Food Photo Friday--Lemon Lust

This recipe came from a California bakery.  They had been making lemon bars for several years and they had always sold well.  During a trip to Europe they saw a pastry in a bakery called 'Lemon Lust'.  They loved the name.  When they returned to their own bakery, they renamed their lemon bars 'Lemon Lust'. Their sales tripled! The kind of marketing that I'm a sucker for!  I've made these many times and can't imagine anything yummier!

Lemon Lust:

Crust:

1 cup (8 oz. ) cold butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbsp grated lemon zest (about two lemons)

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In food processor:

Cut the cold butter into 1" pieces--return to refrigerator

In the bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade, place the powdered sugar, salt, and flour.  Pulse until well blended.  Add the chilled butter and toss with your hands to coat the pieces with flour.  Process the mixture until it looks like fine meal,  about 15 seconds.  (Can be made in a bowl with a pastry cutter)

Transfer crust dough to  a 15x10* inch glass baking pan and press firmly into the bottom.  Place pan on center rack in a 350 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes.

While the crust bakes, make the filling. Combine the baking powder and flour.  In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they are well mixed.  Add the sugar and beat until it is fully incorporated.  Add the baking powder and flour in small amounts, beating after each addition.  Whisk in the lemon juice and zest.  

Pour filling over hot crust and return to oven for 15-20 additional minutes or until filling has set and top is golden brown.  Let bars cool in the pan on a wire rack.  When completely cool, dust with powdered sugar.

*I don't have this size pan.  I use a 9x13 and bake it for 5 minutes or so longer.  The center will be slightly jiggly.  And yes, calling them 'Lemon Lust' does make them taste better.

C is for "cookie"

I had a request for the recipe for these cookies. I haven't had a cookie this good in at least ten years. It's the frosting. You brown the butter before you mix it with the sugar and it makes it taste soooooo carmely delicious! I suggest you make a double batch of both cookies and frosting so that you'll have plenty.........of leftover frosting! That way you can eat it with your fingers to your hearts content!!


Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
2/3 cup white sugar 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 cup butter, softened 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 2 eggs 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat sugars, butter & vanilla. Beat in pumpkin & eggs till well mixed. Add dry ing. Drop by rounded Tbsp. onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Remove to rack and cool completely.

Browned Butter Frosting 3 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 3-4 Tbsp. milk 1/3 cup butter

In med. bowl, place powd. sugar, vanilla, & 3 Tbsp. milk. In saucepan, heat butter over med. heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown. Pour butter over powd. sugar mixture. Beat 1 min. or until smooth. Add remaining milk, if necessary. Generously frost cookies

four squared

At first I didn't even understand the tag.  I think I read it too fast.  So Sidney explained that you look in your fourth picture file and take your fourth picture and post about it.  Well, on my PC 

I don't even have four picture files, and my mac doesn't exactly store pictures in that way, or at least  I'm not organized enough to store them that way!  So I modified my criteria:  I entered a search for any picture labeled with a 44, and then counted to the 44th photo in that batch.  This is what I got:

Holy Sweet Snuggle Bunny!  It's a good thing (i guess...) that I don't sit down and look at past pictures more often or I'd get even less done than I do now!  I just want to climb into my computer screen, bury my nose into his neck and take a huge sniff!  And then nibble the fuzz on his earlobes! 

Okay, so I need to tag some people.  BTW, I'm cutting the number down to four.  My pool of blogger friends has been previously pilfered.  

1. Peggy

2. Erin

3. Luke  (Dang it!!  I just checked Megan's blog and she already had you on her tag list!!)

4. Cecilia

5. Amber W. 

OH YEAH!

6. and Wendy V.

Rule is: If you get tagged you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to respond!  Or you will have seven years of bad luck!   **Totally kidding here**   This is actually the one and only tag I have ever participated in.   I  have always said "pfftt! yeah RIGHT!" and walked on.  I give you full absolution if you decide to disregard this tag.  I would never expect anyone to follow through on such a thing.  Unless they wanted to.  Then I would love to see what you have!  

Just For Luke

I love how life works. Y'know, you're just crusin' through each day, trying to make something nice out of it, and before you know it--you've just made a new friend without even trying! Such is the story of Luke. Now I've never been to England. Only been to Tiajuana for about 15 minutes. I just don't get out much! (time for that later, I suppose!) So how does one become acquainted with a pretty amazing ENGLISHKID? Well....suffice it to say, it's a pretty random, round-about story that involves Sidney and Megan, and it's really their experience, so I won't elaborate--unless you ask me personal-like, and then, maybe... for now I'll just sit back and reap the benefits of their social butterfly-ness and be glad the world is really a pretty small place when it comes right down to it!

Luke is sixteen, and, I quote Sidney here because I am not about to get myself into trouble, is quite "fit-as", which I do not recommend you looking up on a British slang page as it lies in close proximity to some not-so-nice colloquialisms...(baaad mental pictures folks! Take my word for it....) "Fit-as" would be the equivalent of very good looking, or "hot" if you will. Again, Sidney's words people....I'm just repeating them to help you visualize...My point is, any self respecting teenage girl would OF COURSE follow him around at EFY......(love ya! Megs!) Luke also has a ton of interests, especially music and movies, spending quality time with his friends, attending concerts, or "gigs" as he would say, and obvioulsy has an appreciation for life and being a teenager. I've totally enjoyed parusing his blog and gaining insight to the life of a clean living, teenage boy from another country!

I bring Luke up because as the snow came pounding down yesterday and today....I thought to myself how much I would miss it if I lived somewhere where it doesn't snow like it does here. That made me think of people I know who live in such places, and that made me think of Luke, my newfound English friend! I swear I read somewhere that he had never experienced snow like ours so I thought I would snap some photos and post them in hopes that someday he is able to visit Utah during one of our amazing snowstorms. They really shouldn't be missed. And neither should opportunities to meet new people! Am I happy when strange (in the acquainted sense...) young, foreign boys randomly call up my daughter on Sunday afternoons and let her talk their ear off? Actually, if they are as nice, "fit-as", head-on-straight, well-rounded, interesting and smoothly-accented as Luke, then YES! And in a reciprocal move, I give a shoutout to Luke and his blog. As soon as (if) he gives me permission, I'll link up to it from HERE and you all can get to know him too!

So back to the snow....If I somehow just imagined your comment about our snow, Luke, you'll have to forgive me and know that I hope you get to experience it someday anyway! I appreciate the excuse to post some cool winter pics! For you, Luke, of course......

Haha!! Megan, this is the bike you left here months ago!!

Sid loves snow too! Don'tcha, Sid?

Ski Utah People!! Greatest Snow On Earth!!

Oh my goodness.....I love this shot!

Our roofline....

Our picnic table.

The view out our front door.

Sid & the softly falling snow...

Sweet Shelby



Me, myself, and I by: Me, Myself, & I.