Lemon Bars

I remember Mom making lemon bars and taking them to Aunt Blodwyn's house when we were little. I must have breathed in while taking a bite, because I got a nose full of powdered sugar. Have you ever done that? I'm sure I nearly died on that occasion, because I can't eat a lemon bar without thinking about it. Anyway, I've been saving this post for Spring. Lemon bars seem like something to make when it's nice and warm outside when we're all gearing up for lemonade stands and lemonade ice cream pie. But it has been in the 80s this week here in Texas. It feels like Spring to me. I love the shortbread crust to lemony goodness ratio in these lemon bars. I cut them a couple hours after making them, so they were still a little gooey. I'd let them set up for at least six hours. They were actually perfect the second day.

Recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 cubes), 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

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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 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 pan, 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 and dust with confectioner's sugar.

Truffles

I love truffles but I've always been afraid to try making them myself. Something about the words "double boiler" always scared me. Silly. I made these today for Krynn for Valentine's Day and they were really easy. I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs: My Baking Addiction. I would love to bake every recipe on that site. Which would be bad because we'd never eat anything but sweets. Yum.

Basic Truffles

12 ounces chocolate, chopped (semisweet or bittersweet)

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/3 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, combine chocolate, butter and cream. Heat until melted and stir until smooth.

2. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. (Claire started screaming at this point and I forgot this step. They were still good without, but I wish I had put in the vanilla.)

3. Pour into a shallow casserole dish and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about two hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small scoop or melon baller (I used my smallest cookie scoop) scoop out chocolate mixture and roll into one-inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheet. Roll balls in your desired coating. I used sprinkles, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: About 30 truffles.

Here is a link to the original recipe: Truffles. The blogger provides some good tips and ideas for making these extra special.

Chocolate Mellow Bars

Colored marshmallows are highly favored in our house by one little girl in particular. I wanted to make these candies during Christmas with her, but I ran out of time so we made them a couple of weeks ago instead. I remember Mom making these when we were little. I tweaked her recipe a little bit. These are also called Cathedral Windows and are meant to resemble the stained glass window panes in a church. I think they'd be really fun for Valentine's Day with pink mini marshmallows. You could pick out all of the pink ones from the package. Or you could have a little preschooler do it for you. They'd love it!

Ingredients:

8 ounces chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg, beaten

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup chopped nuts (I used slivered almonds)

1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add egg; mix well. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Combine marshmallows and nuts in a large bowl. Pour chocolate mixture over the nuts and marshmallows. Cut two 13 x 9 inch pieces of wax paper. Divide coconut and sprinkle half of it down the length of each piece of wax paper. Divide the chocolate mixture in half and shape each piece into a log on top of the coconut. Sprinkle with the remaining coconut. Roll up like a jelly roll. Freeze one hour. Unroll and slice into 1 1/2 thick pieces.