Lemon Squares

There are many versions of this recipe available and I've tried a few, but I always go back to my mom's recipe. This is another recipe that goes back years and is a favorite of mine and, I might add, of my niece. Every time she and her family come for a visit, Mom makes sure she has a pan of these cookies sitting in the kitchen to greet her, even if it's Christmas and Mom has a zillion other kinds of cookies and candies prepared. These cookies are rich and buttery with just the right amount of tart lemon flavor in the filling; yummy is the best description of them. Blessings...

Recipe:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 cups flour

Mix until well combined and press onto bottom of a greased 9" x 9" pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and set.

3 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsps. flour
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
grated zest of one lemon, about 1 tsp.

Beat eggs with electric mixer. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
Pour over hot crust and bake for another 20 minutes or until set.
Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into bars.

Yield: 24 cookies
139 calories each

Honey Lemon Dressing

This salad dressing is light in flavor and perfect over a combination of greens, dried sweetened cranberries, avocado, tomato, sliced almonds, celery and green onion. For a sweeter dressing, increase the honey a teaspoon at a time until it meets your satisfaction. Blessings...

Recipe:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/8 tsp. tarragon leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp. marjoram

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except the olive oil.
2. Slowly pour a slow steady stream of oil into the lemon mixture while continously whisking until a nice thick emulsion forms.
3. Use as needed. Store dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Yield: approximately 3/4 cup
Note: As the olive oil chills it will solidify, so the dressing needs to be brought to room temperature before use.

Honey-Sweetened Carrots for the Easter Table

This recipe for cooked carrots is different from any I had ever made for my family, or that my mom made for our family when I was growing up, so a few years ago when I came across it in a Taste of Home cookbook, I gave it a try. The carrots are cooked until tender in a very subtle but, flavorful spicy honey-lemon mixture; perfect for spring and the Easter table. This dish would have been kid-friendly at our table when our son was growing up because he liked carrots, so if your kids do as well, you might give this simple recipe a try soon. Blessings...

Recipe:

1-1/2 cups water
2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 cinnamon sticks (3-inches)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
6 tbsps. honey
4 tsps. fresh lemon juice

1. Bring water to a boil in a large skillet; add carrots, cinnamon sticks, cumin and ginger. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes.
2. Add honey and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, for 4 minutes or until the liquid evaporates and the carrots are tender.

Yield: 6-8 servings
One 1/2-cup serving equals 78 calories
Note: The recipe can easily be cut in half with good results.

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Lemon Tea Bread

This wonderful bread is almost like a cake because of the syrup that is brushed over the bread when it comes right out of the oven. The bread then sits in the pan for an hour to absorb all the wonderful added flavor. It's yummy for breakfast, tea, or as a snack. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tsps. freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Syrup:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Combine sugar, butter and lemon juice in a mixing bowl.
2. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until smooth.
3. Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Four additions of flour to 3 additions of milk.
4. Add lemon zest and pecans.
5. Pour into a buttered 8" x 4" loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack.
6. While bread is baking, dissolve powdered sugar in lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Set aside.
7. Use a long-tined meat fork, if you have one, to pierce the entire top of the bread so the lemon syrup penetrates the entire surface. If you don't have a meat fork you can use a sharp knife, it just takes a little more time. I prefer to brush the syrup on the loaf with a pastry brush because I think it covers more evenly, but you can spoon the syrup over, as well.
8. Cool the bread in the pan for 1 hour. Remove by running a table knife around the edge of the bread to loosen it from the pan and turn out onto the rack to cool completely. If the bread is sticking, put a pancake turner under each end of the loaf to further loosen and it will turn right out.
9. When the bread is cool, wrap it in foil and set aside for 24 hours before cutting.