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Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

/ Emily / 2 Comments

Life is punctuated by seasons. I think we all wake up and realize a change has happened; our tastes transition, our wardrobe adjusts and we are drawn in and out of the house. In some ways it makes me a little blue when I realize that a whole cycle of a year has passed. Fortunately, every season gives me something to look forward to. Coming out of a wet spring, I crave the summer heat. When I can’t take the sun (or mosquitos) any longer, I desire the cool winds of autumn. Then the first winter flurries arrive and I can’t wait to pull out the twinkly lights and cuddle by the fire. See how fast that went? That’s the part that makes me a little melancholy.

I can’t whine for too long, as the sun pours into my kitchen and I look at the vase of fluffy peonies on my table. Soon I will be snipping fresh greens and plucking radishes, carrots and beets from my garden. There are few things better than sitting outside, eating dinner next to the earth where it came from. Gardening has fascinated me since I was a child. Days after I put seeds in the ground and am pressing my nose to the dirt, waiting and watching for them to sprout. It is my favorite way to slow down and savor the season.

After all that garden talk, you probably expected a fabulous veggie recipe. Not today. This post is actually about another aspect of summer, wedding season! I have the honor and pleasure of making a heap of desserts for a couple of lovebirds (and 200 of their closest friends and family) in a few weeks. This is my take on a lemon bar in cookie form. Less messy and the feedback has been that they are better than their bar cousins… You can be the judge of that! I highly recommend making your own lemon curd. Cheaper and so much better than the store bought version.

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Lemon Curd

Ingredients

  • 3 lemons
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Remove zest from the lemons with a vegetable peeler. Be careful not to take off the white pith (those are bitter). Juice those lemons in a separate bowl, set aside.
  2. Blend the zest with the sugar in a food processor until the zest is finely chopped.
  3. In a bowl, cream butter and add the sugar/ lemon mixture. Add eggs one at a time. Lastly, add the lemon juice and salt.
  4. Transfer mixture to a sauce pot. Cook over low, stirring frequently. After about 10 minutes you will notice it thickening up (should be at 170 with a candy thermometer). Take off the heat and transfer to jars and let cool. After a couple hours, it will be thicker (and freaking amazing)!

This makes about 24 oz. and could easily be doubled. The lemon curd will last a month in the fridge and would make cute gifts in little jelly jars.

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Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (grated with microplane or chopped finely)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • Lemon curd (recipe above)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350. Cream together butter and sugar until well blended and fluffy. Add in egg yolks, lemon juice & zest and salt.
  2. Beat in flour until the mixture is moistened. It is supposed to be crumbly, so don’t over mix.
  3. Form small balls (using your hands might be better than a cookie scoop, the dough is thick…). Space evenly on a cookie sheet. Grab something with a round shape, smaller than the cookie balls, to create the indentation (for the lemon curd). I used a back of my pestle, but a finger could work! A little flour will help minimize stickiness.
  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden on the bottom. Remove from oven and fill indentations with lemon curd. Return to the oven for 2 minutes for the lemon curd to set.
  5. Let cool and before serving, dust with a little powdered sugar. Makes about 30 cookies.

Variations: You could swap another kind of jam instead of the lemon curd. I think these would be fantastic with raspberry jam. For that, I’d skip the second trip to the oven.

I hope you enjoy these little lemon bites of heaven and are taking in all that the sunshine is providing you!

-Emily

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Vegetable Korma & Grilled Tandoori Chicken

/ Emily / Leave a comment

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In college my friends and I frequented an Indian buffet a couple blocks from campus. For a mere 6 bucks you could fill a Styrofoam box to max capacity and have food for at least 3 days. My friends always got creative– figuring out how to layer rice, naan, curries and tandoori in order to maximize space. I was laughed at the first time I went with them for putting salad in there. I quickly learned that salad was simply waste of space in this situation.

In addition to the college survivalism benefits, I found the aromas and flavors to be out of this world. A great thing about Indian food is that it does not skimp on spice! And a not so good thing is that a lot of restaurant Indian food tends to have a lot of cream and butter in it. Which although I have a special place for in my heart (wherever the cholesterol is stored), my belly does not always feel the same. Luckily, there are (easy) ways to make this delicious and aromatic food at home without feeling like your tummy is going to burst (tmi?). So this week you get TWO recipes, they can be made separately for a filling dinner or together for an Indian feast.

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Indian Spice Blend                                                                                                                          

With Indian food it all comes down to the spices. For the sake of time, you may want to blend together a big batch of spices that you will use as a base for these (2) recipes.

Here is what I did:

  • 1 T. tumeric
  • 1 T. cumin
  • 1T. Smoked paprika
  • 1 T. ground ginger
  • 1 T. salt
  • 1 T. pepper
  • 1 T. garam marsala
  • 1 T. coriander
  • 1 t. allspice
  • 1 t. clove
  • 1 t. cinnamon

 Vegetable Korma                                                                                                                        

Korma is basically a dish that consists of vegetables cooked in a spicy, cream sauce. You can really do whatever veggies you like. For mine I just used what I had on hand. If you change it up, remember some veggies cook faster than others. Without realizing it, I made this recipe VEGAN! So if you skip the chicken, this will make a very satisfying meatless meal. This makes a big batch (6-8 servings). I froze half the batch.

Ingredients

  • 1 TBL. Coconut oil
  • 2 large potatoes, peeled & diced
  • 1/2 lb green beans, ends cut off and cut in 1/3rds
  • 2 large carrots, cubed
  • 1 can garbanzo beans
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 inch of fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 can stewed tomatoes
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1 cup water
  • Big pinch of salt
  • 4 TBL. Indian spice blend
  • Handful of cilantro, chopped
  1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, sauté onion in coconut oil until translucent.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger and spice blend.
  3. Add potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and tomato paste and 1 cup of water (or just enough water to cover potatoes). On medium- high heat, cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender (about 10 minutes).
  4. Add green beans and garbanzo beans and simmer until green beans are cooked.
  5. Turn heat down to low and stir in the coconut milk. Taste and see if it’s “spicy” enough for you. Adjust your seasonings, as you like! Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

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Grilled Tandoori Chicken                                                                                                          

  This is a very tasty way to have chicken. The yogurt and lemon give it a lightness while keeping it super moist. The extra spices will give it a bit more color and spice. Side note; don’t expect the bright red tandoori you may be used to at the restaurants. This recipe is food coloring free!

  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 TBL. Indian spice blend
  • 1 TBL. Smoked paprika
  • 1 TBL. Turmeric
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  •  6 chicken drumsticks
  • Slices of lemon for garnish
  1. Mix marinade ingredients until well blended. Coat chicken in marinade and cover with plastic wrap. Let marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, no longer than 12.
  2. Preheat your grill to medium- high. Grill chicken for about 30 minutes. Turn every few minutes until each side has a good char on it. Adjust heat down to medium and finish cooking, turning occasionally. If using a meat thermometer, you should be aiming for 165 internal temp. Serve with jasmine rice and vegetable korma.

Let me know what you think about these recipes and if you’d like to see more dinner ideas. I take requests! Maybe you can even come over to my house and taste test with me. -E

Almond & Orange Biscotti

/ Emily / Leave a comment

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What I love about biscotti is that it requires you to sit down and enjoy it. It is no “grab and go” kind of treat– there are far too many crumbs for that! Biscotti is meant to be savored with a strong cup of coffee. Although I think it is technically in the cookie category, it is really it’s own variety for that reason. The other thing I love about biscotti is you can make it as simple or as extravagant as you want. Since I had intended these to be part of a balanced breakfast, I kept it pretty basic. I was going to dip them in chocolate (because, why not?), but when I shared them with my girls at work, they said they were just right. So here you have it, a simple, slightly sweet breakfast treat. Enjoy!

Almond & Orange Biscotti

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup. butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract (I prefer vanilla)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 TBL orange zest
  • 2 teaspoons milk

How to:

  1. Cream butter and sugar until nice and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating after each addition. Beat in extract.
  2. In separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Slowly add to the cream mixture and mix well. Stir in almonds and orange zest.
  3. Transfer to wax/ parchment paper and chill the dough for about an hour. This will make forming the logs easier!
  4. With extra flour on hand, divide the dough into two equal portions. Shape in about 12 in x 3 inch rectangles. Brush with milk and sprinkle with a bit of sugar.DSC_0024
  5. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
  6. Let cool for about 10 minutes and turn your oven down to 300. Transfer to your cutting board and slice diagonally with a serrated knife in about 1/2 inch pieces. Place cut side down on baking sheets.
  7. Bake for 10 minutes on each side or until firm and crunchy. The idea is to dry out the cookies, not get them too dark.

Tips: Cut logs slowly. I had a couple of slices that crumbled in half when I got a little too excited.

Change up the flavors! You can really add anything to the basic recipe.

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Pots of Chocolate-y Goodness

/ Emily / 1 Comment

You know that song about heaven missing an angel? I am pretty sure it was written about these. And before you say, “that looks too fancy for me to make” read the recipe and see how simple it actually is. Our friend and brother came to visit this weekend and luckily, these guys enjoy food as much as we do. Kyle planned on making a French inspired dinner so I wanted to make a complimentary dessert. I had planned to make creme brulee, but didn’t get enough whipping cream so I had to go back to the drawing board. The result was a super decadent to eat, impressive to look at and easy to prepare dessert.

Trust me…

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Chocolate Pots de Creme

makes about 6 individual 4 oz. servings

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. semisweet chocolate (2 boxes of the Baker’s brand bars or 1/2 bag of chocolate chips)
  • 1.5 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 4 TBL sugar
  • pinch of salt

How to:

  1. Break up chocolate into pieces and put in your blender or food processor. Pulse it until it becomes like a coarse powder.
  2. Separate your eggs so you just have the yolks (save the whites for an omelet or something!), whisk in the sugar just until blended.
  3. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together milk, heavy cream, egg & sugar mixture and a pinch of salt. Cook this for about 5 minutes while stirring constantly. Watch the temp of your burner. You don’t want this to get to a boil. Just a very, very light simmer. Cook until your mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon (see photo). Take off the heat.
  4. Pour the mixture directly into your blender over that chocolate powder from earlier. Pulse your blender until everything is smooth and incorporated, scraping the sides if you need to. Divide among ramekins (6) and give each one a few little taps to get out the air bubbles. Put in the fridge to chill for about 3 hours.
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This is what “coating the back of a wooden spoon” looks like.

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Ready for the fridge.

Toppings (optional, but encouraged!)

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  • 1/2 c. whipping cream
  • 1 t. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 1/2 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1. Whip it all together!

Fruit Topping

  • 2 heaping tablespoons cherry preserves (you could do raspberry, blackberry etc.)
  • splash of whiskey

1. In a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat heat the preserves. Once they start to bubble a bit, add the whiskey. Enjoy the poof of whiskey aroma as the alcohol cooks off and then let it simmer for just a minute more. Remove from heat.

The final moment…. Your pots should be set and firm. Top with the whip cream, add a drizzle of the warm fruit and then prepare to sit around the table in silence while everyone savors these pots of deliciousness!

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Side note: I have ramekins, so I used those. But since there is no actual cooking in the vessel, you could use tea cups, little jars, etc.