconut

Boil 2" of water in a saucepan.  Place the egg whites is a glass bowl over the boiling water.  Whisk and heat the eggs until white, foamy and warm.  Add the remaining ingredients except for the coconut, and combine thoroughly.  Fold in the coconut until all is moist.  Cover and chill for 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 325 and line a sheet with parchment paper.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoons (you could use an ice cream scoop to achieve a really nice round ball) on the paper, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.  Cool for a few minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For a great tutorial you can visit the Joy of Baking website and click on "cookie recipes" at the top.  This makes about 18 cookies.  You could drizzle these with melted chocolate, but I felt that they were perfect just the way they were.  ENJOY!