Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c granulated sugar
3/4 c melted butter

1 5 oz. can evaporated milk
1 3 oz. pkg. instant lemon pudding
2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese (neufachatel can be substituted)
2/3 c fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 c granulated sugar

3/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350*.
Mix graham crumbs, sugar and butter together and press into a 9" tart pan.  You can also use a deep dish pie plate.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges.

In a small bowl beat together the evaporated milk and pudding mix.  It will be thick. Set aside.

In a small saucepan on medium/low heat, stir together the lemon juice and 1/3 c. granulated sugar until sugar dissolves.  Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl of a mixer beat cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Slowly incorporate the sweetened lemon juice; add the pudding mixture a little at a time and beat until well blended.  Pour into the cooled graham cracker crust.

Whip together the heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Smooth over top of pudding mixture.  Chill for 3-4 hours before serving.

Lemon Poppy Seed Drizzle Cake

Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 T poppy seeds

For the drizzle:
Juice of 3 lemons

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 T granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a tube pan (note: bundt pan will not work as well when it comes time to add the drizzle)
Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in the poppy seed.  Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula.  Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

For the drizzle, combine lemon juice and 3/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

When the cake is done, allow to cool for 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and set on a rack over a try or sheet pan; poke holes in the top of the cake with a wooden skewer and slowly spoon three-quarters of the syrup over the top.  Allow the cake to cool completely. Pour remaining syrup over the cake and sprinkle with 2 T granulated sugar.  Keep at room temperature for best flavor.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

Pucker Up!

Lemon Pudding Cakes

These are phenomenal! I would make them again and again. Lemon lovers unite!  If this doesn't satisfy the lemon craving in you, nothing will.

Ingredients

4 T unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the ramekins
1/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 T grated lemon zest, plus 1/3 c fresh lemon juice
3 large eggs, separated, plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 c buttermilk
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350*. Butter four 4-inch ramekins.

Whisk together flour, salt, and 3/4 c granulated sugar in a bowl. Add butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and four egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Whisk in buttermilk.

Whisk three egg whites on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until frothy. Gradually add remaining 1/4 c granulated sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold beaten egg whites into lemon mixture. Divide batter among the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins in a roasting pan. Transfer to the oven and carefully add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake until set around the edges but still jiggly in the center, and until tops are lightly browned, 35 - 40 minutes. Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack. Cool completely. Chill in the refrigerator about 2 hours.  Before serving, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar.

Recipe adapted from Country Living magazine.

Super Moist Glazed Lemon Loaf

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. lemon extract

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup oil

Zest of one lemon

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp. melted butter
1-2 T milk

1/2 tsp. lemon extract

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is heating, grease and flour a loaf pan.

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use a wire whisk to mix together.

Combine eggs, sugar, butter vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Consider using an electric mixer to make the process easier.

Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredient bowl and combine. For best results add dry ingredients slowly and in increments so the dry ingredients don't spill from the bowl.

Add oil and lemon zest and continue to mix well. 

Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Make the glaze. Whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, 1 T milk and lemon extract  & lemon zest together in a bowl. Add more milk if necessary for spreading consistency.

Drizzle glaze over war, loaf on a wire rack placed in a cookie sheet.  Allow glaze to set.  Slice and serve!

Variation: Try adding 1/2 c fresh blueberries to the batter before pouring into loaf pan!

Recipe adapted from Wikipedia.

Luscious Lemon Dessert

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup nuts, chopped
1/2 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Cool Whip
2 (3 oz.) pkgs. lemon instant pudding
3 cups milk
1 cup Cool Whip
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Mix flour, nuts and margarine. Press in 9 x 9 suare pan. Bake at 375* for 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Combine cream cheese and sugar in bowl of electric mixer and beat until smooth.  Fold in cool whip.

Spread on cooled crust.

Mix pudding and milk, beat with whisk until smooth and incorporated.  Spread on cream cheese mixture.  Chill until set.

Top with cool whip and sprinkle on nuts, if desired.

Note:  You can switch out the lemon pudding for another flavor; e.g., chocolate or pistachio.  Let your personal taste guide you!

Enjoy!

Lemon and Ricotta Cream Cheese Cake

This is a refreshing change from the classic New York style cheesecake as it incorporates ricotta cheese as well as cream cheese in a shortbread crust. I rate this a 5/5.

Ingredients

1 c flour
1/4 c granulated sugar
6 T unsalted butter, chopped

12 oz. cream cheese, softened
16 oz. ricotta cheese
4 eggs
1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 T lemon zest
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 T cold water

1 c sour cream
1/4 c granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 300*.
In a large bowl add flour, sugar & butter.  Rub together between fingers until course crumbs form. Press in the bottom of a 9" springform pan.  Bake approx. 30 minutes until golden.  Set aside to cool.

In a food processor place cream cheese, ricotta cheese, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and vanilla and process until smooth.  In a small bowl mix cornstarch with water.  Add to mixture and process until blended.  Pour into cooled crust and bake 1 hr. 30 minutes until golden brown and slightly wobbly in the very center.  Turn oven off.

Mix sour cream and sugar together.  When cheesecake is done, spread sour cream over the top and return to the oven, heat off and door closed, for an hour.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

This recipe is adapted & converted from Donna Hay's Classic Lemon Cheesecake.

Lemon Curd Tart with Cornmeal Crust

If you like a rich, buttery lemon dessert, you are going to love this one.  This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Marbled Lemon Tart w Sage-Cornmeal Crust.  I omitted the sage as I was making it for my Father who would not have appreciated that ingredient.  I feel compelled to share with you my experience with making this.  The instructions are easy and straight-forward; however, the problem was with the cooking time on the stove.  The instructions say to place heatproof bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly until thickened and instant read thermometer reads 160*.  The first time I made this, I removed it from the heat when it reached 160* even though it was not thickened.  It never got real thick and when you cut into it (after being in the frig overnight), it ran like eggs yolks.  Tasted wonderful, but wasn't pretty and the swirls sank as they were heavier than the lemon mixture.  This time, I cooked it until it became thick.  The temperature on the thermometer was more like 168*.  It could be my thermometer is not accurate. So my recommendation to you is to cook until it becomes thickened no matter what the instant read says.  Additionally, when in the ice water bath I continually stirred it beyond the 2 minutes as I didn't feel it had thickened much, if at all.  I probably kept it in the bath more like 5-6 minutes.  I was determined that this curd would be thick this time and it worked beautifully!

INGREDIENTS

1/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 tablespoon cold water

6 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

Sage-Cornmeal Crust

3 tablespoons creme fraiche (I used sour cream thinned with sugar)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl, and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.

STEP 2

Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk in lemon juice. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and whisk constantly until mixture has thickened and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Whisk in gelatin mixture. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until smooth. Let cool, stirring occasionally. Prepare an ice-water bath. Place bowl of yolk mixture over bath, and stir until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

STEP 3

Spread curd into crust; smooth top. Dollop creme fraiche on top. Using a wooden skewer or the tip of a knife, swirl creme fraiche into curd to create a marbleized effect. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours (or up to overnight).

 Looking at these photos makes me want to eat it all over again!

Buttermilk Pie with Pecan Crust

Ingredients:

1 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c pecans
1 1/4 c plus 3 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 T butter, cold and cut into small pieces
5 T butter, melted
4 large eggs
3 T cornstarch
1 1/3 c buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1. In a food processor pulse flour, pecans, 3 T sugar and salt until the nuts are finely ground. Add cold butter pieces and 1 egg and pulse until the dough holds together when pinched but does not form a ball. Pat dough into a flat disk; wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 12" round. Transfer to a 9" pie pan, pressing the dough against the bottom and sides without stretching it. Using a paring knife, rim the dough to a 2" overhang. Fold the overhand in to make a double layer of dough, and with your fingers, crimp all around. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (to prevent dough from shrinking).
3. Preheat oven to 400*F. Meanwhile cover prepared pie shell with parchment, leaving a bit of overhang, and add enough pie weights or dried beans to cover. Bake for 15 minutes; remove the parchment and weights, and bake until shell is golden, about 10 more minutes. Remove pan from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325*F.
4. In a food processor, pulse cornstarch and remaining sugar to combine. Add buttermilk, melted butter, lemon zest, nutmeg and remaining eggs, and pulse to combine. Pour the filling into the warm pie shell and bake until the filling is set and just slightly wobbly in the center, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Note: If your crust is already nice and brown before adding the filling, you may want to cover the edges with aluminum foil before returning it to the oven. Remove pie from oven and let cool before serving.

The lemony custard together with the pecan crust is totally awesome!

Carla's Lemon Cardamon Wedding Cookies

I watch The Chew almost every day, and Carla Hall, one of the five (5) celebrity co-hosts, made this mouth-watering confection recently.  I knew I had to try them and they are fabulous!  I didn't feel the need to change a thing and made them exactly as written, so Carla gets all the credit.  The photos are mine, but the recipe is taken directly from The Chew website.

Ingredients

1 pound Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

1 cup Powdered Sugar

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 teaspoons Lemon Juice

2 teaspoons Lemon Zest

2 teaspoons Orange Zest

1 1/2 teaspoons Salt

1 1/2 cups Pistachios (ground) or 1 cup Walnuts (ground)

4 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons ground Cardamom

For the Lemon Sugar:

3 Lemons (zested)

2 cups Powdered Sugar

1 pound Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
2 teaspoons Lemon Zest
2 teaspoons Orange Zest
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, zests and salt and beat until combined.

4 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Pistachios (ground) or 1 cup Walnuts (ground)
2 teaspoons ground Cardamom 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground nuts and cardamom until combined. Add the flour into the butter mixture in 3 additions, making sure not to over mix the dough.

Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, portion out dough and roll into balls. The size of your cookie depends on the cupcake liner that you will present them in. Place the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes trying to avoid brown spots but making sure the top is just firm to the touch.

Meanwhile, place the lemon sugar in rimmed baking dish or pie plate.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool slightly. The cookie should still be warm when rolling in the lemon sugar. Roll the cookies to coat completely in the flavored sugar and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Reserve the remaining lemon sugar.

When ready to serve or package roll them again in the lemon sugar to heavily coat. These cookies can be baked up to one month in advance and stored in the freezer in an air tight container. Before serving dredge in the lemon sugar to coat.

3 Lemons (zested)

For the Lemon Sugar: Prepare a baking sheet with waxed paper. Spread the lemon zest onto the prepared baking sheet trying to avoid clumps. Place the baking sheet in a cold oven and allow to sit overnight.

2 cups Powdered Sugar

The zest should be dry before combining with the sugar. Pulse zest and sugar together in a food processor until evenly distributed. Set aside until ready to roll the cookies. If making the cookies far in advance roll them in a plain powdered sugar and prepare the lemon sugar for the final coating.

See those flecks of pistachio nuts and lemon & orange zest!

These buttery balls of deliciousness melt in your mouth - and I'm not kidding!

Helpful Tips:
1. Prepare these cookies in advance and freeze them until you’re ready to serve.
2. Cardamom is similar to cinnamon, so you can substitute it if you need.
3. Don’t worry about overworking these cookies because there is enough butter and sugar to prevent them from becoming tough.
4. Toss the cookies in the powdered sugar while they’re still warm to make the sugar stick better.
5. Use dried lemon zest instead of fresh, which will cause your powdered sugar to clump because of the moisture.