Lemon Poundcake Squares

When it comes to bakery fare, I'm pretty hard to please.  I mean, I'm used to nibbling on sweets just hours or minutes from my own oven.  Many times those sweets in the bakery case are dry or taste like they've been sitting just a bit too long.

But I have to say that I love Starbuck's Lemon Pound Cake.  It's lemony and moist and the perfect accompaniment to a chai tea latte.   I'll always start eating it from the bottom, so my last bites can all have that sweet lemony icing that's on top.  It's the best part!

Enter these super easy Lemon Poundcake Squares.  They taste exactly like that Starbuck's poundcake, but they're made in a bar form and every single bite has that lemony icing!  Every bite!  Trust me, if you're a lemon poundcake lover you must try these.  But be warned, you'll keep cutting little slices out of the pan until they are all gone.  You won't be able to stop eating these.  Thankfully, I found this recipe on Pinterest and I can have my Iced Lemon Poundcake fix anytime within an hour without leaving the house!  

Other lemony recipes you can find here:

Lemon Loaf from Baked

Lemon-Lime Bars with Coconut-Graham Crust

Lemon Tart

Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Iced Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Fresh Fruit Tart with Lemon Curd Filling

Ultimate Lemon Poundcake

Lemon Blueberry Tartlets

Lemon Bars

Lemon Pate de Fruit

Lemon Shortbread

Lemon and Basil Pasta with Grilled Chicken

Lemon Poundcake Squares
adapted from Baker Girl
Makes one 9x13" pan of lemon squares; recipe may be halved and baked in an 8 x 8" pan

Note:  I doubled the icing from the original recipe, so if you want a thinner layer of icing on top, cut the amount of icing in half.


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice


Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Zest and juice three small lemons; set aside.  (You will need a total of 6 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of zest for the cake and glaze.)

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Pour into baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the batter comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.

Make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Add more powdered sugar or lemon juice to get a pourable but not-too-thin consistency.  Spread over the cooled bars with an offset spatula and let set.  Cut into squares when icing is dry.

Kitchen Update

I promised a kitchen update about a month ago!   I'm happy to say that things are progressing and the end is in sight!

Our project, which involved much more than just the kitchen, is just a few short weeks away from completion.

The stress, the worrying, the sleepless nights, the decisions that were looming and seemed so huge... it's all going away and being replaced by excitement and anticipation!

There is still a lot to do, but here's what's done:

The floor was installed and finished (this is actually part of the new family room)

The drywall went up

And the walls were finished - goodbye rusty orange!!

 The walls and trim were painted, the cabinets were installed

The recessed lights were put in and the soapstone was placed - aack!  So exciting!

It's all coming together and I've been told I'll be able to move into the kitchen in a couple of weeks.  Still to do - seal the brick, and install appliances, stainless countertops, sinks, faucets, cabinet hardware and tile backsplash.  How I wish I were on the Property Brothers timeline.  Our entire project would've been completed months ago!  Someone please tell me how they complete a major renovation from start to finish in 5 weeks!

Pittsburgh Penguins Cake

Hockey is back in Pittsburgh!

And what's better for a hockey fan's birthday than the team's logo on a traditional yellow cake with chocolate icing?

I decided to use the royal icing transfer method to make the decorations on the cake.  The advantage is that the design can be made ahead of time so you don't have to worry about decorating at the last minute.

It's just like decorating a cookie with royal icing, except you are piping directly onto waxed paper instead of onto a cookie.  The design can be printed out on paper and placed under the waxed paper so you know exactly where to pipe.

Outlines of the design need to be piped with stiff-consistency icing, allowed to dry, and then the spaces are "flooded" with 10-second icing.   10-second icing is stiff icing to which water has been added a few drops at a time until a spoon can be drawn through the icing and the icing becomes completely smooth in 10 seconds.  A good video for learning how to get the right consistency for flooding can be found here.

Let's Go Pens!

Cute Monster Party Brownie Pops

I made these cute monster brownie pops for a little boy's birthday party.  I love the way they turned out!  If you want to try these yourself, I have listed the supplies I used to make them below.

Note:  Have all the decorations ready because they need to be applied while the dipped brownie pop is still wet.  Use water and a small paint brush to attach the fondant teeth to the fondant mouth.

Red Monster - red candy melts for coating, upside down confetti hearts for horns, nonpareils, candy eyes (purchased from a baking supply store), fondant mouth and teeth
Green Monster - green candy melts for coating, green decorating sugar, candy eyes and fondant mouth/teeth
Yellow Monster - yellow candy melts for coating (use a toothpick to make him furry), red string licorice for horns, candy eyes, fondant mouth/teeth
Blue Monster - blue candy melts for coating (use a toothpick to make him furry), candy eye, fondant mouth/teeth

Happy Baking!

My Favorite Lentil Soup with Kale and Butternut Squash

It's a dreary and cold day in late January and maybe you have just spent the last couple of days unintentionally loading up on sugary carbs and now you're feeling sluggish and generally crappy.  What do you do now?  {Let's just replace all those "you"s to "I"s and we'll get down to the real truth.}

Make some of this lentil soup!  It's meatless - vegan actually - unless you decide top with a poached egg which is also quite good.  It's colorful and delicious and every bite gets you back to feeling good again, even though it's still late January and still cold and dreary.

A few important items about this soup:

1.   Try to find French green lentils, also called Puy lentils, or black beluga lentils for this soup.  They hold up to cooking and don't break apart and turn to unrecognizable mush like other lentils have a tendency to do when cooked.  I have great luck finding these varieties in the bulk section of groceries like Whole Foods.

2.  Substitute roasted sweet potato for the butternut squash if you desire.

3.  Any hearty green will work.  I prefer kale in this recipe, but I've also used swiss chard which is also quite good.  The kale is just a bit heartier and chewier and stays defined in the soup a bit better.

4.  The leftovers may not be quite as colorful as the kale tends to turn less green as it sits, but it will be just as delicious as the day it was made.

5.  The leftover soup can be frozen quite successfully.

Lentil Soup with Butternut Squash and Kale
adapted from 101Cookbooks
Serves 6-8

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced to 1/2" cubes
2 cups black beluga lentils or green French lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp coarse salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
3 cups of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well, deveined, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Place the diced squash on a sheet pan lined with foil.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 30 minutes or until tender.  This can be done a day ahead.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper and marjoram and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, lentils, and water and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Stir in the chopped greens and roasted squash, and simmer another minute or two until kale is wilted and squash is heated through.  Adjust seasoning if desired.

Iced Lemon Ricotta Cookies

I love ricotta cheese.  I prefer my lasagna without it, but I love to eat it on spaghetti squash and in these cookies.  These cookies are light and delicious; sweet, but not too sweet.  They are much like our favorite orange cookies, but a bit lighter.  And the batter is unbelievably good!  Don't ask me how I know this.



The recipe is from Giada DiLaurentis, so when you read the recipe, make sure to roll your "R" a little  when you say "ricotta" in your head.  You'll feel more Italian that way!  Do you have any favorite ways to use ricotta cheese?  If so, I'd love to hear about it!

{Kitchen Update:  the floors and plaster are completed!  Paint and cabinets come next...stay tuned!}

Lemon Ricotta Cookies
from Giada DiLaurentis and Food Network

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 lemon, zested

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In your electric mixer bowl combine the butter and the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

For the Glaze: Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.

My Dining Room a.k.a. My Temporary Kitchen

Since my kitchen currently looks like this...



...I've had to set up a temporary kitchen in the dining room. The plumber and electrician set up my range by hooking it up to the gas line from the fireplace and by running a temporary electric wire from around the corner.  The range was not hooked up for the first 2 weeks and let me tell you - it's game changing.  Trying to cook with only a tabletop oven and portable induction cooktop was not fun.

   

Another saving grace was being able to use the butler's pantry (which will also get a makeover when the main kitchen is complete).  The original sink was a small bar sink and too small to do any dishes in, so at first I had to take the dishes in a bin to the basement to wash them.  But the builders were able to install a large utility sink which will eventually be installed in the garage.  I still miss my dishwasher and disposal, but I'm so grateful that I don't have to haul dishes to the basement anymore!  Note the plastic on the doorway - it's the only thing separating me from the construction - and the dust finds it's way into the rest of the house and blankets everything!  Thank goodness for swiffer cloths.



Opposite the sink is the refrigerator which will eventually be moved into the main kitchen area.



We had to get a little creative with storage space.  This cabinet on the right used to be filled with serving dishes and cake stands.  It's now called the "snack cabinet" and serves as a little pantry.  In the background you'll see that we covered the piano with a tablecloth and it's being used as a bookshelf for essential cookbooks.  {Annie didn't want the kitchen to get all the attention.  She's not at all camera shy!}



I also moved a shelving unit from the basement to hold baking pans and ingredients and I have boxes of kitchen non-necessities stacked in every available space.  Oh, hello again Annie!



Below is what my foyer looked like just before Christmas.  Choosing paint colors and coordinating cabinet and tile is the most painful part of the process for me.



The kitchen has made some progress since these photos were taken and I'll show you some of those  pics next time!  It's getting closer to the finish line!