Oh, Martha, Lemon Bars

I've been wanting to try my hand at lemon bars for a while now, and since the weather has been a tad cooler of late, I no longer actively dread my kitchen. I've never attempted anything even close to lemon bars before, so I figured I'd better be safe and go with an established recipe.  And so, I turned to my handy-dandy Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook, page 266.  I used the amounts listed in the recipe, but added an ingredient and followed my whim on the instructions (in other words, I blatantly ignored the instructions offered). Result? Tasty.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                       Liquid and dry measuring cups

Whisk                                                                           Measuring spoons

13 x 9 inch baking dish

Ingredients

Crust:                                                                            Filling

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter                                         4 large eggs

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour                                          1 1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar                                        3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt                                                                   1/4 tsp salt

                                                                                      1/2 tsp vanilla

                                                                                      3/4 cup lemon juice

                                                                                      1/4 cup milk

Now Let's Make Lemon Bars!

Start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Grease your casserole dish with butter or cooking spray. (I accidentally forgot this step, but it didn't seem to matter much).

You're going to start with the crust, which is essentially a shortbread.  Soften your butter slightly if it's not already.  While the butter softens (do not melt! I forgot my butter and did this today, too), measure out 1 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, and 3/4 tsp salt and add it to your large mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together until they are thoroughly blended and have no large lumps left (alliteration! Sorry, couldn't help myself).  

Add the slightly softened butter to the flour mixture. Using your whisk, cut the butter into the flour. Do this until all the butter clumps are broken up and no larger than pea sized (as pictured).  This can take a while. The butter tends to clump in the whisk, so you'll need to stop periodically to shake it back out. I find that rolling the whisk over stubborn butter clumps helps break them up quickly. 

Pour the dry ingredients into the casserole dish. Don't freak out! I know it doesn't really look like dough.  Spread the flour/butter mixture out until it is evenly distributed across the bottom of the casserole. Now, using your hands press the mixture so that it packs down tightly on the bottom of the dish.  Continue until the entire surface is a hard packed dough, with no loose floury bits.  Put the casserole in the oven and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until the dough is a light golden color.

Remove the crust from the oven and set aside. Turn your oven down to 325 F.  

Rinse and wipe out your large mixing bowl (no sense dirtying another dish).  Crack 4 large eggs into the bowl and lightly whisk them together. Then, measure out and add to the bowl 1 1/3 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, and 1/4 tsp salt (Martha calls for course salt in her version, but I sensed no difference when I used regular). Mix the ingredients together completely; it's kinda gloppy so make certain all the dry ingredients get blended in.  

Next add 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup milk, and 3/4 cup lemon juice.  Carefully stir everything together, until it's well mixed and you have a smooth liquid filling.  Be careful; this is really easy to slosh out of the bowl as your mixing. I found that the egg mixture really resisted being mixed with the liquids. To combat this I started out by using a folding motion, then switched to a regular stirring motion when it started mixing.

Pour the filling over the crust evenly. Bake at 325 F for between 18 - 25 minutes.  Martha's original recipe called for 18 minutes, but I found that mine was still liquid at that point.  I wound up cooking mine for a little longer than 25 minutes. Start with the recommended 18 minutes, then add time as needed, watching the lemon bars closely.  You'll know they're down, when the very edges are golden brown and the top appears solid and springy.  Let cool.

Once cool, cut into bars and dust with confectioner's sugar. Serve and enjoy the lemony bite!

   

Back By Popular Demand - The Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Okay, so I technically I've done this recipe before, last Christmas. But I've had several people inquire about my Oatmeal Raisin cookies of late, and I thought I'd do an updated version. So, it now features new and improved instructions and, of course, lots of deliciousness. This recipe started as a rather basic one I found in some old recipes of my grandmother's that I tweaked a bit until it was just right.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                     Cookie sheets

Wooden mixing spoon                                                2 Table spoons

Measuring cups                                                          Spatula

Measuring spoons                                                      Wire Rack or paper towels
Cooking Spray

Ingredients

2 sticks butter                                                            1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar                                                            1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs                                                               1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp vanilla extract                                                  1 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour                                                         3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 tsp baking soda                                                      1 cup raisins

Now Let's Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Place your 2 sticks of butter in the large mixing bowl.  If the butter is not already soft, microwave for a few seconds until it has softened but not melted.  It's very important that you don't allow the butter to melt, as this will ruin the consistency of the cookies. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the softened butter. Only add the white sugar, not the brown; this is important for the texture of the cookie. (Stop looking at me like that; it is!). Beat the sugar and butter together until butter is creamed.

Mmmmm..... Buttah!

Add the 2 large eggs and 2 tsp of vanilla extract to the mixture.  Use real vanilla extract; the fake stuff just isn't right (yes, I know it cost more; stop whining and add! *cracks whip*). Stir the eggs and vanilla in until the mixture is fairly even.  Try to use room temperature eggs.  The colder the eggs are the more likely it is that your butter will start to clump up, creating a slightly lumpy mixture.  If this happens, stir the mixture until the clumps are as small as possible (you may have to break out the whisk).  It's not a really big deal, but it will help you mix the other ingredients in more thoroughly later.

Don't those eggs really make you want to click and pull up the slideshow?

Measure out 1 1/2 cups of flour and add it to the mixing bowl.  Add 1 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg to the mixing bowl. Then, measure out 1 cup of light brown sugar, tightly packing the sugar into the measuring cup as much as possible.  When you have a full cup of tightly packed brown sugar, add it to the mixing bowl. (You're welcome to use dark brown sugar, but it changes the consistency and flavor a bit, so you might have to play with it to get it right).  Mix all the ingredients together, making sure everything is evenly distributed and there are no dry patches or liquidy spots. It a fairly dry dough, so it'll take a bit of stirring (and muscle) before you get it all mixed.

Now, add 3 cups of old-fashioned oats to the mixing bowl. It's important that you use old-fashioned only, as the quick oats or instant oatmeal varieties are just not the same and will mess the recipe up. (You whippersnappers and all this new-fangled nonsense *shakes cane*). Measure out 1 cup of raisins, packing as many into the measuring cup as possible and add them to the mixing bowl.  The fresher the raisins are, the more their flavor will pervade the cookies, and the tastier the cookies will be.  Mix in the oatmeal and raisins until they are evenly spread throughout the batter.

Spray your cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray to ensure the cookies won't stick (unless you're using a no-stick pan, in which case leave it alone).  Take your two regular table spoons; use one to get a heaping spoonful of dough and use the back of the other spoon to scrape the dough onto your cookie sheet. I prefer these cookies to be pretty big, which allows them to remain soft and chewy.  These cookies will definitely spread, so I typically do about 12 per sheet.

Spaced 3 x4 along the pan, with at least an inch between

Bake at 350F for 12-13 minutes.  I always bake one sheet at a time to ensure even cooking and prevent burning. Allow the cookies to sit for a minute or two before removing them from the cookie sheet; this will prevent them from crumbling since they're very soft. Use your spatula to remove the cookies and set them on a cooling rack (paper towels on the counter will do) to cool completely.

Voila! I now have a belated plate of Father's Day Oatmeal cookies for my Da (who's been away on his honeymoon for the actual day). The recipe makes around 3 dozen cookies, depending on size. Store in an airtight container to ensure freshness and preserve the cookies' chewy goodness.  Or, serve with a big glass of milk and nom!

   

Sugar Cookie Geekery

I've had a hankering for sugar cookies lately, probably because I didn't make any this past Christmas.  This is a pretty basic sugar cookie recipe that I've had for quite a while; I mean, they're cookies... with sugar... there's only so many variations out there. The icing recipe is a basic one that I've experimented with (GlaDos would approve).  As for the cookie shapes, well, I don't own cookie cutters (I know, sad, right?), so I figured I might as well get creative with it.  Fair warning, while the recipe is easy, the cutting can be a right pain depending on how complicated you get.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Medium mixing bowl                                                      Scissors

Whisk                                                                             Stiff card stock-like paper

Large mixing bowl                                                         Cookie sheet

Mixing spoon                                                                  Small mixing bowl

Cutting board                                                                 4 small bowls or cups

Rolling pin                                                                      Butter knives

Measuring cups                                                              Food coloring assortment

Measuring spoons

Ingredients for Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour                                                 1 large egg

3/4 tsp baking powder                                                  1 Tbsp milk

1/4 tsp salt                                                                    1 tsp vanilla

2 stick unsalted butter                                                   Confectioner's sugar for rolling

1 cup sugar

Ingredients for Icing

1 cup powdered sugar                                                    1/2 tsp vanilla

5 tsp milk                                                                        Food coloring assortment

2 tsp light corn syrup (to start)                                          Neon food coloring assortment

Now Let's Make Nerd-tastic Sugar Cookies!

Measure out 3 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt in your medium mixing bowl. Whisk the ingredients together until they are blended and there are no more large lumps.  Set this aside.

Put 2 sticks of butter into your large mixing bowl and microwave about 20 seconds or just enough to soften it.  Once softened, add 1 cup of sugar and beat until creamy and slightly fluffy.  Make sure that the butter has been mixed enough since you don't want any butter lumps, which would affect the evenness of the batter later on.

Now, crack one large egg into the bowl with your butter mixture.  Add 1 Tbsp of milk and 1 tsp of vanilla.  I usually just pour a small amount of milk into a cereal bowl and spoon out the appropriate amount with a measuring spoon.  This is much easier than trying to pour into a tiny spoon from a gallon of milk. (Trust me). Reserve whatever is left of the milk, since you'll be using it again when you measure it out for the icing.  Mix everything together thoroughly.

Grab the bowl with your flour concoction and begin adding the flour to the butter mixture, gradually.  Add a smallish amount, stir that in, then add some more.  I usually milk this for about 4 additions.  Blend the flour into the butter mixture completely after each addition.  The last addition may be a little hard to mix in, so make sure you scrape the bottom to get all the flour blended. By the time you're finished you should have a fairly stiff cookie dough that easily pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Take your cutting board and dust it lightly with confectioner's sugar, just enough to prevent the dough from sticking to it.  Separate your cookie dough into two parts and roll it into a ball. Place each ball on the cutting board and cover with foil or cling wrap (whatever you work best with; for me, cling wrap ends up in frustrated little balls of plastic). Place the dough in the refrigerator and refrigerate the dough for about 2 hours.

While you're dough is chilling, get your cookie cutting station ready.  You need a fairly large, flat, clean surface.  I use our dining table.  Sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar and coat your rolling pin in confectioner's sugar, too, to prevent sticking.  While you wait on the dough, get your cookie cutter tools together.  If you're lucky enough to own cookie cutters and don't want your cookies to have the same level of awesome as these, use those.  If not, make your own by drawing your designs on card stock and cutting them out to use as a template.  For the Mockingjay, I traced it onto regular paper, laid the paper over the card stock to trace it again, then penciled in the impression.  I made a stencil for the square and circle for the Weighted Companion Cube base and center.  For the other companion cube parts, I wound up just cutting them from the dough without a template, and I did the same with the Triforces, which are simple triangles.

Cut them for science... you monster

Once your dough is ready, take out on ball and work it a bit with your hands (which I really hope are clean!)  to warm it up just a bit and make it easier to roll.  When the dough is workable but still cold, roll it out to about a 1/4 inch thickness.  Place your stencils over the dough, and using your butter knife, begin cutting out the shapes.  Easy! (We will stop enhancing the truth in three... two... zzzt). I also used a the small end of the chop stick to work out some of the smaller details on the Mockingjays. For the Companion Cubes, I stacked the pieces on top of the square base before baking. When you no longer have space to cut, ball up your dough and roll it out again. Switch between dough balls as needed when the dough starts to warm up. 

Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes.  I found that most of the cookies were done in about 7-8 minutes, while the Companion Cubes took longer at about 10-12 minutes. Just watch them closely, as these cookies burn easily.  Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet to allow them to cool.

While you're waiting on all the cookies to cool, clean off your rolling surface and lay out paper towels or wax paper to set up your icing station.  Make your icing base by mixing 1 cup powdered sugar, 5 tsp milk, 2 tsp light corn syrup, and 1/2 tsp of flavoring (in this case I used vanilla) in your small mixing bowl. The result will be a very thick goo (appetizing, huh?).  Divide this between four cups as follows: 1 heaping spoonful in one cup; about 1/4 of what's left in another cup; divide what's left evenly between the other two cups.  

Area and State regulations do not
allow the Companion Cube to remain
here, alone and companionless.

• Take the cup with the least amount, and make black by adding neon blue, neon green, and neon purple until the color is very dark; I used McCormick Neon Food Coloring and used less blue than the other two.  Now take a small amount of this on a butter knife and add it to one of the two cups with the most icing and mix it in to get your gray.  
• For gold, take the other cup with the most icing and add regular yellow food coloring until you're satisfied with the color.
• For the pink, squirt out a drop of neon pink onto a butter knife. Wipe away about half of what's there, the use what's left on the knife to mix into the cup we added 1/4 of the icing to.

Ice the cookies with the appropriate colors.

That's right... Awesome.

Set the cookies on the paper towels/wax paper as you finish each to allow the icing to set into a hard glossy finish.  Serve.  In case you're wondering where my shape choices come from (and if you are your nerd cred just took a serious dip), the Companion Cubes are from the Portal series of video games, the Triforces are from Zelda, and the Mockingjays are from The Hunger Games.  Enjoy!

Also, for an Easter Egg, I made the Portal reference cookie for my friend Jen's birthday. You may know Jen as my Lovely Assistant.  You can find the pic on The Book Pantry's facebook page.
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Like Buttah

Tonight marks the beginning of my annual Baking Extravaganza.  I'll be sharing the recipes (if not the calories) of this esteemed event here on The Book Pantry.  This evening brings us the Butterball.  This cookie is my Da's favorite (I've only been taunting him about it all week), and I inherited the recipe from his mother.  Since I never got the chance to know my paternal grandmother, I didn't actually learn this one from her.  Instead, I spent several Christmases recreating the cookie from her original, basic recipe (like many cooks, her practice varied from its record).  The result is a tasty, not-too-sweet, slightly crumbly cookie. Best of all, (despite how long it took me to tweak it to perfection) the recipe is probably the easiest of Christmas cookies.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                     Cutting Board

Wooden mixing spoon (well-loved)                              Cookie sheet

Measuring cups and spoons                                        Small bowl

Knife for chopping

Ingredients

1/2 lb butter, very soft                                                1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup powdered sugar + some for rolling               1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour                                               Salt

Now Let's Make Butterballs!

Start (as usual) by preheating your oven to 350F (yes, I forgot. Again.). Plop a 1/2 pound of butter - also known as 2 sticks - into your large mixing bowl.  If your butter is not already soft from being left out, pop it in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds. Watch it carefully!  You do not want to actually melt the butter; we just want it very soft.  If you melt your butter, the recipe will turn wrong . . . very wrong. (Do I hear gasps of horror? Did you melt your butter? You did, didn't you? Don't worry a tiny amount of melt won't hurt). Anyway, soften your butter.  Then, beat the butter with your mixing spoon until it is creamed.

Chop, chop.

On your cutting board, chop your pecans using your knife in a lever motion, moving across the pile of pecans. Stop occasionally to scoop your pecans back into a pile and repeat until all the pecans are chopped finely. Keep chopping pecans until you've filled a 1 cup measuring cup.  I find that two really big handfuls of pecan halves tend to equal out to 1 cup of chopped nuts. (Yay for measuring: like science, but tastier!)

Confusing amount of salt

Add your pecans to the bowl of butter.  Measure out 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, packing it into the measuring cup as you do so (like you would for brown sugar). Add this to the bowl.  Now, measure out 2 cups of all-purpose flour, making sure to level each cup off before adding it to the bowl. (Freak out when you can't find the flour, curse your cousin for using it all in chocolate-chip cookies at Thanksgiving, make boyfriend put on shoes, *oh wait, I found it! heh heh*). Then, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla; measure it over the bowl so that you can allow it to run over a bit as you measure.  Lastly, add enough salt to mostly fill the dip in the palm of your hand when your hand is cupped.  Confusing?  See the picture (click to enlarge).

While safe to eat, this raw dough
tastes not so nice.

Mix all the ingredients together in the bowl.  The batter will be very dry, so it takes some time to get everything mixed thoroughly.  Take your time and patiently mix.  If you wind up with parts of the dough that are softer and more buttery than others, those buttery cookies won't hold their shape! 

Once the dough is sufficiently mixed, begin rolling the dough into balls that are about 1 inch in diameter.  To do so, take a pinch of dough and either form it into a ball-shape with your fingers or roll it between the palms of your hands. If your dough is crumbling and refusing to take shape, squeeze it together in your fist; this will mush the ingredients more and allow you to make a ball.  Place each ball on your cookie sheet.  They shouldn't increase in size much during the cooking process, so you can space them pretty close together, about 1/2 an inch.

Bake the cookies at 350F for about 15 minutes until the bottoms begin to tun a golden brown.  You'll have to watch the very edges of the cookies for signs of this browning. Remove the cookies from oven and begin moving them from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack (also known as paper towels on the counter in my house). You'll know pretty quickly if you didn't mix your butter in thoroughly enough as those cookies will have spread out more, perhaps even running together, as in the second picture here.  Don't worry too much if your Butterballs aren't actually ball shaped anymore, though; they'll be more like mounds than balls.

No deep breaths!

Allow the Butterballs to mostly cool.  Pour some extra powdered sugar into your small bowl. While the cookies are still slightly warm, begin rolling them in the sugar until they are lightly coated (so that little bit of emphasis applies mostly to me). Don't try to roll the balls while they're very warm still or your powered sugar will become gunky, which is gross.

Store in an airtight container.  Or, better yet, serve with a nice glass of milk! Enjoy!

Yay, cookies!

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Where's the Rum Gone?

Into rum balls, of course (and, no, I can't help my dorky references to things)!  This is by far one of my favorite holiday season treats, and since I'm gearing up for my annual holiday baking frenzy (*twitch*), I thought I'd share with all of you.  I used to make these with my mom around Christmas, and it's a recipe that she used to do with her parents. It's quite the family tradition.  And if rummy chocolate goodness isn't enough of a reason to make these, they're also super-easy.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                          Measuring spoons

Mixing spoon                                                                   Small bowl

Measuring cups (liquid and dry)                                    Cookie sheet
Cutting board                                                                  Knife for chopping

Ingredients

1 box Vanilla wafers                                                       2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup pecans                                                                    2 Tbsp Karo's light corn syrup

1 cup confectioner's sugar + some for rolling                1/4 cup rum

Now Let's Make Rum Balls!

Haley smash!

We'll start with a little prep work.  Put a handful of vanilla wafers into a sandwich baggie. Press out all the air, and crush the cookies by using a rolling pin. (Or, if you're short a rolling pen at the moment, anything that's handy, like your cookbook). You don't have to crush them to powder, but you don't want any large chunks of cookies, either.  Once you've crushed them, pour the crumbs into a measuring cup.  Repeat the process until you have 1 1/2 cups of crumbs.  A handful of wafers equals about 1/2 cup of crumbs, so you won't be using the entire box of vanilla wafers (so feel free to munch on a few). Add the crumbs to your mixing bowl once you have the required amount.

Demonstrating the lever motion

Next, put a handful of pecans on your cutting board and begin chopping them up.  I find a large knife works better for this, and you can rock it back and forth or use it with a lever motion to most effectively chop the nuts. (Whatever your method, just watch your fingers). Like the wafers, you don't want the nuts to get chopped too fine, but you don't want any large chunks either.  Chop enough pecans to make 1 cup and add them to your mixing bowl.

Now, add 2 Tbsp cocoa powder and 1 cup confectioner's sugar to your mixing bowl.  Stir the ingredients around a bit.  Then, add 2 Tbsp of Karo's light corn syrup (no Southern girl worth her salt would use anything else) and 1/4 cup of rum.  The brand of rum isn't important, but don't use anything spiced or flavored; just plain rum, thanks.

Mix this up until it's nice and goopy.  You'll have to really work at it, since it's a fairly dry recipe.  Your end product will be on the sticky side rather than the liquidy side.  Make sure to routinely scrape the sides of the bowl and fold over the dough to ensure a thorough mix.  The dry ingredients will want to stick to the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Set the dough aside.

Fill your small bowl with cold water.  Dip your fingers in the water to wet them, then take a pinch of the dough and form it into a small ball. The ball should be about the size of a large olive (according to my grandmother's recipe, which sounds a little snooty to me). When formed, place the ball on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Repeat this process until all the dough has been used, neatly lining the balls up on the sheet.  Make sure to periodically wet your fingers, as this will make forming the dough easier and prevent it from sticking too much to your hands. Place the cookie sheet of rum balls in the freezer until they are firm (about 30 minutes to an hour).

Rolling

Dump the water out of your small bowl and dry it thoroughly.  Fill the bowl with a small amount of confectioner's sugar (about 1/4 cup) for the rum balls to be rolled in.  (You can also use chocolate sprinkles if you prefer, but if you do you'll need to do this step before freezing). Remove the rum balls from the freezer and, one by one, roll them in the confectioner's sugar.  Place the finished rum balls in a sealable container as you go.

Refrigerate the rum balls until you are ready to serve them.  These are great around the holidays, and make for an excellent homemade Christmas gift.  This recipe can easily be adjusted to make rum balls in bulk. (I've been known to do quadruple batches).  As is, it make about 34 rum balls.  Enjoy!

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