Easy Lemon Cookies

Image @ recipe @yummly.com/ allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

Original recipe makes 3 dozen cookies

• 1 pack age lemon cake mix 
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 190'C.
2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil and lemon extract until well blended. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of confectioners' sugar. Roll them around until they're lightly covered. Once sugared, put them on an un-greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.

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Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

image & recipe @yummly.com/joy the baker

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• butter, shortening, or vegetable oil for frying
• maple syrup for serving

In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and lemon zest.  Rub together with your fingers until sugar is fragrant.  Set aside.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in the lemon sugar.  Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl (or you can use a large liquid measuring cup), whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and melted butter.  Pour the wet ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients.  Add the poppy seeds and stir to combine.  If a few lumps remain, that’s no problem.  Let the batter rest for 10 minutes while the griddle heats.
3. Place a griddle, or a nonstick saute pan over medium heat.  Add a bit of butter, shortening, or vegetable oil to the pan.  A teaspoon of fat will do for a n0nstick saute pan, a bit more fat may be necessary for a griddle.  Dollop batter onto hot pan.  For small pancakes, use about 2 tablespoons for each pancake.  For larger pancakes, use about 1/4 cup of batter.  Cook until golden brown on the bottom and and bubbling on top.  Flip once and cook until golden brown on each side.
4. Place cooked pancakes on an oven-proof plate and place in a warm (about 150 degrees F) oven until all pancakes are cooked and ready to serve.  Serve with
5. butter and warm maple syrup.  

Blueberry-Lemon Fizz

yummly.com / Camille Styles

image & recipe @yummly.com

*Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 lemon, tinkly sliced and seeds removed
• 4 mint sprigs
• 4 oz vodka
• italian soda - whatever fruity flavour you like.

Method:

1. In each of the four glasses, divide blueberries, lemon and mint. Add 1 oz vodka to each glass and stir vigorously to release the flavour. If a couple of blueberries get a bit smashed, that'll be yummy.
2. Fill glasses to the top with italian soda and serve.

Lemon Sponge Cups

image & recipe @yummly.com / Food52

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2tablespoons butter
• 1cup sugar
• 4tablespoons flour
• 1lemon, grated rind and juice
• 1 1/2cup milk
• 3eggs, separated
• 1pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream butter. Add sugar, flour salt, lemon juice and rind. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks; stir in milk. Slowly add second mixture to first mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff; gently fold into mixture. Pour into ramekins or individual soufflé dishes and place in pan of hot water. Bake in "moderate" oven (350, in my case) for 45 minutes. You will have a layer of lemon custard, with gorgeous, lightly browned sponge on top. Let cool a bit. Turn out and serve with whipped cream, or serve still in the dish. You can also bake this in one large soufflé dish. Aunt Mariah likes to garnish with a thin slice of lemon.

Artichokes and parsley, preserved lemon pesto

image & recipe @yummly.com / Food52

•   Serves 4 as a side dish 

•   1/2 cup parsley (I like curly leaf, but flat leaf would probably be fine)

•   1 teaspoon kosher salt

•   3 cloves garlic

•   Peel of half a preserved lemon

•   4 medium artichokes (get ones with fat, long stems)

1. Have some acidulated water ready (water with some lemon or vinegar in it) or a fresh lemon. Trim the artichoke of its leaves, the choke, and the tough woody exterior of the stem. Rub the cut areas once in a while with the lemon or dip in the acidulated water.
2. When the artichoke is trimmed, cut it into small chunks (~1/8 inch dice) and leave in the acidulated water (or mix with lemon juice) while you make the pesto.
3. Chop together the parsley, garlic, preserved lemon (or lemon zest), and salt. Chopping the salt with the other ingredients makes the chopping less sticky. I like it slightly chunkier than you can get with a food processor, but if you don't have a big, curved chef's knife, then a processor would work fine.
4. Drain the artichoke pieces and rinse them off if they've got lemon pips stuck to them. In a medium skillet, heat about a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Saute the artichoke bits until they are softened and beginning to brown.
5. Add the pesto, mix thoroughly, and saute for another minute or two until fragrant. The garlic will still be fairly raw and spicy. Can be good with a little crumbled feta or chunks of goat cheese.

Zesty Lemon Crepes with Butter & Sugar

image & recipe @yummly.com / Big girls, small kitchen

image & recipe @yummly.com / Big girls, small kitchen

Makes 4 crepes

Ingredients:

•   1/2 cup milk

•   1 egg

•   1 tablespoon butter, plus more for serving

•   Pinch salt

•   1/2 teaspoon sugar, plus more for serving

•   1/3 cup all-purpose flour

•   1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (from about 1/2 a lemon)

•   1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus more for serving

* Increase the lemon flavour slightly by adding some zest to the batter. 

Method:

1.Melt 2 teaspoons of the butter in the microwave. Add it to a mini prep or blender and add the milk, egg, a pinch of salt, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Process until smooth. Set aside for 10-15 minutes. This is a good time to make your coffee or, er, wash last night’s dishes.

2.Heat a 9 to 12-inch castiron pan over medium-high heat. Brush it with some of the remaining butter. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into pan and tilt to spread it in an even, thin layer. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the top of the crepe looks dry and slightly bubbly. Using a small offset spatula, release the edges of the crepe from the pan and flip the crepe with your fingers. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the second side is dotted with gold. Spread about 1 teaspoon of butter across the crepe, then slide it onto a plate. Sprinkle it evenly with about 1 teaspoon of sugar, and drizzle with a little lemon juice. Fold into quarters and serve.

3.Repeat with the remaining batter to make 3 more crepes.

Almond & Lemon Baby Cakes

image & recipe @yummly.com / Camille Styles

image & recipe @yummly.com / Camille Styles

*yield: 16 cakes

Ingredients:

•   7 ounces almond paste, broken into 1-inch pieces (1 cup)

•   3 large eggs

•   2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

•   Pinch of salt

•   4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

•   1 tablespoon Amaretto

•   zest of 1 lemon

for the glaze:

•   2 cups confectioners’ sugar

•   2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream

•   2 1/2 tablespoons Amaretto

•   1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

•   1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest, plus zest strips for decorating

Method:

1.Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a mini-muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. In a food processor, pulse the almond paste several times until broken into small pieces; don’t overprocess or the paste will become oily. Add the eggs and pulse until smooth. Add the cornstarch and salt and pulse until smooth. Add the butter, Amaretto and lemon zest and pulse until incorporated.

2.Scrape the batter into a small pitcher and pour it into 16 muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cakes are golden, puffed and firm to the touch. Transfer the pans to a rack and cool for 20 minutes, then invert the cakes onto the rack to cool completely.

3.In a bowl, mix the confectioners’ sugar, cream, Amaretto and lemon juice. Using a handheld mixer, beat at low speed until smooth. Beat in the teaspoon of grated lemon zest. Spoon the icing liberally over the cakes, allowing it to drip down the sides. Garnish with lemon zest before serving.