Lemon Cookies

Zesty Lemon Cookies

Made: August 14, 2011

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- In the bowl of a standing mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until well blended
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl
- With the mixer on low speed, add eggs, one at a time, until blended
- Add lemon juice and zest, mixing until blended
- Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until blended
- Drop by rounded scoopfuls onto prepared baking sheets
- Bake until edges are firm with no color, 12 to 15 minutes
- Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely
- Dust with powdered sugar

For me, these came out a little too thick battered, so I might reduce the flour next time. Trial and error! But they taste very lemony and overall are quite delish :)

(Recipe used: realmomkitchen.com)

Lemony cheese

Lemon Cheese Bars

Made: April 23, 2012

Ingredients:

- 1 package yellow cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Directions:

- In a bowl, combine the cake mix, one egg and oil until crumbly
- Set aside 1 cup for topping
- Press the remaining crumb mixture into a greased 13in x 9in x 2in baking pan
- Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until golden brown
- In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy
- Beat in the sugar, extract and reamining egg until smooth
- Spread over crust
- Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture
- Bake for 25-30 minute4s longer or until golden brown
- Cool on a wire rack
- Refrigerate leftovers

I pretty much followed the recipe to a tee on this one. Only I had wax paper in-between my pan and cake crust, so it was easier to remove without breaking the cake all over the place. Overall, it came out nice and moist with just the right amount of lemon :)

(Recipe used: Taste of Home Cake Mix Creations)

Lemony surprise

Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake

Made: April 22, 2011

Ingredents:

Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs (large)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup lemon juice

Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease a 9in pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fully and pale in color (about 3 minutes)
- Add the eggs one at a time; mixing well after each egg.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the batter along with the lemon juice.
- Mix only until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing with a spatual.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Place on a wire rack to cool.

Frosting:

- In a bowl, combine the sifted powdered sugar and lemon juice. You want the icing to be thicker than a glaze but still thing enough that it will just run over the sides of the cake.
- Adjust if needed.
- Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides.
- Let the icing dry before covering and storing.

I didn't use parchment paper ... I didn't think it needed it. I also only cooked the cake for about 35 minutes as the sides were starting to brown. The middle was also clear when I stuck a knife in the middle. :) The icing I made still seemed too thin ... I wanted it to taste lemony and it just never got there for my liking ... so I'll have to play around with that part. :) Enjoy!

(Recipe used: Joy of baking)