Lemon Bars and a Little Helper

Sweet squares of sugar and citrus. I love them … especially, when other people make them. Ha. What I mean is, when I think about baking something new, I usually lean towards recipes that include chocolate or either chocolate and sometimes chocolate. But every time I've ever eaten one of these yummy yellow squares, I think why haven't I ever made these things. So I did… kinda.

They're really easy and you don't even have to get out your mixer. First, grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan. I used a glass one. Next, you'll need to make a crust.



For the crust, you'll just need flour, butter and confectioner's sugar. Easy enough.



Whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour and 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar. Add 1 cup cold butter.



Then cut in the butter until the mixture is incorporated and crumbly. I used the back of a fork to work the butter into the flour. When it gets crumbly, pour it into your greased and floured pan and press firmly into the bottom. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the crust is baking, you can prepare the lemon topping.



Again, easy ingredients. Flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and lemon juice. Pretend that's freshly squeezed juice from real lemons on the right. I didn't have any on hand.

But before we go on, let me show you my little helper. She always asks to crack the eggs open if she's around when I'm baking. And when she looks at me with those eyes, I'm sure you know the answer.



She's great at it, too. So good, in fact, that I let her finish up the rest of the work.



Slightly beat the four eggs and set aside. Then, measure 1 1/2 cups sugar making sure it exactly meets the line on the measuring cup. She's very precise.



Now you'll need 1/2 cup lemon juice. Right now I wish I had those lemons, so she could experience squeezing the juice out of them. Oh well… moving on. In another large bowl, add the 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 4 slightly beaten eggs and 1/2 cup lemon juice. Look at those hands. Steady.



Stir all that together really good.



And then pour it on top of the warm baked crust. Bake for another 20-25 minutes.

Remove and cool completely. Sprinkle with extra confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.

Yum! And even better, I still don't have to make them. She can do it for me while I make something chocolatey. Yippee!



Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner's sugar
• Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
• Press mixture into bottom of pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:

• While crust is baking, prepare topping.
• In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
• Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
• Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.
• Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

What was I thinking?

Have you ever tried to make homemade cake doughnuts? Not the yeast kind… the cake kind? Well, I tried to last weekend and it was a disaster. I had dough stuck to my hands. Stuck to the counter. I did manage to squeak out a few doughnuts, but they ended up with crusty outsides and doughy, sticky insides. I was really frustrated, disappointed and ultimately donutless. But, I'm pretty sure I know what went wrong.

1. When recipes say generously flour your surface… They mean it
2. When recipes say heat oil to 365 degrees. They mean it. (But, in my defense, I didn't have an oil thermometer and the oil looked hot.)

So this weekend, I gave it another go… and with much better results. Not perfect, but much better.

The dough was really sticky on both attempts, so I was sure something was wrong. But this time, I generously floured everything around… the surface, the rolling pin, my hands, me. I sprinkled flour on top of flour determined to make the dough workable.



And it worked. I was able to roll out the dough and cut circle shapes for the doughnuts. I don't have a doughnut cutter, so I used two different size circle cutters. One about 3 inches wide and the other about 1 inch wide. Looks pretty good, huh?!



Not so fast. Ugh! I guess I still didn't use enough flour because I couldn't get them to come away from the surface.





Frustrated, again… I just took the dough in my hand and formed doughnut patties and I used the small cutter to remove the centers while still holding the dough. (Hey, it worked.)



Eventually, though, I got it down and was able to turn out some really pretty ones that I could even pick up. Yay!



They went in the oil when the temperature was right.



And I knew just when that would be because of my handy dandy new oil thermometer. It definitely makes a difference.



See. Doughnuts. (applause, here)



The best thing about doughnuts? The scraps.



You can fry them, too. Cover them in powdered sugar and it almost makes it worth all the trouble.



You can also make a glaze and dip the tops of your doughnuts.



Sprinkles don't hurt either.



Yum! And definitely not doughy inside. They were really pretty good. Maybe a tiny bit dry… or maybe I left them in the oil too long.

But, I'm not going to find out.

It was fun trying something new, but the next time I want doughnuts, I'll be hitting up my local Dunkin' Donuts for some chocolate glazed munchkins… and maybe a few blueberry ones for kicks.

Here's the recipe I concocted after researching multiple ones for cake doughnuts in case you want to improve on it.

Slightly Dry Cake Doughnuts
4.5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk*
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla

• Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
• Beat eggs in a medium bowl until frothy. Add sugar and continue beating until combined.
• In another bowl, combine melted butter, milk and vanilla.
• Add the milk mixture to the egg mixture and stir until combined.
• Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture stir until combined.
• Chill the dough for about 30 minutes to make it easier to work with. (Ha!)
• Generously flour your work surface and roll dough out about 1/4 inch thick.
• Use a doughnut cutter or two circle cutters (1 and 3 inch) to cut out shapes.
  
• Heat about 2 quarts oil (about 3 inchees deep) in a large, heavy pot to about about 360 degrees.
• Fry 1-2 doughnuts at a time about a minute on each side. (I didn't actually time this, but it wasn't too long)
  
• Remove and place on a paper towel-lined tray.
• When cool, sprinkle powdered sugar or dip them in a vanilla glaze.
• Makes 12 doughnuts and 12 doughnut holes.
  

* Most of the recipes called for a cup of milk. I dropped it back thinking the dough was too wet, but it probably needs it for the moistness if you can figure out how to work with the dough. :)

Vanilla glaze
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3-5 Tbsp milk

• With a mixer, mix sugar and butter.
• Add vanilla
• Add milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Enjoy?

P.S. Here's what happens when you don't own an oil thermometer. Doughnut disaster!

Hey Y'all!

My cake fell … and it was fantastic! Actually, it was supposed to fall. It's a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake that I used straight from the pages of Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration Magazine.



I bought this publication several months ago mainly because of the cover… Chocolate and Paula… you can't go wrong there. But, to be honest I haven't made anything from it until this Saturday. I've looked at it a bunch of times and made notes of all the recipes I want to try, but nothing until now.

So, this weekend, I finally decided to go for her Deep Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake Recipe because I've never made a flourless cake before and I was intrigued.
I mean, it must be pretty good if someone would make it instead of the one on this cover.



You'll need a 9-inch springform pan. It has a latch on the side that helps you release the cake. Because there's no turning this one upside down to get it out.

Place some parchment paper on the bottom so it hangs over. Close the latch to hold the paper in place and secure the sides. You'll also want to spray the paper with some non-stick cooking spray just to be safe.

After your pan is ready, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Separate 6 large eggs. Yolks in one bowl and egg whites in another. Set aside.



You'll also need 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate and 4 oz. dark chocolate. Break it up in a large bowl and add 2 sticks of butter (thank you Paula!). Melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.

Whisk in 1 1/4 cups sugar until combined.

Then add the six egg yolks to the chocolate and sugar mixture, one at a time, whisking after each addition.



Now, in a medium bowl, beat the six egg whites on high with an electric mixer. Beat it for several minutes until stiff peaks form.



Then, gently fold your egg white mixture into the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Pour it in your pan and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees.



It will rise pretty high in the oven, but when you take it out to cool, it will fall. And fall hard. Yay!

Let it cool one hour on the counter and then for at least four hours in the refrigerator before you release it from the springform pan.



And, when you finally do… it will be worth the wait. I didn't really know what the texture of the inside would be like, but oh my… it was glorious.

Rich and dense and fudgey! Definitely one for true chocolate lover's. And, If you don't like things too rich, then stay away. Stay far, far away!



I also sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top to finish it off.



Okay, a lot!



Here's what it's supposed to look like. Mine had a few more cracks, but I was completely and utterly happy with it.


But, wait a minute… let me tell you the real reason I made this cake from Paula's magazine.

There was a slim chance I was going to be able to meet Paula on Sunday (thanks to my friend Ted and help from someone on her team) and I wanted to have one of her dessert recipes under my belt if I did. You know, in case we had a moment to chit chat and talk about butter and stuff. Yeah, right!

She was speaking at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Atlanta, and to be honest, I really didn't think I would get to meet her…



Or get a picture taken with her. Hey, Paula!

My mom and I were so thrilled. She is every bit as beautiful and funny and nice as she is on TV. (And I do mean funny. We also had the opportunity to hear her speak later on and she had the whole place laughing.)



We also met her son, Bobby. Yummy!!! I mean, he was really nice.

Later on, we even met her other yummy, I mean really nice son, Jamie. Unfortunately, I spazzed and didn't get a picture of him. But, he did help me out with something.

Something I think you'll like.



See this cookbook. I bought it last minute at the show. (Sorry, her brand new one was sold out.)

But, that's okay, because look what Jamie got his mom to do for me just minutes before she went on stage to speak.



Yep, that's her signature. And, it gets even better.

I'm giving it away! The book… signature and all. Who wants it?

Seriously, at first, I thought I would keep it, and then, I thought… I would keep it! Then, I decided it would be much more fun to give it away. Besides, it could be a great Mother's Day present for someone. And, don't feel bad, I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I can get another copy for myself later.

Better hurry and enter… The winner will be chosen Monday night.

(TIME'S UP. WINNER ANNOUNCED BELOW)
Enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of
Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics Cookbook

• Leave a comment on this post and tell me why you want it, why you love Paula, why you love butter, or heck, just say "hey, y'all!"
• Leave your comment with a way for me to contact you if you win (either a blog link or email)
• Deadline to enter is Monday, April 20th at 6:00 p.m. (recorded by the comment time stamp)
• The winner will be chosen at random* and announced sometime Monday evening on this post.

* One winner will be chosen at random, using random.org's integer generator.

Good luck.


More links:
Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration
Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook - NEW!
Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics Cookbook
Springform Pans
And, Paula's also on Twitter. Go say hey y'all!


Yay, we have a winner!
Who's it going to be random integer generator?
Me. Me. Me. ……… No. No. No.

It's comment #598!


Congrats Angela… Today is your lucky day!

Eye Candy

I absolutely had the most fun making these Miniature Easter Basket Cupcakes. I know this idea has been done a ton of different ways before, but I couldn't resist having a go at them. They are so sweet and make me giddy just looking at them.

Plus, I had all this Easter candy that I had to do something with.



Mini Chocolate Bunnies, candy eggs, sour patch straws and mini chocolate candy bars. (Can you say sugar coma.) The bunny candy to the right came from The Fresh Market. And, the Twizzlers made it in this photo, but not on the cupcakes. I'll have to save them for later.



Here's some of my favorite baking cups. I loooooove the opaque color of these. You can get them at the Confectionery House.

Or if you like polka-dots, check these out.



Their color isn't as opaque after baking, but the dots sure do make up for it. Also from the Confectionery House.

So, if you have a bunch of easter candy handy, get busy and go make some cupcakes. I made chocolate.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 c milk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare cupcake pans with 36 baking cups.
• With a wire whisk, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• In a mixer, cream sugar and butter.
• Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides with each addition. Add vanilla.
• Add flour mixture to the creamed butter in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour)
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until done.
• Cool and frost.

They were pretty good, but I'm still looking for my "go to" chocolate cake recipe.

Then, I made some yummy buttercream frosting and tinted it green. (Here's a recipe.) You'll want to double it at least if you decide to frost all 36 cupcakes.



Use a generous amount of frosting. It doesn't have to be too pretty.



Then dip the sides of the frosting in a small dish filled with sugar crystals or sanding sugar. You don't have to cover the center area because that's where your chocolate bunnies will go.



You can use these super cute Sour Punch Straws for the handles. Just insert into the cupcake on each side. (They also come in green.)



Then cover your cupcakes with candy. EASY!

I love the look of these Lindt chocolate bunnies.



And I looooooove these super tiny Heidl candy bars. (But, I'm a sucker for anything mini if you haven't guessed that about me already.)



Decorate each one differently to give them more personality.

Then, you can package to give away as individual treats.



I used some really pretty striped ribbon that Strano Designs gave me a while ago.



Check them out: www.stranodesigns.com



And this smaller yellow one that I found in the scrapbooking section of Hobby Lobby.



Cute or What?!

To get these to stand up, cut out some white cake board to fit the bottom of a plastic treat bag (These were 5" X 11" X 3" from Hobby Lobby). Apply a small amount of frosting to the center of the board to help keep the cupcake from sliding back and forth. I just wish these bags weren't so wide. I had wanted them to be closer to the width of the cupcake.

But, not to worry. Nobody I gave them to cared one little iota about wide cardboard.



See what I mean. You know, I didn't even notice his excitement when I took this picture because I was focusing on the cupcake. I can't even stand how sweet this expression is.



Or this one. Precious.