Lemon Bars

 Lemon Bars (Janet Campbell)

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 c powdered sugar

2 sticks butter

Sift flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture clings together. Press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned.

4 eggs

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp baking powder

Beat eggs. add everything else. Pour over baked crust. Bake another 20-25 minutes. Cut while warm. When cool, drizzle with glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp melted butter

(this glaze is doubled)

Glazed Lemon Cookies

Lemon Cookies

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake approximately 15 minutes, rotating tray halfway through baking time, taking care not to brown the bottom or edges. Let cool 2 minutes on tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, spoon glaze on top of cookies, letting glaze drip off the wire racks onto parchment paper or tinfoil below for easy cleanup. Let glaze set approximately 1 hour before serving.

Lemon Glaze

2 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp lemon zest
1/3 c fresh lemon juice

Double Layer Lemon Cake

This is actually a pound cake recipe, designed to be baked in two 8 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans. I baked it in two 9" cake pans. The cake is dense and doesn't rise much. If you have two 8" cake pans, I might try that. Also, I may have overbaked the cake a bit (I'm not sure of that, though). I thought the edges were pretty crispy. So you might want to try a toothpick at a certain point, although you have to know what to look for. I always thought the toothpick was supposed to come out clean if the cake was done, but then I saw something on the Food Network where the cook said the toothpick would have some crumbs on it, but the crumbs will be dry when the item is done. Probably depends on the recipe. I found that the cake was better with softer edges the next day, so I would bake it a day ahead if possible.

Cream

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Add five eggs (1 at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated).

Mix Dry Ingredients - with a whisk in a medium bowl.

3 cups flour,

1 1/2 tsp. salt,

1/2 tsp baking powder,

1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix Separately

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from approximately 2 lemons)

finely grated zest from the lemons.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat just until smooth and do not overmix.

Divide batter evenly between two well-buttered and floured pans. (Oops, here it is!) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. (But remember that is for loaf pans and it will also depend on how hot your oven is.) Let cool a few minutes, then turn out on rack and let finish cooling completely before you ice the cake.

Frosting

1 1/2 sticks butter

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 T heavy cream (I didn't have, so I added a bit more butter)

2 tsp. lemon juice ( I added lots more to get a good lemon flavor, then I had to add some more sugar to get the texture right. NO WAY 2 tsp lemon juice is going to make it taste lemony enough.)

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (I doubled or tripled that amount)

Good luck! (You know, you've got to have the lemons [or just one lemon] for the lemon zest, but if you don't have enough for all the juice you need, you can use the Minute Maid frozen lemon juice -- not the stuff in the green bottles which is full of chemicals and is not good.)

Oh, and by the way, I really think this cake is better without the ice cream on the side. The cream cuts into the lemony-ness and does it a disservice, in my opinion.

All notes are from Susie, the master chef. This came directly form her email of the recipe.

- Jessica