Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

The combo of lemon and poppy seed is such a classic and delicious flavor – one that I don’t bake with often enough! When I saw this recipe, I knew it’d be a definite keeper! They’re best while still warm and can be spread with a little butter or lemon curd, or maybe next time, I’ll make a lemony glaze to drizzle on top – yum!

These scones are so easy to make and are a perfect breakfast food that could be made ahead for a group or quickly tossed together for a last minute breakfast treat. Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 lemon, zested
1 Tbsp poppy seed
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk

Yield: 8 scones

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix until butter is evenly distributed.

Stir in the lemon zest, poppy seed, egg, and milk until just mixed and a dough forms. If the dough is dry, add a little more milk until soft.

Sprinkle a clean surface with flour and place the dough on it. Gently roll or pat the dough into a 9 inch flat circle and cut into 8 triangles. Carefully transfer the triangles into a scone pan or onto a lined baking sheet.

Bake the scones for 15-16 minutes or until golden brown. Let them stand for 5 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve while warm and enjoy!

Source: Slightly adapted from Betty Crocker’s Entertaining Basics

Cucumber Salad with Lemon and Dill

Have you ever thrown something together on a whim, trying to clean out some items in your fridge, and it turns out a lot better than expected? This is one of those dishes – what a nice surprise it was!

I had a cucumber, some radishes,onion, carrot, and lemon that needed to be used so I grabbed a few sprigs of fresh dill from the garden and tossed it all together with a little oil and white wine vinegar and poof – a tasty cucumber salad was born. It is light, healthy, and tastes a bit like pickles and is an easy side dish to pair with a sandwich or simply eat on it’s own!

Cucumber Salad with Lemon and Dill

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, sliced
4 radishes, sliced
1/4 red onion, diced
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
Fresh dill, minced
Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Source: A Beckster Original

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

If you love lemony desserts, you will LOVE these cookies! Yes, there is ricotta in them too, but honestly, you can’t even taste it. It just gives the cookies an amazing light and moist texture. Then add some lemon glaze on top, and you have a tart and tasty winner!

You can simply halve this recipe if you don’t need a mountain of cookies. But if you need a simple way to provide some sweets for a crowd, this is the way to go. Easy to prep, easy to bake, and easy to glaze. They seem a lot more high maintenance than they really are – but that’s one of the fun parts of impressing guests!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 lemon, zested
3 Tbsp lemon juice

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 lemon, zested
3 Tbsp lemon juice

Yield: Around 4 dozen cookies

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line a baking sheet and spoon the dough (about 1 tablespoon for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. If it is too thick, gradually add more lemon juice. Dip each cookie into the glaze, letting the excess drip off. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours before serving.

Source: Live Love Pasta

Lemon Whoopie Pies

When my lovely coworker said she’d like whoopie pies or something lemony for her Birthday dessert, I knew I had to take the best of both worlds and make some yummy lemon whoopie pies for her special day. (Hi Lori! ) These turned out great – the cookies were soft and delicious and the lemony cream filling was the perfect thing to bind them. I made the cookies smaller than the original recipe since I needed to feed a group, but you can definitely make them jumbo sized. Regardless, any lemon lover in your life will love these. They’re a perfect treat for the Spring!

Lemon Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

For the filling:
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Yield: 18-20 medium whoopie pies

Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until smooth, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla, mixing until blended, about 1 minute. The batter may look curdled, but it’s fine! On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the buttermilk. Mix in the remaining flour mixture just until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth again.

Drop a small spoonful of dough (or about 3 Tbsp each for a giant cookie) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until they’re firm, about 6 minutes. (about 12 minutes for jumbo cookies) The tops of the cookies should not brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling:
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice until thoroughly blended and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. If the filling is too soft to hold its shape, chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Turn half of the cookies bottom side up. Leaving a little space around the edge, spread each with a dollop of filling. Gently press the flat bottoms of the remaining cookies onto the fillings.

Place the whoopie pies in the refrigerator until ready to serve. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy!

Source: Joy the Baker

Little Devil

Happy Leap Day! This month’s cocktail is one I found called the “Little Devil”. My hubby described it rightfully as an extra powerful Mike’s Hard Lemonade. The citrus flavor of the fresh lemon juice and the triple sec blended beautifully with the rum and gin. It is sweet and sour and leaves it’s mark – but not too powerful – just like you’d expect a little devil to be.

Plus the cherry is an added bonus – it gives the drink a slight devilish hue and provides something tasty to eat at the end!

Little Devil

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz light rum
1 1/2 oz gin
4 tsp triple sec
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
Maraschino cherry

Yield: 1 drink

Instructions:
Combine all of the  liquids into a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake for about 10 seconds and strain into a glass. Add a cherry to the glass and enjoy!

Source: Drink of the Week

Lemon Scones

These light lemony scones were the perfect thing to slather some homemade lemon curd on. Lemon curd and scones are both things that I was really introduced to by my Aunt in Virginia – she’d often make scones for breakfast and besides the basic butter and jams, would usually have lemon curd available as a topping too. I was quickly hooked. Add a cup of coffee into the mix, and I’m a happy girl.

So this breakfast made me think of you, Aunt Linda, and the wonderful time spent in your home. Hopefully I can get some Texans hooked on these delicious foods too!

Lemon Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp lemon zest

Yield: 8 scones

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add buttermilk and lemon zest, stirring just until mixed. Put the dough onto a floured surface (it will be a bit sticky!) and knead gently six times. Shape the dough into a ball. Pat the dough into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Place the wedges into a scone pan or onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

Source: Slightly adapted from All Recipes

Lemon Curd

After the previous failure with blood orange curd, I decided to give some classic lemon curd a try instead. The flavors were superb and perfectly tart and the smooth texture was exactly what I was aiming for. Success!

Again, the process isn’t very difficult, you just have to keep constantly mixing it till it thickens up. There are so many delicious things you can do with lemon curd – you could use it as a middle layer on a stacked cake or simply spread it on a piece of toast. (you’ll see soon what I mainly used it for)

If I had to choose between store bought and homemade, I’d definitely spend the extra time to whip up a batch myself. Sorry store bought – you’re yummy but this just kicks it up a notch!

Lemon Curd

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Directions:
In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce). This will take approximately 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from heat and immediately pour it through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let it cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the curd immediately so a skin doesn’t form and refrigerate for up to a week.

Source: Joy of Baking - includes a helpful video too!

Gingerbread Cookies with Lemon Creme Filling

I recently made these cookies after being intrigued by the combo of lemon and gingerbread. Let me tell you, they work VERY well together! The chewy texture and bold flavor of gingerbread combined with the tart creamy lemon filling is amazing. You can decorate them beautifully like Bridget does in the original post or create something of your own! I thought that a star shape would be cute and kept it simple with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top.

Next time I’ll make them in a simple circular shape, because as pretty as the stars are, the filling would work better on a simpler shape. Also, my cookies were a bit thick, so the cookie/filling ratio was a little skewed. But regardless, check out this deliciousness:

Gingerbread Cookies with Lemon Cream Filling

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup molasses
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup lemon curd
1/3 cup marshmallow creme

Directions:
Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir together the water and baking soda until dissolved. Stir in the molasses; set aside. Beat butter & sugar until fluffy and combined. Whisk together flour, salt and spices. Add to the butter mixture, alternating with the molasses mixture. Begin and end with the flour. Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter and place on baking sheet. Freeze for 5 minutes before baking. Bake 12 minutes (for a large shape). Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely before filling and decorating.

Stir together 1/2 cup lemon curd (jarred or homemade) with 1/3 cup marshmallow creme.  Adjust the amounts based on how lemon-y you like it. Spoon some of the mixture on one cookie and sandwich together with another cookie. Sprinkle top cookie with powdered sugar or decorate however you like. Enjoy!

Source: Bake at 350

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

This recipe is a nice twist on your standard blueberry muffin – the lemon gives it a brighter flavor and the addition of cornmeal adds a different (but nice) texture. Using your own hand picked blueberries makes it a little more special too!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Juice and zest of 1 medium lemon
Cooking spray
1 Tbsp sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the blueberries and lightly stir to incorporate. Combine the milk, butter, lemon juice and zest, and egg in a bowl. Lightly whisk together. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir together until just moist. (try not to over mix!)

Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray, or line with paper liners. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and sprinkle the tops of each with a pinch of sugar. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the tin immediately and cool on a wire rack. Serve while warm (ideally) and enjoy!

Source: Slightly adapted from myrecipes.com

Veggie Tales: Cauliflower

I’ve always been lukewarm about cauliflower. It’s never my first choice on veggie platters and I’d definitely pick it’s brother broccoli first. (Now I’m sadly imagining broccoli and cauliflower, the two competitive veggie brothers, and cauliflower always gets picked last in gym class. Oh dear.)

I’m quite a fan of this recipe though – the lemon and parmesan add a nice flavorful kick to the sometimes bland taste of cauliflower. Plus the pan frying action, while cooking it and making it soft, adds a nice crispy dimension with the browned parts of the veggie. Overall, I rather enjoyed this side dish and would definitely eat it again. However, here’s my other half’s take:

“This is going to be “point/counter point” time: One word…blayucasdofinadsfo! Okay, maybe that’s not a word, but to be P.C. I did not like cauliflower. Lemon and cheese only helped mask the strong taste of cauliflower that I didn’t like. Now before people jump me and say how dare I chastise this veggie, I’m sure there is at least ONE thing out there people do not like to eat. For me it’s A LOT of things, but my perceptions are changing on some (but not all). Also, this in no way detracts from my wife’s amazing cooking! I can safely say I will not purposely try cauliflower anytime soon again.”

Well there you have it folks! Try it yourself and see where you stand

Lemon Parmesan Pan Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 whole Cauliflower Head, Cut Into Florets
1 Tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1/4 cups Grated Parmesan
1 tsp Parsley Flakes (or a handful of minced fresh parsley – whatever you have!)
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and arrange the cauliflower florets on top. Sprinkle in about 1 Tablespoon of water, then cover with a tightly-fitting lid. Heat skillet on medium-high heat and sear the florets, checking color occasionally and shaking the pan when bottoms become golden brown.

Once cauliflower has roasted and become fork-tender, transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkling with lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss gently to coat and serve.

Source: Apricosa on Tasty Kitchen