PopSugar

52 Weeks of Baking: Easy Lemon Cookies

YumSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:35:11 -0700

When I asked the Sugar HQ what kind of cookies I should make for this week's 52 Weeks of Baking project, BuzzSugar quickly answered, "LEMON!" I couldn't turn down such an enthusiastic request, and so lemon cookies it was. She specifically asked for crisp lemon cookies, however when searching for a recipe, I kept seeing ones that called for lemon cake mix instead. At first I kept looking for something else, but then I figured why not make it easy on myself? Why not start with a cake mix?

In the end I was really glad I did. These cookies came out fluffy and light, with a slightly crisp outside. They also come together in no time at all. To get the recipe and see my step by step photos, read more

Note: I added a bit of pudding to mine, it was too runny and I had to add more flour to balance it out. This recipe is the standard recipe, and should come out fantastic, I don't think there is any need for the extra pudding. However, if you want to make it exactly like I did, the modified parts are in brackets.

Easy Lemon Cookies
From BakeSpace member Ali

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration
[1/4 cup lemon pudding - I used Jell-o instant pudding]

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, and lemon extract until well blended. [Add pudding, if it's too runny add flour until consistency is firm enough to make balls - even if they do get flattened out immediately.]
Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of confectioners' sugar. Roll them around until they're lightly covered.
Once sugared, put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. [I baked for 11-13 minutes]. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.

View 10 Photos ›

Print recipe with images | without images

A Wee Little Lemon Cookie

YumSugar — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:03:17 -0700

I was trying to figure out what the next cookie in our National Cookie Month coverage should be when I spied these adorable petite lemon curd cookies. They look a bit like traditional French Macaroons, but are a lot easier to handle. Plus, they're filled with a delectable lemon curd, so what's not to love? To check out the recipe for these tea party worthy bites, read more

Petite Lemon Curd Cookies
From Gourmet magazine, December 2003

For Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar for dredging and dusting

For Lemon Curd
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks

Special equipment: a 1 1/4-inch round cookie cutter; a pastry bag fitted with small plain tip or a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag (not pleated)

Prepare cookie dough:

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 6 with a handheld. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make lemon curd:

Simmer lemon juice, zest, sugar, butter, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Lightly beat yolks in a small bowl, then add 1/4 cup lemon mixture, whisking. Add yolk mixture to remaining lemon mixture, then reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk, about 2 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl, then cover surface with plastic wrap and chill while rolling out dough.

Roll out dough:

While oven preheats, roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into a 9-inch round (slightly less than 1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, chill on a baking sheet until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutter.

Finish up:

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Dredge warm cookies in confectioners sugar until coated and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Make more cookies in same manner.
Transfer lemon curd to pastry bag or plastic bag (snip an 1/8-inch opening in a corner of plastic bag). Put 1 cookie upside down on work surface and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon lemon curd onto cookie, then top with another cookie, right side up, to form a sandwich. Make more sandwiches in same manner.
Just before serving, sift some remaining confectioners sugar over tops of sandwiched cookies.

Print recipe with images | without images

Snap in to a Lemon-Basil Snap

YumSugar — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 04:28:19 -0700

It's a little late in the season for basil - although I've still seen thriving bunches in the store - but when I saw this recipe for Lemon-Basil Snaps, I knew I had to share it with you. From the look of things, it seems to be a cross between a cookie and a savory biscuit. Call me crazy, but I think this is exactly the sort of recipe that would be worth giving around the holidays. Can you imagine the reaction you'll receive - assuming you can get your hands on some fresh basil - when you present someone with a basil cookie? If you're feeling adventurous give this recipe a try, just read more

Lemon-Basil Snaps
From Southern Living magazine, November 2005

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup minced fresh lemon basil leaves*
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup finely chopped pistachio nuts
3 tablespoons sugar

Makes 3 dozen

Beat butter at medium speed with electric mixer until fluffy; add 3/4 cup sugar, beating well. Add egg and next 3 ingredients, beating until blended.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Cover and chill 1 hour.
Combine nuts and 3 tablespoons sugar in a shallow bowl.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in nut mixture, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with hands or bottom of a glass.
Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

*Fresh sweet basil may be substituted.

Print recipe with images | without images

Must Read: Sips & Apps

partysugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:00:14 -0700

Thanks to shows like Mad Men, it's clear that the ritual of the cocktail hour - a time in the late afternoon where potent drinks are sipped and savory snacks are nibbled - is poised to make a comeback. A recent book, Sips & Apps ($19.95) by Kathy Casey, further promotes the idea by providing happy homemakers with a plethora of modern and classic cocktails, and a handful of incredibly tasty-sounding bar snacks. To learn more about this bartending guide keep reading.

Bai Yun Gives Birth to Fifth Giant Panda: In the LINK of an Eye!

PetSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:30:30 -0700

SD Zoo's giant panda gave birth to her fifth cub on Wednesday - People Pets
Travel the world to see these 14 weird animals - Budget Travel
Julia Roberts watches James Franco sing to a dog at Tompkins Square Park - Celebrity Dog Watcher
Martha adopts three Pomeranian geese - The Daily Wag
New product alert: Cat Livin' "The Bed" - moderncat
Is stopping traffic to save geese a crime? - Paw Nation
Ellen and Portia walk the dogs in LA - PopSugar
Do you want your dog to smell like lemon drop cookies? - Haute or Not?

A Month of Cookies Roundup

YumSugar — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:01:52 -0700

Last month was National Cookie Month and, in case you didn't know, we featured a different cookie recipe each day. If you missed any of them, then you're in luck, we've compiled them all for you right here. There were some basics like snickerdoodles and shortbread, but there were also some new finds like potato chip cookies. So check out the list - there are 32, one for each day and one extra! - and see what strikes your fancy!

Happy Hour: Josh Wesson on Pairing Food and Wine

partysugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:00:16 -0700

Despite the long lines and hungry event goers, there was one thing the organizers of the Great American Food and Music Festival did right: they invited Josh Wesson to give a special wine seminar. Wesson is a highly regarded wine professional. He's won countless awards and cofounded New York's acclaimed Best Cellars. I was lucky enough to attend Wesson's seminar, Fast Food/Faster Wine! In it he discussed the foundations for pairing food and wine. To learn what he had to say, read more.

Look for similarities. An obvious pairing is a dessert with a dessert wine. Just make sure the dessert (cake, cookie, pie, etc.) is sweeter than the wine.
Balance sweet and sour. When a dish is highly acidic, look for a sweet wine. If the pairing works, the food will taste less acidic and the wine will taste less sweet.
Think about the dominant taste. Do you want the strongest flavor to be the food or the wine?
Look for ways for the food and wine to complement each other. When a fish tastes oily, it's often served with fresh lemon because the acidity mutes the fishy flavor. This same effect can be achieved with an acidic white wine.
Consider the smell of the wine. Without a sense of smell, the wine is tasteless.
Drink a lot of wine. Don't be afraid to try new wines and different pairings.
The final point that Wesson stressed was that drinking and pairing wine is subjective. If it doesn't appeal to your palate, don't drink it.

Do you enjoy pairing wine with food? What are your go-to matches?

View 10 Photos ›

Blueberries Take Over My Shortcake

YumSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:15:54 -0700

Since blueberry season has begun, I couldn't help but go overboard and buy several baskets from my local farmers market. While I enjoyed one basket raw, I used the rest to make these mini blueberry shortcakes with lemon and thyme biscuits.

The moist biscuits are simple to make. The final dish is not too sweet, so the pure flavor of blueberries shines through in each bite. Although the original recipe calls for a larger biscuit, I decided to use a shot glass (instead of a cookie cutter) to make them mini. The shortcakes are delicious with a dollop of heavy cream or scoop of ice cream. To try these bite-sized blueberry shortcakes, read more.

Mini Blueberry Shortcake Biscuits
Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients

Filling
4 cups fresh blueberries (rinsed, drained well)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
Biscuit
3/4 cup chilled buttermilk
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1 tablespoon raw sugar
Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipping cream

Directions

Make the filling: Combine blueberries, powdered sugar and water in a large saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until berries are slightly softened and syrup coats the spoon about 10 minutes. Transfer to medium glass bowl and let cool to room temperature. Can be made 3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Make the biscuits: Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Mix buttermilk, lemon peel, and thyme in a small bowl.
Whisk next 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend, breaking up any large clumps of brown sugar with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add buttermilk mixture and stir with fork just until blended (the dough will be sticky).
Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Knead gently just until the dough comes together, 4 to 5 turns. Pat dough out to 3/4 inch thick round. Using a shot glass or 1 1/2 inch diameter cookie cutter dipped in flour, cut out dough rounds.
Transfer dough rounds to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle rounds with raw sugar. Bake biscuits until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.
Using a serrated knife, carefully cut biscuits horizontally in half. Place bottom half of each biscuit on large serving tray. Spoon blueberries and syrup equally over each biscuit. Cover with top of biscuit.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes 30 mini blueberry biscuit shortcakes.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 12 Photos ›

Casa Beta: Chesapeake Bay Candle Signature Collection

CasaSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:30:21 -0700

I recently received the Chesapeake Bay Candle Signature Collection ($65) in the mail. The set contains six cream-colored, soy wax candles in six different fragrances. Each candle comes in a clear glass vessel, which is individually wrapped in cellophane and tied with a satin ribbon. I was excited to try all of the scents, but since I knew that it would take me a long time to get through all of them, I enlisted some help from my Sugar friends.

To see what we thought of the set, read more.

I loved the gift box that the candles arrived in, which features a beautiful tree motif. It's sturdy enough to re-use for another craft project or gift-giving opportunity in the future. However, one problem with it was that some of the oil from each candle was pooled in the cellophane of every packaged candle. This may have been due to the fact that the box was sitting on its side, and the problem could've been remedied by storing the box upright.

Green Bamboo Jasmine: PetSugar reported some pros and cons with her candle. She says, "The candle seemed to burn very slowly - I only had it lit for about an hour and there was barely any noticeable difference in melt rate, so it’d last for a while. When I woke up, I could still smell the effects from the night before. However, when removing from the packaging, this candle was wet/sticky and my hands smelled of strong fragrance even after I washed them. While burning, it still smelled very strong and distracting . . . but part of that could have been the residual scent from the liquid/ packaging on my hands. I think if I loved the scent, or loved smelly candles, I would have loved this. Its potency was but a bit too much for me to handle every day. "

Tonka Bean Fig: This candle was tested by FabSugar, who reports, "I lit the Tonka Bean Fig candle this past weekend and I loved it. It permeated through the house, smelled sweet, and reminded me of men’s cologne. It also burned great and didn’t leave a smoky residue in my house."

Amber Vanilla Hazelnut: Unfortunately, geeksugar's candle didn't live up to her expectations. "The candle was oily inside its packaging, which made it a pain to hold, and to light (it took me several tries and a burnt thumb). When I did finally get it lit, the smell - which was lovely to sniff cold - was very subtle. Too subtle, in fact. Not only did it not waft around the room with its smell, it didn't waft at all. The only way I could smell a scent at all is if I put my nose directly over the candle (far enough away that I didn't burn my nose hairs off, of course). I extinguished it after an hour since it wasn't smelling up my home like I'd wanted it to."

Sheer White Musk: I'm not normally drawn to musky scents, so I was surprised to enjoy this one. It was light, clean, and very earthy with some subtle notes of jasmine and violet. I used it in a room that was smelling a bit musty, and it definitely freshened up the room. But, it didn't really seem to waft well - my go-to candles can normally be smelled throughout the house.

Lily Orange Blossom: I love the smell of citrus blossoms, so I was excited to light this candle. While I loved the scent when it was unlit, once I struck a match to its wick, I had a hard time discerning the blossomy scent. I let it burn for about an hour, and while the scent was definitely there, it was very subtle, unless I was very close to the candle. I'm not a fan of overwhelming scents, but I would've enjoyed a more robust scent here.

Honey Lemon Crème: This candle has a lovely, rich scent that reminds me of sugar (or should I say honey?) cookies. Its scent, too, was quite subtle, but added a lovely, cozy smell to my home. Who needs to bake when you can simply light one of these candles?

Lemon Custard Cakes Are Lusciously Delicious

partysugar — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:00:05 -0800

Every once in a while, I'll be browsing a food magazine and come across a recipe that I simply must make. This recipe for lemon custard cakes from the February issue of Bon Appétit is the perfect example. After gorging on decadent chocolate desserts for Valentine's Day, I was desperate for a light, refreshing treat.

These simple cakes are delightful; they're like lemon bars without the shortbread cookie crust. The texture is between a thick pudding and moist cake. The intensely fresh lemon flavor is tart, but in the most wonderful way. Don't skip the whipped creme fraîche topping. Its silky smooth creaminess balances out the zesty citrus.

Although the recipe calls for Meyer lemons, I used regular ones. To get started on these individual cakes now - they need at least four hours to chill - read more.

Lemon Custard Cakes
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel
1 8-ounce container chilled crème fraîche*

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups.
Whisk 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, and pinch of salt in medium bowl to blend.
Combine milk, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon peel in large bowl; whisk until blended.
Add flour mixture to yolk mixture and whisk custard until blended.
Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar to whites and beat until stiff but not dry.
Fold 1/4 of whites into custard. Fold remaining whites into custard in 2 additions (custard will be slightly runny).
Divide custard equally among prepared ramekins. Place ramekins in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake custard cakes until golden brown and set on top (custard cakes will be slightly soft in center), about 27 minutes.
Chill custard cakes uncovered until cold, at least 4 hours, then cover and keep refrigerated. Custard cakes can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
Using electric mixer, beat crème fraîche in medium bowl until softly whipped.
Run small knife around each custard cake to loosen. Invert each cake onto plate. Place dollop of crème fraîche atop or alongside cakes and serve.

Makes 8 cakes.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 20 Photos ›