Little Lemonies (Lemon Brownies)

Despite all my sweet posts lately, I am actually losing weight!  I had braces put on 2 weeks ago, and eating has been a challenge, so I'll just call it the bonus to having braces!  I have had to figure out which foods are too hard to eat with braces and avoid them (which is hard...I LOVE raw almonds, but they are just no bueno).  

I love all the citrus recipes that pop up this time of year.  I had a baby shower for a good friend this week and this was my contribution to the dessert table.  These are perfectly moist, no too lemony, and definitely crave-able!  Enjoy :)

Little Lemonies

 Lemon Batter:
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (5.5 ounces/155 grams) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze:
3/4 cup (2.75 ounces/75 grams) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8X8-inch aluminum baking pan with parchment so that it hangs over two of the edges (to lift out the bars later - alternately, you can just grease the pan really well and slice them in the pan) and lightly coat the pan and parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and lemon zest.
In a separate bowl or in a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the butter, eggs and egg yolk, lemon juice and vanilla.

Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs (the top of the bars should spring back lightly when gently pressed). Don't over bake or they might be dry.

For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth and combined.
After the bars have cooled completely in the pan, drizzle the glaze over the top (since the glaze layer is thin, it helps to pour it all across the bars instead of in one puddle before spreading) and use an offset spatula or knife to spread evenly over the bars.

Place the bars in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to let the glaze set before lifting them from the pan (using the parchment overhang) and cutting into small squares. These taste best chilled, in my opinion, but can be served at room temperature also.

Recipe Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Looking for more lemony goodness?  Try clicking here for a few of my favs :)

Lemon-Glazed Zucchini Bread

There is nothing more gratifying than picking your own vegetables out of your own garden!!  This is the first year we planted a garden, and it's been a learning experience.  We have had some great successes and failures.  Our zucchini and jalapenos are definitely thriving, hence all the recipes you will soon be seeing :)  

This bread is extremely tasty...very moist, and not too sweet.  It has a lot less sugar than many other zucchini recipes you will come across.  The glaze is the perfect compliment to the bread.  This would be a great brunch item alongside some fresh fruit!

Makes one 9×5″ loaf

Lemon-Glazed Zucchini Bread

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated zucchini (you don’t need to peel the zucchini before grating it)

Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside.

In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add canola oil and sugar, and blend well. Then add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and blend everything well. Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed in mixture.

Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and blend everything together, but don’t overmix.

Pour batter into prepared 9×5″ loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (if your oven tends to run hot, check the loaf after 40 minutes; also, if you make this in an 8×4″ loaf pan, your baking time may be a little longer…about 5 to 10 minutes more). Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. While loaf is cooling, you can make the glaze…

LEMON GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar
Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve.

Recipe Source:  Nancy Creative

Luscious Lemon Bars

Luscious Lemon Bars

Crust:  

1 c. soft butter
dash of salt
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. flour

Mix and press into a 9x13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Lemon Filling:  

4 beaten eggs
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour 
6 Tbsp. lemon juice

Combine flour and sugar, then mix in eggs and juice.  Pour into slightly cooled crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Sprinkle on powdered sugar.

Recipe Source:  church cookbook

Lemon Recipes

I feel as though I have been neglecting my little blog for a while...all these preparations for moving haven't left much time for cooking, let alone blogging!  So in the meantime, here's a post full of yummy lemony treats that I shared a while back on...

I am trying to ward off winter by bringing out my citrus-y recipes!  There is nothing like a yummy lemony dessert in the springtime.  So today, I’d love to share with you some of the yummy lemon recipes I have been trying out recently.  I hope you love them as much as I have!

These tasty treats won LDS Living’s cookie contest, and for great reason!  They are easy to make and taste phenomenal!  I would take a few plates over to my neighbors, otherwise, I’d probably eat them all myself  

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

From: Lauren Brennan; laurenslatest.com

So I have two lemon cheesecake bars on my “to try” list, and this one looked simpler and faster to make, so therefore, this is the one I decided to make this time around!  I’ll try the other one sometime soon and see which one really is better    

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

1 box yellow cake mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

8 oz cream cheese

1/3 c. sugar

1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Mix cake mix in a small bowl with oil and one egg until crumbly. Reserve 1/2-1 cup of cake mixture and put aside. Mash remaining mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes (this is better underdone!). While baking, mix together until smooth- cream cheese, sugar, remaining egg, and lemon juice (no matter how much lemon juice you put in, its not a huge flavor). As soon as the crust comes out of the oven, spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top and then crumble remaining cake mixture over this. Bake in 350 degree oven for 13 minutes. Cool and cut into bars (I like mine cold, so I keep it in the refrigerator)

From: Peachtree Cooking

This recipe recently caught my eye….I love Muddy Buddies, and this sounded like a fun twist. They are a great treat and you will be eating them by the handful! It’s also a good one for the kids to help with, letting them shake up the bag with the powdered sugar. Little man loved it 

Lemon Chex Mix
From: Chex

9 cups Rice Chex® cereal
1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. 

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Nothing like a good lemon bar.  This one was a little different than some of the other recipes with the addition of some lime juice and lime zest.  They were mighty tasty, and will be made again!


Lemon-Lime Delight Bars
From:  Angel Shannon’s Stick of Butter cookbook

2 sticks of butter (or margarine), softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. flour
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice and zest, to taste
Combine butter, powdered sugar, and flour…mix well.  Press into a 9×13 pan and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Blend eggs, sugar, flour, juices, and zest together; pour into slightly cooled crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until set.

Chill and sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

First off, just want to let you know I am sharing some yummy lemony dessert recipes on over at Kiki Creates today, go check them out!

These tasty treats won LDS Living's cookie contest, and for great reason!  They are easy to make and taste phenomenal!  I would take a few plates over to my neighbors, otherwise, you'll probably eat them all yourself :)

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

From: Lauren Brennan; laurenslatest.com

Lemon Lime Delight Bars

Nothing like a good lemon bar.  This one was a little different than some of the other recipes with the addition of some lime juice and lime zest.  They were mighty tasty, and will be made again!

Lemon-Lime Delight Bars

From:  Angel Shannon's Stick of Butter cookbook

2 sticks of butter (or margarine), softened

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 c. flour

4 eggs, beaten

2 c. sugar

1/4 c. flour

4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice and zest, to taste

Combine butter, powdered sugar, and flour...mix well.  Press into a 9x13 pan and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Blend eggs, sugar, flour, juices, and zest together; pour into slightly cooled crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until set. 

Chill and sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired.

Lemon Raspberry Bars

I have still been trying to take advantage of berries being affordable, and this is my latest recipe using the yummy raspberries that are in season right now.  These bars are fairly a quick fix and delicious.  Anything with fresh berries is alright in my book :)

Lemon Raspberry Bars

From:  Two Peas and Their Pod

For the crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon

For the filling:

2 large egg yolks
1-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
6 ounces fresh raspberries

directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 8 by 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Fold carefully so you don't break the raspberries.

Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.

Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator-up to five days.

*Note-use fresh raspberries and make sure you gently fold the berries into the lemon filling or you will have pink bars.

Lemon Chex Mix

So I am loving Pinterest! I love seeing all the fun things and great recipes people are finding. This one caught my eye....I love Muddy Buddies, and this sounded like a fun twist. They are a great treat and you will be eating them by the handful! It's also a good one for the kids to help with, letting them shake up the bag with the powdered sugar. Little man loved it :)

Lemon Chex Mix

From: Chex

9 cups Rice Chex® cereal
1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. 

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

So I have two lemon cheesecake bars on my "to try" list, and this one looked simpler and faster to make, so therefore, this is the one I decided to make this time around!  I'll try the other one sometime soon and see which one really is better :)  This recipe comes from Peachtree Cooking.  It really is a quick recipe and tastes great!

1 box yellow cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar
1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Mix cake mix in a small bowl with oil and one egg until crumbly. Reserve 1/2-1 cup of cake mixture and put aside. Mash remaining mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes (this is better underdone!). While baking, mix together until smooth- cream cheese, sugar, remaining egg, and lemon juice (no matter how much lemon juice you put in, its not a huge flavor). As soon as the crust comes out of the oven, spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top and then crumble remaining cake mixture over this. Bake in 350 degree oven for 13 minutes. Cool and cut into bars (I like mine cold, so I keep it in the refrigerator)