Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Alright, not to toot my own horn here, but honestly, I really feel that I outdid myself on these babies.

Backstory: I asked my friends at work what they wanted for baked goods this week, since I didn't really have anything set in mind. Tasha suggested cheesecake bars, since she loved the Nutella ones. Mind you, this is the girl that says she doesn't like cheesecake (What the duck?!). I've maintained from that day that I'd bring her over to the cheesecake side. And this might be the winning step.

Shockingly enough, it's a Martha Stewart recipe. Martha and I have had our, ahem, disagreements in the past, so it's a big deal that this recipe turned out as well as it did. And I would very much like to try this with lime juice next time. Mmmm... lime. ;) The only change I made is to up the amount of lemon juice, because I really want a stronger flavor than the previous bars.



Ingredients:
8 graham crackers, crushed
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and lemon juice, beating until combined. Pour over hot crust.

Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Let cool completely (or overnight) before cutting into bars.

The Lemon Bars That... Weren't.

I set out the other day to make some lemon bars. Ya know, they usually have the shortbread cookie base and then the lemon-yellow almost-custardy filling. The traditional lemon bar, right?

Well, I found a recipe on Allrecipes that used a graham cracker crust instead. Which would be better for my dad since he has a hard time with really crunchy or harder textures. Alright, good deal. So I'm mixing it together, and the batter seems to taste decently enough, with some added lemon juice. It goes in the oven.

Twenty-five minutes later? It looks like some sort of lovechild between a blondie and a biscuit. And that's the nicest thing to say about it.

But the strangest part? Everyone else in this house loves it. The entire pan was gone by last night. I don't get it. It has the texture of a blondie for the most part. The bottom part, near the crust, is a bit moister, but it's still a lemon blondie as far as I'm concerned. The people living here must be crazy. ;)

I'm going with a Baking Bites recipe tomorrow morning, and I'm quite certain that one will be a winner.

And that I'll get a picture before the masses descend upon it.

Strawberry Lemon Bars : A Taste of Yellow

Last year, when I had heard of Winos and Foodie's A Taste of Yellow in honor of LiveStrong day, I missed the deadline. I'm happy to say that I made it in the nick of time for this years. :)

Like most people, cancer has affected my life. My grandmother died of breast cancer in 1994. My childhood best friend's mom, Sue, who was my "second mom", died of breast cancer during my junior year of high school. My dad has now gone through three separate rounds of chemo for various spots of cancer. That's the hard one for me, as I'm absolutely Daddy's little girl.

Being in CA for all three rounds, I've been somewhat "removed", for lack of a better word. I've taken on the stubborn cheerleader role. Because my dad's still young, he just turned 63 this year. Because he survived a stroke when he was 42 years old. On his last doctor's visit, in March, he got the "mostly-all-clear"... there's one spot on the base of his lung that they're pretty sure is just scar tissue, but they want him back in June for another scan. No matter what, he WILL get through it, because I said so. He has entirely way too much to do still. And now I need to post the recipe or talk about something else, because I'm getting teary.

I started out last night looking for "yellow"... pineapple, mango, etc. Then I gave up. And then I found Nook & Pantry's Strawberry Lemon Bars. I was a bit hesitant at first, but I persevered, and am SO very glad that I did.

They taste just like strawberry lemonade. Summer time. Ocean breezes. Green grass. Everything you associate with summer. All in one bar. And I'm so happy that the crust came out decently, too. :D



Ingredients:
Crust:
7/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Pinch of salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Lemon Filling:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1½ Tbsp. flour
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest, from 2 lemons
2 Tbsp milk
Pinch of salt

Strawberry Puree:
1 cup chopped strawberries
1–2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, depending on how sweet the berries are

Directions:
Mix the chopped strawberries with sugar and set aside to macerate for about 30 minutes.

Mix flour, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add the pieces of butter and, using a pastry blender or your hands, mix until it's a pale yellow and looks like coarse cornmeal. Line an 8x8 baking pan with a sheet of parchment. Press crust mixture into an even ¼-inch thick layer and about ½-inch up the sides. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Blend the strawberries in a food processor (for a few seconds) or mash with a fork until there are no large chunks. Cook over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until thickened. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350F and bake crust for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

For filling: Whisk the eggs, sugar, flour and salt in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Then whisk in the lemon juice, zest, and milk.

Reduce the oven temp to 325F.

Pour the filling into the crust. Drop spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture on the surface. Use spoon or knife to swirl the strawberries through the filling.

Bake at 325F for about 20-22 minutes, or until the filling feels firm when touched lightly. Cool to room temperature, and dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Strawberry-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

When I first saw these over at Coconut & Lime, I knew I simply HAD to try them. The first attempt last week... well, we won't talk about those.

But THIS batch! Oh wow. I really wish my camera batteries hadn't died. By the time it's charged, they could very well be gone. My guinea pigs taste-testers at work (Henelyne, Johanna, Greg, Ella) loved them. And ya know what? Dave's even eaten a few. I'm down to three of them left in the fridge, from the original dozen I made on Wednesday night. So I guess that's a good sign. :D

Again, no picture because the camera batteries pooped out. Next time because I WILL be making these again.


Ingredients:
7 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1½ cups flour
12 small to medium strawberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream butter, zest, and sugar. Add juice and eggs. The mixture may look curdled. Mix in buttermilk. Slowly add flour, beating for an additional 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Fill muffin cups 3/4s full. Insert berry into the center of the cup.

Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until a tootpick inserted outside of the strawberry comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

I used a basic cream cheese recipe (as much as I hate making my own frosting), but you could easily do buttercream or something lemony. (Oh, yes, I did often find myself going, "Lemony Snickett!" while making these. *shrug* /ends geekiness)

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3/4 tsp. vanilla
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, beating well. Gradually add sugar. Let sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to thicken.

Lemon Raspberry Bars

While on the phone with my mom yesterday, it came to me that I've never made anything with lemon. (Well, short of what is now referred to as the 'lemon burgers' that Dave and I made two summers ago... but that is so the fault of the recipe! Long story) So I started searching for lemon bars, preferably one with some raspberry or strawberry. Unfortunately, after copying down the recipe, I didn't save the website. Oops.

I had some concerns, though... A) there wasn't much lemon 'filling', and B) it didn't look pretty when I pulled it out of the oven! So I sprinkled some powdered sugar, and let it cool. For the night. Since it was late. This morning I tried a quick corner, and thought, 'Eh. Not another recipe I don't like!', and went off to work. Tried it again this afternoon, after scraping off some of the sugar, and it was much better. Not sure if I'd make this exact one again, but maybe.



Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup flour
¼ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
6 Tbsp. butter

Filling:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. lemon zest
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. baking powder
1/3-1/4 cup raspberry preserves

Confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.

Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, then cut butter in until crumbly. Press crust into pan. Bake for about 15 minutes; set aside.

Mix together the eggs, sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and baking powder. Spread raspberry preserves over semi-cooled crust. Pour lemon batter over preserves.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until set. Once cool, dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired, and cut into bars.