Lemon bars

 Crust

1 c soft butter

1/2 c powdered sugar

Pinch salt

2 c flour

Mix until forms a ball. Press into a greased 9x13 pan Bake for 15 minutes at 350*

Filling

4 eggs beaten

1/4 c flour

2 c sugar

6T fresh Lemon juice

Lemon zest of one lemon

Combine sugar and flour. Mix in beaten eggs and lemon juice. Pour over COOLED crust. Bake at 350* for 25 mins. until the center is set. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Homemade Berry Fritters

A Sally's recipe ( you may want to click on the link for LOTS of helpful tips on making these!)

Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes Yield: 12 large fritters

Description

This sweet summery fried fritter combines a soft yeasted dough, blueberries, and a creamy strawberry glaze made from real strawberries.

Ingredients

1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F*

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar, divided

2 large eggs

6 Tablespoons (86g) butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 cups (490g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more as needed

1 and 1/2 cups (250g) fresh berries such as blueberries, chopped strawberries, or blackberries (NOT frozen)

1 – 2 quarts oil

STRAWBERRY GLAZE

2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar

1 cup chopped strawberries (about 5 large strawberries)

1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining 7 Tablespoons of sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, salt, nutmeg, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If needed, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add too much flour, though. You want a slightly sticky dough. 

Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 2 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes.

Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours.)

Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and with lightly floured hands, flatten the dough into a long oval about 1/2 inch thick. You can use a rolling pin if needed, but your hands should be able to stretch it out just fine. Spread blueberries onto half of the dough, as pictured above. Fold the dough over the blueberries, then seal the edges. Using your hands, work the dough into an even log. making sure the edges are totally sealed. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into about 12 even strips, then cut 4-5 perpendicular strips to make a cross pattern of sorts. This is NOT an exact process, so don’t stress. You really just need a bunch of small pieces of blueberry-filled dough! Divide the cut-up dough into 12 even pieces. Mold each into a round shape and try to “enclose” the blueberries inside the dough as much as you can. (They’ll fall out of the fritters otherwise.) Place the shaped fritters on a lined baking sheet, then cover and allow to rest as you heat the oil. They will rise a bit as they rest.

Place a cooling rack on a large baking sheet. Set aside.

Pour oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Using a candy/oil thermometer, heat the oil to 350°F (177°C). This will take several minutes. Add 2 fritters at a time and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Wear kitchen gloves if oil is splashing. Carefully remove with a metal spatula or metal slotted spoon. Place fritters onto prepared rack. Repeat with remaining fritters, then turn off the heat.* Some blueberries may come loose in the oil. Discard those since they’ll taste burnt.

Let the fritters cool for a few minutes as you prepare the glaze.

Strawberry Glaze: Place confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside. Purée the strawberries in a food processor. Scrape down the sides if needed. If they aren’t pureeing into a liquid, add 1 Tablespoon of the heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk you are using in the glaze. Once liquified, pour over confectioners’ sugar, then add the cream/milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. If needed, add more cream/milk to thin out or more confectioners’ sugar to thicken.

Dunk each fritter into glaze. Place back onto prepared rack for excess glaze to drip down. The glaze will eventually set on the fritters after about 20-30 minutes.

Fritters are best enjoyed the same day. Cover and store leftovers at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.

Notes

Berries: Go light on the blueberries in the dough– 1 and 1/2 cups is plenty. If you use too many, they’ll just fall out of the frying fritters and burn. You can also use blackberries or chopped strawberries. I recommend fresh blueberries because they aren’t as juicy. Frozen berries or juicier berries make this dough a mess! Instead of strawberries for the glaze, you can use fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries or blackberries. Blueberries aren’t ideal for the glaze because they don’t purée as well.

Oil: The amount of oil really depends on how wide or tall your pot is. You want oil to fill about 1/3 of the pot. I use a little more than 1 quart for my 5.5 quart Dutch oven.

Halve: You can easily halve this recipe for 6 large fritters. I don’t recommend doubling the recipe. Instead, make two separate batches of dough.

Hershey’s Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Filling & Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream

This recipe is from the 77kitchen blog 

 This cake is a lot of work, but it sure looks amazing!

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

2 cups sugar

1 & 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk or heavy Cream

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup boiling water

For the Whipped Cream Cheese Buttercream:

1 cup cream cheese

3/4 cup butter

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

For the Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream:

3/4 cup of butter

3/4 cup of cream cheese

1 & 3/4 cups cocoa powder

5 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons whole Milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

First, preheat your oven to 350F.

Spray 3 round cake pans with cooking spray

Dust the pans lightly with flour, set aside.

In mixer combine the Flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt.

Add in the milk, oil, eggs and the vanilla extract & mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Once all combined, stir in the boiling water last; mix again, the batter will be very thin.

Pour the batter evenly in each of the sprayed/floured cake pans

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean. Once fully baked, remove from oven & allow the 3 cakes to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before removing them.

Once removed, transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. You may then level them…I do not.

Whipped Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting Instructions:

Whip the cream cheese & the butter with an electric mixer on high speed for about 30 seconds. Once combined begin adding in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at time, making sure each half cup is fully incorporated before mixing in another 1/2 cup., add in the vanilla extract & whip one last time for about 30 more seconds on high and beat one minute more until nice & fluffy

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting Instructions:

In a large bowl beat the butter & cream cheese with an electric mixer and begin adding in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time again

add in the cocoa and the milk & vanilla

Whip all of the ingredients until they are thoroughly incorporated

Beat at High speed for about one minute or until fluffy.

Once you are ready to assemble the cake:

Place the bottom layer on a cake plate.

Spread 3/4 cup of the cream cheese buttercream filling over the bottom cake layer

Top with the second leveled layer and repeat the process.

Lastly, top with the third layer.

Frost just the very top with the remaining Whipped cream cheese buttercream & refrigerate for about 15 minutes

Finally, remove from the refrigerator & frost the top layer gently with the chocolate cream cheese buttercream & all over the sides of the cake.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

ENJOY!

Lemon Pie

Sally’s shortbread crust 

1 cup (230g; 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) 

all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan* with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.

Make the crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be thick. Press firmly into prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned.

Filling ~Betty Crocker  recipe (Double if you have a large pie dish)

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1 ¼ cups water 

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 egg yolks

3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Topping

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla
1tsp lemon juice

Decoration

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Steps

1.   In 2-quart saucepan, mix granulated sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water, 2 teaspoons lemon zest and the lemon juice until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat. Heat to boiling; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly and thickened. Remove from heat. 

2.   In small bowl, beat egg yolks with whisk. Gradually beat about 1/2 cup hot mixture into egg yolks. Gradually stir yolk mixture into hot mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to gently boil. Cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 3 tablespoons butter. Pour over cooled baked crust. Cool at room temperature 15 minutes, then cover filling with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 3 hours until set.

3.   When ready to serve, remove plastic wrap from filling. In chilled medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in remaining Topping ingredients with electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of chilled pie. Top with 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

Expert Tips

One medium lemon yields about 3 tablespoons juice and 2 to 3 teaspoons grated lemon zest.

Leftover citrus peel or juice? Store tightly wrapped in the freezer for another recipe.

To quickly soften cream cheese, remove amount needed from wrapper, and place on microwavable plate; microwave uncovered on High about 10 seconds or just until softened.

Want to make this dessert at the drop of a hat? Make your sugar cookies ahead, and store in a plastic zip-top bag in your freezer, so all you have to do is grind them up and go.

Cream cheese helps stabilize the creamy topping, so you can make this pie ahead without worrying about the topping deteriorating.

Shortbread Lemon Bar

A Sally’s recipe found here

1 cup (230g; 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265g) 

all-purpose flour

Lemon Filling

2 cups (400g) granulated sugar

6 Tablespoons (48g) all-purpose flour

6 large eggs

1 cup (240ml) lemon juice (about 4 lemons)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan* with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.

Make the crust: Mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir to completely combine. The dough will be thick. Press firmly into prepared pan, making sure the layer of crust is nice and even. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned.

Make the filling: Sift the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Add the eggs and lemon juice and whisk until completely combined.

Pour filling over warm crust. Bake the bars for 22-26 minutes or until the center is relatively set and no longer jiggles. (Give the pan a light tap with an oven mitt to test.) Remove bars from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. I usually cool them for about 2 hours at room temperature, then stick in the refrigerator for 1-2 more hours until pretty chilled. I recommend serving chilled.

Once cool, lift the parchment paper out of the pan using the overhang on the sides. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into squares before serving. For neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut. Cover and store leftover lemon bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Freezing Instructions: Lemon bars can be frozen for up to 3-4 months. Cut the cooled bars (without confectioners’ sugar topping) into squares, then place onto a baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour. Individually wrap each bar in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place into a large bag or freezer container to freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Whole Wheat Zucchini-Nut Bread

Baker's Hotline

2 large eggs

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated OR brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup White Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini (1 small to medium)

3/4 cup raisins (golden are nice)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

 Preheat the oven to 350°F; lightly grease a standard 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan, or line it with parchment. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, oil, molasses, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

 In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Stir in the zucchini, raisins and walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the loaf tests done (a wooden tester inserted in the center will come out clean). Remove the bread from the oven, and place on a rack to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan and returning to the rack to cool completely.

Sunburst Lemon Bars

Ingredients 

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

Filling

4 eggs 

2 cups granulated sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup lemon juice

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Steps

1 

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat base ingredients on low speed until crumbly. Press mixture evenly in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

2

Meanwhile, in large bowl with wire whisk, lightly beat eggs. Beat in remaining filling ingredients except lemon juice until well blended. Beat in 1/4 cup lemon juice.

3

Remove partially baked base from oven. Pour filling evenly over warm base.

4

Return to oven; bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until top is light golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

5

In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and enough lemon juice for desired spreading consistency until smooth. Spread glaze over cooled bars. Cut into bars.Lemon bars

The Best New York Crumb Cake

The Best New York Crumb Cake

Ingredients

    butter and flour, for greasing the 9 x 13 pan

Cake:

    1 + ½ cups all-purpose flour

    ½ cup granulated sugar

    2½ teaspoons baking powder

    ½ teaspoon salt

    1 large egg

    ½ cup milk

    2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping:

    2 + ½ cups all-purpose flour

    1 cup packed light-brown sugar

    1 + ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

    1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

    confectioners' sugar, for dusting

 

Instructions

    Preheat oven to 325°. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan or line with parchment and lightly grease with non-stick baking spray.

Make the Cake:

    In a medium bowl sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.

    In a separate large mixing bowl whisk the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla together until well combined.

    Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently fold in with a spatula or wooden spoon.

    Scrape the batter into the greased pan and spread evenly from corner to corner - it will be a very thin layer.

Make the Topping:

    In a medium bowl whisk the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon together. Pour the melted butter over it and toss together with a spoon until well combined.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup light brown sugar packed

1 teaspoon Ground Cocoa Beans (You can use coffee, but obviously I won’t ;) 

1 cup hot water

1 stick softened butter plus some for greasing

¾ cup sugar superfine or granulated

1-½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs at room temperature

For the frosting:

½ cup butter softened

4 ounces cream cheese softned

4 ounces Dark chocolate melted (see recipe notes)

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt optional (to cut sweetness)

½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder sifted

1-1½ cups powdered sugar sifted

Black gel food coloring optional (as needed)

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 C.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the coco powder, instant coffee, brown sugar and hot water. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together, beating well until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.

Add eggs, one at a time with a cup of the flour mixture in between eggs. Mix in the rest of the dried ingredients for the cake and fold in the cocoa mixture.

Divide the batter evenly into 12 cupcakes and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

In a large bowl, beat the melted chocolate with the softened butter and cream cheese.

Add the cocoa, vanilla extract, salt and ½ cup of the powdered sugar adding another ½ cup of the sugar until smooth and desired consistency. If using, add the black food coloring a little at a time (mixing in between) until the color deepens to your liking.

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

**Recipe Notes

What chocolate? Use dark chocolate that is between 54-66% cocoa solids. In the US, bittersweet chocolate works well.   Chocolate higher in cocoa percentage would probably be too bitter. I would also avoid milk chocolate unless you have a real sweet tooth.

Caramel apple crisp bars

2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

1-1/4 cups flour, divided

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 pkg. (11 oz.) KRAFT Caramels (Or use my caramel sauce recipe here)

2 Tbsp. milk

2 large apples, chopped (about 2 cups)

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; spray with cooking spray. Mix oats, 1 cup flour, baking soda and spices until blended.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended. Reserve 1 cup oat mixture; press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

Meanwhile, microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until caramels are completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring every 30 sec. Stir in remaining flour.

Sprinkle apples over crust; drizzle with caramel sauce. Crumble remaining oat mixture over caramel sauce.

Bake 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting into bars.