Lemon Bread

Hello friends!  Are you enjoying Spring? We are here in Tennessee!  Here the world is a million shades of green, with blossoms everywhere you turn. I love it  We are currently putting in a swimming pool in our backyard and my boys are so excited!  Its been fun to watch the progress everyday.  In my opinion it is still too cold to swim, but that hasn't stopped my boys from swimming almost everyday!  They are crazy!! The summer heat and humidity will be here soon enough and then I will be happy to join them:)  With all the construction going on in my backyard and baseball season in full swing (that is 6 games a week for our household of boys)  I have been so busy, that posting  has been pushed to the back burner!  I am determined to squeeze in the time to post more though, I  have several really delicious recipes to share with you!  First up is this sunshiny Lemon Bread--such a classic treat for this time of year!   I have been making this recipe for years and love it every time.  All of the called for ingredients are almost always available in my kitchen, making it quick and easy to make.  This sweet and tangy  bread is just perfect for Spring and it freezes very well to save for summer!  Hope you enjoy!

Need a little inspiration? --I shared a fantastic video here on Melandboys.

Lemon Bread

Author: Melanie

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar


• 4 eggs


• 3/4 cup butter (softened to room temperature)


• 3 cups flour


• 1 cup milk


• 2 tsp baking powder


• zest of 2 lemons


• Glaze


• 4 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice


• 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.


2. In a bowl combine the sugar, eggs, butter, milk and lemon zest.


3. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.


4. I like to squeeze a little lemon juice into the batter, maybe a tablespoon or two.


5. Bake in 2 8x4 inch greased and floured pans at 40-50 minutes.


6. Glaze: Mix freshly squeezed lemon juice with powdered sugar.


7. When you take the bread out of the oven let the glaze drip and drizzle over the loaves.


8. If you want you can poke holes in the top first.

3.2.1311

 

Lemon Bars

These bars are lemon perfection!  They are bursting with tart lemon flavor and the shortbread crust is buttery and delicious.  I love how thick these lemon bars are too. Wow. Thank you Barefoot Contessa!!

Lemon Bars
submitted by Brittany ~ The Sisters Cafe

For the crust:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature


• 1/2 cup granulated sugar


• 2 cups flour


• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature


• 3 cups granulated sugar


• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)


• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice


• 1 cup flour


• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Recipe source:  The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Two Ingredient Lemon Bars

Two ingredients.  Two ingredients!  Does it get much better than that when you are in a pinch?  Or when you just have a sweet tooth and don't feel like slaving in the kitchen?  Seriously, the lemon bars are mixed, in the pan, and the bowl is washed before the oven is even done preheating. And the best part is... these lemon bars are totally yummy!   They taste kind of like a dense, chewy cake.  Very lemony, but not too tart.  Definitely different than traditional lemon bars (I do like regular lemon bars better), but for the work they rock just the same!  Once you try them, you will find yourself stocking lemon cake mix and lemon pie filling... it doesn't get easier than this!

Two Ingredient Lemon Bars
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 Lemon Cake Mix
1 (15.75 oz  can) of Lemon Pie Filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix the cake mix and pie filling until moist and well blended. Do not over stir.  Place in greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 20-23 minutes or until golden brown on top.   Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream.

Orangeburst and Lemonburst Cookies (AKA Creamsicle Cookies)

These cookies scream summer!  It's sunny and warm outside, the flowers are blooming, and it is time for summer food!  The citrus flavor comes from the zest alone, which results in a lively flavor without being overpowering.  I've made them 'normal' cookie sized and small, and I definitely prefer them bite sized.  They are even better coupled with a little vanilla or lemon ice cream, which reminds me... Do you know what orangebursts make me think of every time I eat one?  Creamsicles.  Bless them.  Every time I make these they don't last a day.  I dare yours to last longer!

Orangebursts and Lemonburst Cookies (or Creamsicle Cookies)
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

2-1/2 to 3 cups flour (3 cups for a puffier cookie.  I also live at high elevation 5000 ft)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tb finely grated orange or lemon zest (colored part only ~ which is about 2 medium oranges or 1.5 large lemons)
1 cup white chocolate chips (I think Guittard are hands down the best white choc chips)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light.  Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually add flour mixture until combined.  Stir in  orange zest and chips.

Droped rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.  Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.  Cool for several minutes on the sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely.  Store in airtight container.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Guittard

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes

Here is a recipe for the lemon lovers of the world!  Who I know from personal experience are quite avid and loyal worshippers.  My sisters and I have been making and enjoying these amazing lemon cupcakes for a few years now, and I can't imagine why it has taken us so long to share them with you!  It all started when Brittany made this lemon cake for my birthday almost 3 years ago.  It was deliciously moist and zangy and beautifully garnished with berries.  I then tried it as cupcakes, and I was smitten!  This cupcake is the perfect combination of flavorful lemon cake and tart, buttery frosting.  I would like to say that making it as cupcakes helps with portion control, but alas it does not!  I have to get these out of the house pretty quickly when I make them or I'd eat them all myself.  Oh, and I have tried lemon jello instead of lemon pudding when I don't have pudding on hand, and it totally works great.  Pudding gives you a denser cake, which I prefer in this instance, and the jello makes for a lighter cake.  But either way, if you have a place in your heart for lemon... you are going to love these cupcakes!

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding
1/4 cup flour (This extra flour is not necessary if you are making a cake, but if you are making cupcakes they will fall in the middle if you leave this out... so don't forget! )

Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:
For the cake, mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Pour into lined cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  If making a cake, bake 9x13 or two 9 in rounds 25-30 minutes. Don’t overbake or the cake will be too dry!

For the frosting, place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added about 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Recipe Source: Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe 

Cheesecake with a Graham Cracker Crust

This is my basic, go-to cheesecake recipe that has a graham cracker crust.  For being so simple, it is surprisingly fabulous!  The graham cracker crust is a must. And the faint lemon flavor is delish.  My good friend, Jen Johnson, made this for a fondue baby shower a while back. She had a whole spread of yummy things to dip in the fondue, but I couldn't get past the cheesecake and strawberries.  Needless to say, I asked her for the recipe!  :)  When I hosted a fondue party last week, this cheesecake was the perfect dipper!  Granted, we didn't actually dip them as often as we just drizzled the fondue on top of the cheesecake squares.  Anyway, it was yummy! When I made it for the party, I doubled the recipe and baked it in a glass rectangular 9x13 pan.  I had to increase the time when I doubled the recipe, but it wasn't by much.
You could, of course, serve this in traditional triangular slices with some fudge sauce and strawberry slices as a garnish.  It is great!

Cheesecake
Submitted by Erin  ~  The Sisters Cafe

Crust:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar

Filling:
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice


Directions:

Crust:
Combine butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.

Filling:
In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth.
Add eggs and lemon juice and mix well; pour over crust.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes at 300 degrees F. Cake is done when it springs back when lightly touched. Cool to room temperature and then chill until serving.
Garnish as desired.

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

I love scones, just love 'em.  They are simple to make, add a casual elegance to any special breakfast or brunch, and taste fantastic.  This recipe has that wonderful combination of tart lemon flavor and nutty, crunchy taste of poppy seeds. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
submitted by Brittany ~ The Sisters Cafe

2 cups flour
1 Tb baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tb poppy seed
zest of one lemon
1/3 cup firm butter (not margarine)
2 Tb lemon juice
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, poppy seeds, and lemon zest.  Cut in butter using pastry blender or crisscrossing knifes, until mixture is the size of small peas.  Mix lemon juice and milk.  Using a fork, slowly pour into flour mixture and stir gently until ball forms.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly 10 times.  Pat or roll in 9 inch circle and place on cookie sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper.  Brush with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar (granulated sugar works well too, just don't be stingy!)  Using a pizza cutter, cut into 8 wedges but don't separate.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Carefully separate wedges and serve warm.

Lemon Grilled Chicken

This is the BEST marinade.  We've had it on the site forever under other recipes like Pesto Chicken Pizza with Pinenuts and Chicken Poppyseed Salad, but somehow it never made it on the site on its own.  And this marinade definitely deserves its own post.   Not only is it awesome as the main dish, it is perfect on "throw together" pizza, salads, paninis/sandwiches, and in pasta.  It is so so so good.  I'm at the point where I usually have grilled and sliced bags of lemon grilled chicken as well as raw chicken frozen in the marinade in my freezer at all times (especially during BBQ season).  If I can make a part of a dinner ahead of time, it makes the crazy dinner hour so much better.  Which translates into a happier batch of kids, tastier and healthier dinners, and a much better Mama!  So if you haven't already, take advantage of the few remaining nights of the BBQ season and grilled up some Lemon Grilled Chicken!

Lemon Grilled Chicken
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

Juice of one lemon (~3 Tb lemon juice)

3 Tb oil

1 tsp minced garlic (~2 large cloves)

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate the chicken overnight.  Grilling is best, but cooking in a skillet is still good, too.

Shrimp Scampi

I love shrimp scampi.  It is one of my favorites.  I originally used a wordy, fancy recipe, but I soon condensed it into an easy, quick, but delicious version that I use exclusively now.  The ingredients and instructions are simple and to the point, and I can whip this up in a flash.  I hope you enjoy!

Shrimp Scampi - the easy way
submitted by Erin  ~  The Sisters Cafe

1/2 lb linguine
1 T. butter
4 cloves garlic
¾ lb shrimp
1 tsp Kosher salt
A few grinds of pepper
1 T. dried parsley flakes
½ lemon, zested
¼ c. lemon juice
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese

Cook linguine, following instructions on the package.
Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet and add the garlic.  Sauté for 1 minute, being careful not to burn it.  Add shrimp, salt, and pepper and sauté until the shrimp just turns pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from heat, add parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flakes.  Toss with the linguine and serve with parmesan cheese.

Lemon Rice

This lemon rice is awesome!  The recipe is pretty darn easy, and but it feels gourmet.  Don't you just love recipes like that? Perfect for company.  For some reason, I am not a huge fan of regular old white or brown rice.  But give it some pizzazz, and I am lover.

PS I am posting from sunny Lake Powell!  Hope you are all having a fun 4th of July week, too!

Lemon Rice
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

4 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups white rice, uncooked
3/4 cup celery, diced
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 bay leaf

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Add green onion until softened.  Add rice and stir to coat.  Add celery, chicken broth, lemon juice, zest, pepper and bay leaf and bring to boil.  Once rice is boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.  Toss rice and let stand for 5 minutes.

Recipe Source: When Life Gives You Lemons...

Go-to Grilled Chicken Marinade

This recipe is definitely a go-to chicken marinade for my family. We love it! It would be perfect for your next backyard bbq. It is really flavorful and makes the chicken really moist. And we eat a lot of chicken around here! This makes a lot of marinade so scale back if you aren't cooking for a crowd. I would say that the full recipe would be plenty of marinade for at least 12 good-sized chicken breasts, maybe a little more if the chicken breasts are on the smaller-medium side. However this delicious chicken is so good I'm sure you'll find plenty of ways to use up your leftovers!  Enjoy!

Go-to Grilled Chicken Marinade

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 1/2 c. canola oil (I usually reduce this a little. The oil makes the chicken super moist though)
3/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 T. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1 T. black pepper
1 1/2 t. finely minced fresh parsley

In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have. I always try and do mine overnight if possible.

Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Ice Cream

Mindy and I must be one the same wavelength this week, hooray for HOMEMADE ICE CREAM time! Please excuse my melty picture. Ice cream sure doesn't wait for the perfect shot! This recipe is one my Mom made for me last summer, when she had a lot of extra strawberries on hand, and it's great! It's one of the most popular recipes from the Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream recipe book. So good and the perfect treat on a warm summer's night.

Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Ice Cream

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 c. sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sweet Cream Base (see below)

Most popular sweet cream base (this base is especially good as a background for fruit, cookies, and candy):
2 large eggs
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. heavy or whipping cream
1 c. milk

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend. Makes 1 quart. 

Lemon Lime Ice Cream in Dainty Lemon Cups

I scream!
You scream!
We all scream for ICE CREAM!

We had a cool, wet, and lingering spring in Utah this year.  But the sun is finally shining and things are heating up.  It's blissful!  I've been eyeing this quick and easy Lemon Lime Ice Cream recipe from my friend Ali at Lemon Poppy for months now.  I finally had the chance to make it for a sunny BBQ last week.  I wasn't disappointed.  This ice cream is refreshing and delicious.  Not too heavy.  Perfect for a light summer dessert!

Lemon Lime Ice Cream

Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: "When Life Gives You Lemons..." from www.lemonpoppycake.com

5 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 quarts whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon extract

Measure sugar into freezer tub of ice cream maker.  Add lemon and lime juices.  Add milk, cream and lemon extract.  Stir well.  Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.  Makes 6 quarts.*

*For the cuisinart ice cream maker, 1/4 of this recipe is perfect for one batch (I halfed the recipe and made two batches a couple days apart).  Whisk all ingredients except the cream in a separate bowl until sugar has dissolved, then add cream.  Pour the mixture into the freezer bowl and freeze as usual.

Lemon Cups:
Cut lemons lengthwise and scoop out pulp and seeds.  Place in the freezer.  Remove from freezer right before serving.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Our wonderful mother always made every holiday special and fun, and St Patrick's Day was no exception.  We would often get green pancakes and juice for breakfast., lots of playful pinches if we dared come out of our rooms not clad in green, and we always feasted on a dinner of Irish food that night.  As we have grown older, she continues to throw a St Paddy's party for those who live near.  It's a hoot since we are all required to bring a "party favor" (a funny joke, skit, card trick, talent, etc)!  This year we had a parsnip soup, pork roast,colcannon, apple mash, and scones.  My mom also told us all about one of our Irish ancestors : Mary Jane McConnell (my great, great grandmother shown in the picture behind the scones).  It was a wonderful night!  My contribution was the scones: Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze and Oatmeal Maple Pecan Scones.  They were both wonderful!  I am posting the blueberry scones today, but I'll post the maple scones soon, too.  These scones remind me of our grandma's blueberry muffins.  So yummy!
Hope you all have a very happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut in chunks (I use salted and don't adjust anything and they still turn out great)
1 cup heavy cream, plus a little more to brush the scones
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Powdered sugar
Zest of one lemon
1 Tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, but in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour.  The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.  Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream.  Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.  Fold the blueberries into the batter.  Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. (I used frozen blueberries which taste wonderful but require even more carefulness if you don't want blue dough).
Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 x 3 x 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2, then cute the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you four (3-inch) squares.  Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. (You can also just roll it into a circle 1 1/4 inches thick and then cut into triangles either before or after cooking).  Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown.  Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.
Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl.  Stir until the sugar dissolves.  Add the lemon zest and butter.  Microwave for 30 seconds on high.  Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones.  Let it set a minute before serving.

Recipe Source: Tyler Florence from www.foodnetwork.com

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

These are the most amazing pancakes!!! Definitely another keeper for our growing pancake collection. I love the lemon-strawberry combination. I seriously think I might have to make these my birthday pancakes from now on (which means my hubby better start practicing...:). Maybe they taste a little bit more like a dessert than a regular pancake, and they take a few extra minutes to prepare, but I promise they are oh-so-worth it!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

PANCAKES:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt, plus a pinch for egg whites
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs, separated
1 heaping cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup milk
2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced
butter, for cooking the pancakes-optional
Powdered sugar, for dusting

STRAWBERRY COULIS:
1 quart strawberries, topped and quartered
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice

Toss the strawberries with the sugar and orange juice. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

After the berries and sugar have macerated and become very juicy, remove 1/2 of the berry mixture, put it in a food processor and puree until smooth. Return it to the rest of the berries and reserve until ready to use.

Sift together all of the dry ingredients for the pancakes in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks, ricotta cheese, milk and lemon zest and juice, and mix until it becomes homogeneous. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients to the well and whisk until combined.

Preheat a griddle.

In another bowl, using a whisk or electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the flour mixture in thirds. Do this quickly and gently so the pancakes will be light and fluffy.

Melt small pats of butter onto the preheated griddle, and spread it around with a paper towel to remove any excess butter. (I usually just use non-stick cooking spray, but it's up to you:) Spoon or ladle the pancake batter onto the prepared griddle to desired size of the pancake. When the top of the pancake is full of holes, like bubbles have risen to the surface and burst, the pancake is ready to flip. Flip the pancakes and cook until the bottom is golden brown.

Remove the pancakes from the grill to serving plates. Top with the macerated strawberry coulis and garnish with powdered sugar.

Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

These lemon cupcakes are so yummy! I love the sweet&tart cranberry filling and the rich lemony cream cheese frosting.... mmm!  These are a fun Valentines treat with the bright cranberry center.  Hope you enjoy!

.

Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

Submitted by Erin  ~  The Sisters Cafe
Recipe from cupcakeblog.com

Makes ~28 regular cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
zest of one meyer lemon

Preheat oven to 375°. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, beat to combine. Scoop into cupcake papers about half full. Place cupcakes in the oven and turn the oven down to 350°. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

To assemble cupcakes: Fill cupcakes by cutting out a cone from each cupcake. Flip the cone and cut off the excess.  Set the top aside. Fill each cavity with the tart cranberry filling. Replace each top.   Frost with the meyer lemon cream cheese frosting. (I put the frosting in a piping bag with a star tip.)

Tart Cranberry Filling

Half of a 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar

Rinse and pick through cranberries. Add to a medium pan with water and sugar. Bring to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar. Let the mixture boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

-

Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 sticks (½ cup) butter, room temperature
¾ of a 8-oz package of Philly cream cheese
1 ½ - 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
½ tablespoon meyer lemon juice
zest of one fourth of a meyer lemon

-

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Add cream cheese and beat until combined.  Sift 1 ½ cups of the powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese. Add the lemon juice and zest. Beat until combined. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. I used 2 cups.

Luscious Lemon Bites and a Lemon Poppy Giveaway!

These lemon bites are indeed luscious!  They remind me of a crumbly, lemon shortbread cookie.  I imagine them stacked neatly on a dainty dish and served with afternoon tea.  Mmmmm....So here are the tips I would offer with these cookies: 1. They worked out better for me when I used room temperature butter.  If you are softening the butter using the microwave, be very careful not to let it melt.  Also, avoid overhandling the dough.  It is necessary to press the dough into balls since it is kind of crumbly, but if the butter melts from your hands or you use even slightly melted butter, the cookies may turn out flat.  2.  Take them out of the oven when the edges are slightly golden brown and then allow to fully cool before handling.  They break more when they are hot.  They were done in 13 minutes in my oven.  3.  As with all cookies, show restraint and don't eat the whole batch in one sitting. (Do as I say, not as I do)

How many of us have had a lemon of a day, a month or even a year?  Hands down every single one of us, right?  These cookies came from a truly wonderful little cookbook: "When Life Gives You Lemons." Ali Eisenach from lemonpoppycake.com is responsible for this fabulous creation.  The premise of lemon poppy is to put life into perspective and have a good attitude... while enjoying good food!  When life gives you lemons, why not make Lemon Poppy Cake?  Or Luscious Lemon Bites?  Or any of the other yummy looking lemon recipes found in her little cookbook? She now has two other books: When Life  Gives Your Friends and When Life Gives You a Chocolate Craving.  All three are packed with 20 pages of tried and true recipes with mouthwatering pictures.  They are printed on high quality paper with UV coating, too (which means spills wipe off, they don't soak into the pages - a major plus if you're messy in the kitchen like me!).  You can pick them up at Tai Pan or you can order them on www.lemonpoppycake.com for $8.99 each.  A perfect Valentine's Day gift for the cook in your life!

So now for the giveaway...

Lemon Poppy is offering all three cookbooks to the lucky winner.  To enter, leave a comment giving Ali ideas for future books.  Fill in the blank: "When Life Gives You _________."  For a second entry, "Like" Lemon Poppy on facebook and then leave a second comment saying you did it.  ("Like" The Sisters Cafe if you haven't already, too!)  As always, the winner will be chosen randomly.  A winner will be announced on Wednesday, January 19th.  Good Luck!

Luscious Lemon Bites
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: www.lemonpoppycake.com

2 cups of butter, softened
2/3 cup powered sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat butter until creamy.  Add powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest and vanilla.  Beat well.  Add flour and cornstarch and mix until well combined.  Roll dough into one inch balls.  Bake 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet until bottom edges of cookies are light brown.  Cool and frost with lemon glaze.

Creamy Lemon Glaze
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine butter, lemon zest, juice, and powdered sugar.  Stir until well combined.  Place cookies on wax paper.  Cool.  Drizzle glaze over the tops.

Cheesecake Bars

Oh, I really love these cheesecake bars! My sister Melissa shared this recipe with me and I'm sure glad she did. Even my husband, who is very much a chocolate chip cookie kind of guy, also told me these are one of his favorite treats now! Looks like these will be making a regular appearance around our house. A few thoughts Melis shared with me, and which I second, is that these would be amazing with some sort of drizzled fruit sauce and fresh fruit on top. Honestly, they don't need it, but if you wanted to go that extra mile, there you are. Also, like most cheesecake desserts, these are very best after chilled.

Cheesecake Bars

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Printable Recipe

BASE:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

FILLING:
1/4 cup sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (Low-fat cream cheese is fine in my opinion. But if you don't usually like it, stick with the regular)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg

Heat oven to 350. In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Combine flour and walnuts or pecans with creamed mixture. Reserve 1 cup for topping. Press remainder into bottom of ungreased 8" or 9" square pan. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a small bowl, blend sugar and cream cheese until smooth (if using fat-free cream cheese, mixture will be kind of lumpy, but it will cook up just fine). Add milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and egg. Beat well. Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 23-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 12 small bars.

Favorite Friday: Fresh Lemonade!

Aaaah, summer... the time for sandcastles and sunburns, drippy icecream cones and smoking barbecues, and fresh lemonade! I love fresh squeezed juice. We grew up in Phoenix with a huge orange tree that had the juiciest, sweetest fruit. (And the greatest climbing branches!) :) We would pick the oranges by the 5 gallon bucketful and make the best juice I have ever tasted... no joke. This fresh lemonade is actually a delicious combination of orange, lime, and lemon juice. Oh my, is it refreshing. This is a family favorite during the summer months that I originally got from my mother-in-law. If you haven't made it already, you better try it out this year!

Freshly Squeezed Lemonade
submitted by Brittany

5 lemons
5 limes
5 oranges
5-6 cups cold water
1 1/2 -3 cups sugar, to taste

Once you have juiced all the fruit, add the water and sugar to taste. It really depends on how sweet/tart the citrus are and how much juice you get out of them. Also it depends on how sweet you like your lemonade! Serve ice cold and enjoy!

Perfect Pound Cake

My mom's birthday was a few weeks ago, and I volunteered to make her birthday cake.  She loves pound cake, so I started hunting around for a new recipe to try.  I found this recipe from the Pioneer Woman.... with "perfect" in the title and pop in the ingredient list, I thought it had to be good. :)  And I wasn't disappointed!  It was wonderful!  I didn't serve with berries this time, but in my opinion the best way to eat pound cake is with berries and ice cream.  A word to the wise: use good old fashioned shortening and flour to grease the pan, not nonstick spray.  Bundt cakes can be tricky to get out of the pan and shortening and flour just works better.  (Or just buy a De Marle Bundt pan and you'll never have to worry about greasing again... it's on my wish list).

Perfect Pound Cake
Submitted by Mindy

Printable Recipe Here

1 1/2 cups of butter
3 cups of sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
2 teaspoons lemon extract
3 cups flour
1 cup Sprite, 7-UP, or Sierra Mist

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cream butter.  Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Add butter flavoring and lemon extract and mix well.  Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add soft drink, then mix together until combined.  Scrape sides of bowl, then mix briefly.  Pour into a greased Bundt pan and bake for one hour to one hour and ten minutes, until cake is no longer jiggly.  Remove cake from oven and invert pan until the cake drops out.  Slice and serve!