lemon

Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Every now and then I come across a recipe and think, “Hmmm, yes. I need to make these.” At that point the recipe goes into a “Future Recipe” folder. (Sometimes I carry this around with me in my school bag like a total food nerd. I am ok with this).

Typically I bake for a specific reason, like a holiday, or a special event; then there is the recipe I make because it’s right there in the file, calling out to me. I find solace in the mundane parts of chopping or mincing, mixing and folding (now for my Schitt’s Creek fans, say it with me, “David, you simply fold in the cheese.”)

Maybe it’s a new Banana Bread recipe (which I have recently found and have made several times and will add to the blog), or it’s citrus season and the beautiful array of oranges and clementines and everything in between says, “Make that recipe now.” Cranberries are fresh in the early fall, and that is when you utilize every cranberry recipe in the file. I am currently watching my rhubarb unfurl with the first few warm days of spring, and you know the cobbler and crumble recipes await.

So, when I came across a cookie that combined savory, tart, and sweet…I figured it was worthy of the file.

This cookie, with its simplicity and yet complex flavors, was the cookie I made this winter just because. I made very few Christmas cookie plates up this year- I made a few of our favorites and I made only single batches of each.

When the kids and I discussed what was going to be baked, we streamlined to the top few. Our holidays were pretty quiet here. Also, I kind of needed to eliminate many things this year just because…the last two years have been a little crazy.

When I tell you that this savory but sweet little buttery cookie fills the wild card cookie spot, I kid you not. I have fond memories of the big blue tin of butter cookies and my grandmother’s house and tea time. These are not those cookies.

This is a buttery shortbread that incorporates rosemary, lemon rind, butter, egg, salt, confectioner’s sugar. It is so simple to put together.

The tricky part, if any, is keeping the dough chilled throughout the baking process. You only take out what you are baking and the rest goes back into the refrigerator. If you are like me and like to multitask (ie, put a bunch of cookies on the sheets and pop them in the oven as you do other things), this part is “meh.” But worth it!

I chose to drizzle a little extra lemon glaze on it to make it decorative, but really, it wasn’t needed.

The recipe yields approximately two dozen cookies, depending on the size of your dough roll and how thickly you cut them. I wanted mine to have an almost square look, so I flattened the rolls slightly to accommodate. I would also recommend erring on the smaller side for these, as they pack a punch flavor wise.

If you are looking for a cookie where the samplers stop for a second and have a look of, “What is this exactly?” but in the best way- this may be for you. Again, it’s not a peanut blossom or a double chocolate peppermint. It’s different for sure.

No matter the reason or season for your baking, I encourage you to expand the horizon and try something different. You will be surprised!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, I thank you for coming to the table!

Love,

Chrissy

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Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

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  • Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale

1 Cup (2 Sticks) cold unsalted butter (I used salted and it didn’t impact the recipe) cut into small (1/2”) pieces

½ Cup granulated Sugar (plus 6–8 Tablespoon for coating)

2 Tablespoons chopped Fresh Rosemary

2–3 Tablespoons freshly grated Lemon Zest (I use a microplane for this)

1 Egg Yolk

¾ Teaspoon Salt

¼ Cup Confectioner’s Sugar

2 Cups AP Flour

Instructions

1.     Combine granulated sugar, lemon zest, rosemary, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times. 

2.     Add the egg yolk; pulse again several times. 

3.     Add the flour and confectioner’s sugar; pulse again to mix.

4.     Remove the lid and scatter the cold butter pieces over the dry ingredients. Pule until the dough forms large clumps that start gathering together. Stop pulsing before the dough form a ball around the blade.

5.     Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it in half.

6.     Gently squeeze and knead the dough several times to even out the consistency. 

7.     Dust a long piece of waxed paper with 3-4 tablespoons of granulated sugar. 

8.     (Using your palms) Roll one half of the dough onto the granulated sugar until it forms a 1 ¾”-2” log.

9.     Repeat for the other half of the dough.

10.  Slip dough logs into gallon food storage bags or wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator over night.

11.  Preheat oven to 350* Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

12.  Unwrap dough, and using a serated knife, cut the dough into rounds and place on baking sheet.

(a good tip is to keep unused dough refrigerated until ready to be baked- also don’t put cold dough on warm baking sheet or they will start to melt before they bake).

 

13.  Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes or until the edges are golden and the surface is barely starting to brown. Leave on baking sheet for two more minutes then transfer to a rack to cool. 

These do not need anything, but I added a quick lemon glaze, whisking lemon juice and extract into powdered sugar until I got the desired consistency. It just added the extra lemon kick I was looking for!

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Easy Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Lemon, you belong in my life. Easy lemon recipe? Game on. This recipe could pass for either a breakfast treat or a dessert, depending on the time of day you choose to serve it…if that even matters. Basically it is a light, cream cheese batter zingy with lemon zest and juice, with a flaky pre-made crescent dough top and bottom. As in, the hardest part of this recipe is the pat pat pat of stretching out the dough you popped out of a can, and blending the cream cheese part.

While your cream cheese filling is in the mixer, press your crescent roll dough in the bottom of a parchment lined pan (you can skip the parchment but I like to be able to slice/serve and it makes it so much easier).

Smooth the cream cheese mixture over the dough, then cover with another layer of crescent dough.

I wasn’t super careful about the making sure the top was sealed together, because you end up brushing the dough with butter and sprinkling with sugar and additional lemon zest, which…covers the mistakes.

This simple, light, lemony dessert is the perfect addition to any spring table, bringing a sweet, tangy, creamy, pastry combination to your meal.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

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Easy Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
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These delicious Lemon Cream Cheese Bars combine the sweet cream cheese lemon layer sandwiched in between crescent dough. Very much like a danish, this easy recipe  is light and tangy and sweet.

  • Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 containers of refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough (8 ounces)
  • 2 packages of Cream Cheese (8 ounces)
  • 2 Lemons, Zested and juiced (I used more lemon zest because I like it)
  • 1/2 Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
  • 3 Additional Tablespoons White Sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350*
  2. Line the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
  3. Take one container of crescent roll dough and press into pan (try to keep it as one whole piece-rectangle)
  4. Mix cream cheese, sugar, zest, and juice together until smooth and creamy.
  5. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom layer of crescent roll.
  6. Unroll the second container of crescent roll dough and carefully stretch over the lemon cream cheese layer.
  7. Brush melted butter on top of crescent dough top.
  8. Mix remaining sugar (3 tablespoons) and additional lemon zest together and sprinkle on top of the butter.
  9. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the sugar/butter mixture is crackly.
  10. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to cut into bars.
  11. When cool, use the parchment paper to lift the bars out the pan, and transfer to cutting board.
  12. Cut into squares and serve.

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Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini BreadI’m just going to put it out there, the word “moist” does not have a big following. But in a bread, loaded with freshly picked (I picked mine but hey picking a carton out at the grocery store counts too) blueberries, the zing of lemon, and a superhero ingredient of zucchini, this bread is so good, sweet and tart and yes, moist.

When you add zucchini to anything, even if you squeeze the liquid out before hand, it still adds to the texture of a bread. I shred mine on a box grater (actually it is a six-sided grater – so a hexagon grater) on the fine shred side. You can do this and pop it in the freezer or the refrigerator before hand. I give the shredded zucchini a squeeze to remove extra liquid but don’t make a big deal out of it. (There is no wringing it out in a towel  or setting out overnight). Because I use a finer shred, not only is it barely detectable, the bread maintains the integrity of being lemony and blueberry without looking or tasting like a zucchini bread.Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread

This recipe calls for two key ingredients that you can find in abundance right now where I live. The first round of berries (bigger and sweeter) are ready, and everybody who has a garden with squash has one or two or ten extra to give away. So bake it up into a bread and put some glaze on it.

The bread uses lemon extract as well as the punch of zest. I go overboard on the blueberries because that’s how I roll, but you can certainly reduce the berries, use vanilla extract, and switch up the oil as well. I used a mixture of vegetable oil and greek style yogurt (I like what it adds to the texture of the bread). I used Siggis Vanilla yogurt, but if I had Lemon flavored yogurt on hand I would have used that, or plain-no flavor yogurt.

If I am going to cave for a sweet at my local coffee shop, it will be for the glazed lemon loaf. It better taste like lemon. Not yellow bread. So, I will be heavy-handed in the zest. You will find it in the bread as well as the glaze.

The glaze…oh you sweet lemony goodness. Glaze is temperamental in the fact that you don’t want a mouthful of sugar. You want balance of sweet and tart. You want it to not be sticky and gross all over your bread. It’s not frosting. So, you play with it. If it needs more lemon juice or heavy cream, add it. Ideally, you want it loose enough to spoon into a plastic baggie, snip the end off, and drizzle. It will firm up after a bit and maintain it’s pretty design on the top of your bread.

Fresh picked blueberriesIn a world where I can not only be productive and useful, utilizing berries I picked and fresh zucchini from the farm stand, I want a little sweet. A bread with the tart of lemon, the jewel-like blueberries, which visually and taste wise are remarkable, and the ninja like skills of hidden zucchini will get my vote every time.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe!

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Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread
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This deliciously moist bread combines the flavors of lemon, blueberry, with finely shredded zucchini to combine the flavors of the season. Recipe yields two loaves, or one large loaf and three smaller loaves of bread.

  • Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 container (5.3 ounce) Greek Style Yogurt
  • 3 Eggs
  • 3 Cups AP Flour
  • 2 1/4 Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Cups Finely Grated Zucchini
  • 2 Teaspoons Lemon Extract
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • Zest of one Lemon (OK- I use three lemons but it is because that is my thing)
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 4 Cups Blueberries

Lemon Glaze:

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • Zest of 1/2 Lemon
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Whipping Cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350*
  2. Prepare either 2 loaf pans or four small loaf pans with cooking spray or oil.
  3. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine oil, yogurt, and sugar.
  4. Add eggs and combine.
  5. Add zuchinni, extracts, zest, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until combined.
  6. Fold in blueberries.
  7. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  8. Bake for 50 Minutes.

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Lemon Lemon Biscotti

Lemon Lemon Biscotti

Lemons and Lemon Rind

My recipe file is like my Apple iTunes playlist. A mix of classic rock and the new stuff, the stuff you wouldn’t play in front of your kids, the stuff my parents listened to when I was little, and all of the other genres I have collected along the way. I have said it before, “I am not defined by my playlist.” My recipes reflect that as well.

What can I say about lemon except, “I love you?” I love everything lemon from lemon in my water to lemon curd. Every juice I have cold pressed contains at least one lemon. My favorite pie growing up was lemon merengue. I have a taste sensor where I don’t want my lemon to be sweet, (that means no lemon filled donuts or Danish…) so a lemon cookie isn’t something I endeavor to make often, but here it is…a lemon biscotti that makes me literally swoon.Lemon Lemon Biscotti

I know, the biscotti love. I just can’t help myself. I will keep at this biscotti game until I have exhausted it. My kids are over it already, my colleagues at work are not. So I will continue this journey.

Now the beauty of this cookie is that it combines lemon zest, lemon extract, lemon juice, lemon glaze, it delivers the lemon burst you are looking for when eating a lemon cookie. I can not express the disappointment I feel when I expect something to be lemon-y and it isn’t. It’s yellow, it has the lemon scent, but then you bite into it and, meh. Am I alone in this? I hope not.

Lemon Lemon BiscottiBack to the biscotti. Yes, it is pale and golden but it combines the zest and juice with the buttery base and it is beautiful. I made a basic glaze with lemon and powdered sugar and life is good.

These biscotti will last in an air tight container for two weeks. I kid you not. They won’t be around that long, but they will last.

Lemon Lemon Biscotti

If I could put sunshine into a cookie this would be that cookie. Sweet and Tart, a combination of chew and crunch, and oh so lovely. This cookie deserves a spot in your spring baking list for sure.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Click below for a printable recipe.

 

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Lemon Lemon Biscotti

Lemon Lemon Biscotti
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Delicious lemon biscotti with a lemon glaze.

  • Author: chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 Cup Butter
  • 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Lemon Extract
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Lemons, zested and juiced
  • 2 Cups All Purpose Flour

Glaze:

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 2–3 Teaspoons Lemon Juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350*
  2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
  3. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs to mixture until incorporated.
  5. Add Lemon extract and zest.
  6. Add flour to mixture until a sticky dough comes together.
  7. Transfer dough to cookie sheet, forming two logs.
  8. Bake for 35 minutes at 350* until lightly golden.
  9. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
  10. Slice on an angle into one inch slices.
  11. Place sliced cookies slice side up on cookie sheet.
  12. Reduce oven temperature to 300*
  13. Bake for an additional 15-25 minutes or until cookies are firm to the touch.

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Citrus Blackberry Scones

Citrus Blackberry Scones

It all began with a Facebook post. A friend from church posted a question, “Would anyone want blackberry plants? We are thinning out ours.”

To which I replied, “YES!” and three small shoots went into the ground behind our shed.

Three years later, I am picking blackberries by the quart daily and looking for recipes.

Blackberries are an interesting blend of sweet and tart, and when baked, turn into a beautiful jewel like color bursting with flavor.

Scones, on the other hand, how do I say it? Haven’t been my first choice in baked goods, because…they don’t burst with jewel like color and flavor. They present to me a challenge. I’m aware that a REAL scone is not the kind of scone you see at certain bakeries or specialty coffee shops (give me a cranberry orange or pumpkin scone from one of these places, but I know it isn’t a true representation…). It’s a great baked good, but the shame of scones. Call it a flat muffin maybe? I don’t know. Anyway, before proceeding, I called in my British life-liners.

I asked both of my friends about the art of scones, the flour and technique – they each sent me to the same BBC website for a recipe (www.bbcgoodfood.com). Which is awesome. Until I consider I am a Reading Teacher, and not a Math Teacher. Conversions from metric had me searching website calculators like nobody’s business.

The following recipe is a combination of my desire to be true to the scone, and yet fill it with citrus and fruit. Oh, and glaze. Because, that’s authentic… I tried. I really did. But a girl’s gotta have glaze.

The texture is dense but not too dense. the combination of cake flour and additional leavening makes them light but not cake-y. They are not too sweet, and the bang of the berries with the citrus is spot on.

When it comes to anything citrus, I am always disappointed if it is lacking. Don’t give me a lemon cake and the most lemony part is the yellow color. Blah.

So color me thrilled when my best friend and mandatory taste tester said this recipe was “lime forward.” Boom.

Here is one trick I saw on another blog, absolutely brilliant, (www.halfbakedharvest.com)and that is to grate the stick of butter like you would a block of cheese. This made cutting the butter into the flour mixture so much easier.

My other off trail change was the addition of an egg to the milk that goes into the batter. It did lighten the scone’s density and made it match the weight of the berries. As an aside, I used frozen blackberries for my recipe- simply because I am not using my berries fast enough and its easy to pick and pop into the freezer.

These scones are bright and flavorful, without being too sweet, and they are the perfect compliment to a cup of tea.

I hope you enjoy the recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!

Chrissy

 

 

 

Printable Recipe:

Citrus Blackberry Scones Final

Citrus Blackberry Scones

Ingredients: 

3 Cups Cake Flour

½ Cup Sugar

3 Tablespoons Lemon/Lime Zest

1 Stick of Butter, grated and chilled

1 egg beaten plus enough milk to fill ¾ cup measure

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

2 Cups Blackberries (fresh or frozen)

sugar for dusting

 

Citrus Glaze:

 

¾ C confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp lime extract

2 tbsp. citrus juice

mix in hot water until desired thickness

 

Directions:

Combine cake flour, citrus zest, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar until combined.

Grate one stick of butter (8 Tablespoons) on large side of grater (refrigerate if necessary after grating – you want your butter cold)

Cut in butter into flour mix until butter is small enough to resemble sand

Beat one egg in a ¾ cup measuring cup, add additional milk to cup to fill.

Mix in egg mixture to dry ingredients. This will be a dry and tender texture. Fold in blackberries.

Turn mixture onto a flat surface and shape into a circle. Slice into eight wedges.

Place wedges onto parchment lined or Sllpat lined baking sheet.

Dust each scone with sugar.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

 

Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle on top of scones when baked.

Lemon Zinger Blueberry Pie

Lemon Zinger Blueberry Pie

For many years I was not a fan of pie. I am not sure how or why this is, but for most of my life, I would only eat pie on Thanksgiving.  You know, the holiday where eating pie for breakfast is perfectly acceptable? Then, there is the whole transition to fruit filled pie…I mean, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan or Pumpkin, I could sink my teeth into, but fruit? Meh.

Fast forward two decades and I have gotten in touch with my inner pie child.  It could be my first read of Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts Cookbook, could be the fact that I became the host of Thanksgiving, or that in the summer we have access to fresh berries, peaches, and then apples…anyway, game on. I’m converted.

But here’s the catch..Blueberry pie can disappoint. The filling can be gelatinous and have the consistency of “canned” filling…it also can be watery and soupy with berries hanging around in blue water. There is nothing worse than cutting into blueberry pie and the filling runs out; with the bottom crust left behind, pale and swimming in the pan. Its just bad. So bad.

This pie is the end result of my many bad blueberry pies before it…and I think this one finds the perfect consistency, or as close as I can get with my Jedi pie skills. This filling requires you to cook most of the berries with cornstarch and sugar, creating a thicker pie filling. Then, fresh uncooked berries are added to the mixture before placing into the pie shell. It seems like work, but essentially, you are putting ingredients into a pan and giving it a stir until it bubbles and looks delicious. I’m a multi-tasker but nature, so this is when I am doing something else in the kitchen. There is always something else to do in the kitchen, so take this extra step to cook the filling.

But, is it sweet?

I like my blueberry pie to taste like blueberries. So, this pie doesn’t have a lot of sugar in the recipe. There is 1/2 C of sugar for the whole pie. Like your pie sweeter? Easily fixed, add more sugar. I’ve seen pie recipes with 1 and 1/2 C sugar in them, so you have some fairly good room to wiggle here. This recipe also calls for lemon zest and lemon juice. The lemon compliments and enhances the tartness of the blueberries. Again, this influences the sweetness, so if you like a sweeter pie, by all means, add more sugar. The berries used in this pie were picked at the peak of the season, and were sweet enough on their own.

Lastly, the crust. So, true confession…for this pie I used refrigerated dough purchased at the grocery store. Don’t judge. When I make multiple pies or for a holiday, I bang out handmade crusts from Noni’s sacred recipe like nobody’s business. When I am throwing together a pie for my people on the fly, trust me, they are happy to have pie and just like instant mashed potatoes…sometimes nobody needs to know. When you take the time to freehand cut stars out of the pie crust, people aren’t thinking, “Man, I hope that didn’t come from the refrigerator section.” If you do have those kind of people in your life, rethink who you are sharing your blueberry pie with.

When it comes to baking time? Here’s something you will find with my recipes. YOU CAN’T RUSH STUFF. When it is done, you know. You may like your crust browner. Personally, when I can smell the filling, and it looks like it is bubbling and thick, coming up through the top layer of crust, I take it out of the oven. Disclaimer: You also can’t WALK AWAY AND FORGET! This is a fruit pie people. If you have ever let fruit filling bubble over onto the bottom of the oven, trust me, you’ll remember next time. For good measure, I place the biggest cookie sheet I own under the pie. Pie goes on the top rack, cookie sheet goes in the rack below. Drips caught, smoky kitchen averted.

This pie is perfect warm with a scoop of ice cream. Or with your coffee the next morning for breakfast. Hey, it has fruit, right?

Thank you so much for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Printable Recipe

Lemon Zinger Blueberry Pie

Lemon Zinger Blueberry Pie

Chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients:

4 C fresh blueberries

2 additional C blueberries

½ C Sugar

¼ C Cornstarch

1-2 Tbsp Lemon juice

Zest of one Lemon

Directions:

Combine in a non-reactive pan over medium heat until blueberries are bubbling and mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly.

Add additional 2 C of blueberries to the mixture and pour into prepared pie crust.

Add top layer pie crust – I free handed stars on the top crust.

Bake at 350* for 50 minutes. I ended up baking an additional 10 minutes, waiting for the crust to be golden brown and the mixture bubbling.