Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Happy Easter. No bunny cakes or cupcakes with nests of chocolate atop them for this year's Easter dinner.  Instead, I've opted for a sophisticated and rather decedent cheesecake flavored with lots of juice and zest from  slightly sweet Meyer lemons and topped with a lovely raspberry sauce. It just screamed Spring to me.

This cheesecake differs from ones I have made in the past in that the crust is a shortbread rather than the normal graham cracker crumb concoction.  It too contains some lemon zest, making it a perfect compliment for the creamy filling.  This recipe is a keeper!

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Crust:
1 cup flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup butter
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Filling:
3 packages cream cheese
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 lemons, juiced
1 1/2 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
¼ cup sour cream

Raspberry Sauce :
1 cup of raspberry jam (I used seedless jelly)
1 cup of fresh raspberries  (I used frozen berries)
1 tablespoon of lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400.

Make Crust:
Combine first 3 ingredients. Cut in butter till crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla; mix well. Pat 1/3 of dough on bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan (sides removed). Bake about 8 minutes or till golden; cool. Butter sides of pan; attach to bottom. Pat remaining dough on sides of pan to height of 1 3/4 inches.

Preheat oven to 450.

Make Filling:
Add softened cream cheese into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until creamy; add sugar, lemon juice and zest. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each just to blend. Add sour cream and stir to combine.

Turn into crust-lined pan. bake at 450 for 12 minutes; reduce heat to 300 degrees; bake 55 minutes or till knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 1/2 hour; loosen sides of cheesecake from pan with knife. Cool 1/2 hour more; remove sides of pan. Cool 2 hours longer.

Raspberry Sauce:
Put jam into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute until melted. Add raspberries and stir to coat. Pour over cooled cheesecake

Pavlova

We're are a big fan of meringues in my house.  They are easy to make and keep well in an air tight container and they are relatively fat free, though not low caloric due to the sugar.  Meringue cookies are the usual form they take when I'm whipping up egg whites.  This time I decided to make them a tad bit bigger and go for the National Dessert of New Zealand and Australia, the Pavlova. 

Named after the famed ballerina, Anna Pavlova, these puffy, light, and crunchy meringue shells filled with whipped cream and topped with fruit are ethereal. They are a perfect summer dessert when berries are available in abundance and a heavy dessert after dinner just isn't warranted.  There is such a sensory experience going on when these are consumed.  The crunch and marshmallow texture of the meringue combined the sweet and soft whipped cream topped with the tangy cool fruit.  Quite remarkable!  I chose to make small ones so the leftovers could be stored sans whipped cream and fruit.  But wouldn't it be fun to have a big one at a dinner party with friends where everyone had their own fork and just dug in to a communal Pavlova?  I need to have a summer dinner party soon.

Pavlova

Makes one 9" pavlova or 8 mini-pavlovas
For the meringue base:

4 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar

For the topping:

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups diced fresh fruit
Preheat the oven to 275°F with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Trace a 9" circle on the parchment using a cake pan or dinner plate as a guide. (If making mini-pavlovas, use drinking glasses as guides.) Flip the parchment over. Mix the sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Mix the vanilla and white vinegar together in a separate bowl.

Whip the Meringue. Make sure your mixing bowl and beaters are very clean with no residual fat or grease. Pour the egg whites in to the bowl and begin beating at low speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium.

When the egg whites have reached soft peak consistency and the beaters leave trails in the whipped whites, begin adding the sugar a few tablespoons at a time, waiting a few seconds between each addition. While doing this, gradually increase the speed so that you are at maximum speed once all the sugar has been added.
Continue whipping until the meringue holds stiff peaks. Stop the mixer and sprinkle the vanilla and vinegar over the meringue. Beat for another 20 seconds to fully mix.

Use a spatula to scrape all the meringue onto the parchment in the center of the circle. Working from the inside out, spread the meringue to fill the circle. Smooth the sides if desired or leave it in billowy lumps.

Put the meringue in the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 250°F. Make for 60-70 minutes for one large pavlova or 50-60 minutes for mini-pavlovas. The pavlovas are done when the outsides are dry to the touch, are very slightly browned, and sound hollow when tapped. It's fine if cracks form in the crust.

Turn the oven off, but leave the pavlova inside with the oven door ajar. Let sit until the pavlova is completely cooled, or overnight. At this point, the pavlova can be wrapped in plastic or sealed in an airtight container and kept for several days unless your house gets very humid (in which case, eat your pavlova right away!).

Just before you're ready to serve, make the whipped cream. Combine the cream, vanilla, and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until stiff peaks are formed. Spread the whipped cream over the pavlova, leaving a little bit of an edge. Top with fruit and serve within an hour or two. (Do not refrigerate; the meringue will quickly soften.)

Easter Eggs

Eggs are cheap, cheap, cheap (that's said in a chicken's voice) right now.  Easter brings dozens of eggs to the grocery store and coupons in the paper to buy them so I can't resist purchasing a couple of dozen.  Using all of these eggs for two can be difficult.  Hard boil a few for egg salad sandwiches or deviled eggs, scramble a few for Sunday breakfast, and then what? 

Dessert!!  Custards, creme brulees, or this new favorite, flan.  Flan is a Spanish custard dish and it is very similar to the egg custard I usually make.  The difference is that it is cooked very slowly and in a water bath so it's texture is so smooth and delicate. Quite amazing.  What I love about this particular recipe is that there is no stove top cooking first.  Other custard recipes have required heating the milk first and separating eggs, risking curdling of the hot egg mixture.  This one is easy and quick and the results are spectacular. The most recent April edition Bon Appetit magazine is the source of this recipe and as usual, it's a good one.

FLAN
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Six 4-ounce ramekins
Preheat oven to 325°. Stir 1/4 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until caramel is medium-dark amber, 5–6 minutes. Working quickly, divide caramel among ramekins, coating bottoms evenly. Let cool until hard.

Gently whisk remaining 1/3 cup sugar and eggs in a medium bowl. Add cream, half-and-half, and vanilla; gently whisk to combine (do not aerate). Let sit until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium pitcher to eliminate air pockets.

Place ramekins in a roasting pan lined with a kitchen towel; place pan on a large rimmed baking sheet. Divide custard among ramekins. Pour hot water into roasting pan to reach a little more than halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover pan with foil, crimping to seal. Carefully transfer to oven; cook for 25 minutes. Rotate pan. Cook until custard is set but center still jiggles when dish is nudged, 20–25 minutes longer.

Uncover roasting pan. Let flan cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove ramekins and let cool completely. Cover with plastic; chill overnight.

Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Unmold flans onto plates.

Not Ready For Fall

I thought about making a big pot of soup over the weekend but then decided that I'm not ready to give in and start cooking Fall recipes.  I had recently made a shopping trip to the new Trader Joe's in town (it's about time we got one), and I picked up a bag of Meyer lemons for a darn good price. 

I just knew I would be inspired to whip up something with these wonderful lemons if I looked in a recently acquired new cookbook, The Bon Appetit Cookbook.  This cookbook is chock-a-block full of amazing recipes from apples to zucchini, breakfast through dinner, and beyond.  I have a special warm spot in my heart for Bon Appetit as of late, as I was given a little bit of press on their blog site for cooking a recent recipe they published in one of their issues.  It's always been one of my very favorite magazines since I started subscribing in the early '80's.

I found just the recipe for my "I'm not giving up on Summer" lemon dessert.  I share with you this Meyer Lemon Mousse.  It didn't call for Meyer lemons but since that is all I had, that is what I used. Meyer lemons have a much more distinct orange taste and are far less tart then our common garden variety lemons.  They made for a delightful change and a delicious dessert. I also  modified the recipe a bit as it called for toasted coconut layered between the mousse which I opted not to do. Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Mousse

2 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream

Place 2 teaspoons water in small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk sugar, lemon juice, yolks and lemon peel in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Add butter; stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and just begins to bubble at edges, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture; stir to dissolve. Transfer lemon curd to medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Chill until cold. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Beat cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold 1 cup cream into curd.

Spoon into serving dishes and let chill for at least one hour. Serves six.

Chocolate Tiramisu

Here is a delicious dessert that is quite sublime.  It is the Italian classic, Tiramisu with a twist; chocolate. The traditional Tiramisu is layers of marcapone cheese mixed with eggs, lady fingers dipped in espresso, maybe some whipped cream, and liberal sprinklings of chocolate shavings.

This recipe, obtained from the June volume of Bon Appetit magazine, is made using a chocolate mousse.  It is absolutely divine with it's varied textures of fluffy mousse, cake like coffee flavored lady fingers, and the creamy marscapone cheese on top. This was a multi-faceted dessert to make but from start to finish, probably only took an hour. They did need to sit in the refrigerator a few hours to set.  

If you are looking for a medium challenge in the kitchen and a dessert to impress your family or guests, this just might be the recipe for you.

P.S.  As there were only three of us for dinner the night I served these, I was easily able to cut this recipe in half, making only 4 portions as opposed to the 8 the recipe below makes.

Chocolate Tiramisu
Espresso Syrup

1 1/2 cups espresso or strong coffee
1/4 cup sugar

Tiramisu

1 3/4 cups mascarpone cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin
4 large egg yolks
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped, plus more for shaving
About 48 soft ladyfingers

Preparation

Espresso Syrup
Stir espresso and sugar in a small bowl until sugar dissolves; set aside.

Tiramisu
Combine 1 cup mascarpone, 2 Tbsp. sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk to blend; cover and chill.

Place 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, 10-15 minutes. Whisk the remaining sugar, yolks, 1/4 cup cream, and 1/4 cup water in a medium metal bowl to blend. Place bowl over a large saucepan of boiling water (do not let bottom of bowl touch water) and whisk constantly until custard thickens and temperature reaches 160° on an instant-read thermometer, 3-4 minutes. Remove bowl; add gelatin mixture and whisk until dissolved, 15-20 seconds. Return bowl over water, add chocolate, and whisk until almost melted, about 30 seconds.

Set bowl in a large bowl of ice water and whisk until chocolate is melted and custard is cool, 5-6 minutes. Whisk in the remaining mascarpone. In another medium bowl, beat remaining 3/4 cup chilled cream until firm peaks form. Fold cream into custard in 2 additions to make a chocolate mousse.

Spread 1/4 cup chocolate mousse in bottom of each of eight 1-cup teacups or ramekins. Dunk ladyfingers in the espresso syrup and arrange in a single layer on top of the mousse, about 2 to 3 ladyfingers per cup. Repeat layering with chocolate mousse and soaked ladyfingers. Spread 2 Tbsp. mascarpone topping over ladyfingers. Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve.

Cream Puffs

It's Spring in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. That means unsettled weather. One moment there are beautiful blue skies above and then within minutes, from the west come big, dark rain clouds that burst open in a torrent.  But there are also the white, fluffy, multishaped cumulonimbus clouds that remind me of cream puffs. (Without thick, rich chocolate sauce dripping from them.)

Cream puffs are so easy to make and when served with some whipped cream and chocolate sauce dripping down to the plate, you've got yourself an elegant end to any meal. Give them a try sometime for a special treat.

Cream Puffs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl sift together the flour, sugar and salt. Set aside.

Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly add the flour mixture. Return to heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about a minute or two). Transfer the dough to your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, and beat on low speed a minute or two to release the steam from the dough. Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste. Spoon or pipe 6 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple of inches apart. Beat together the egg and salt for the glaze. With a pastry brush, gently brush the glaze on the tops of the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are dry inside. Turn the oven off and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells dry out for a further 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

To serve, slice open cream puff. Spoon in some whipped cream and pour over your favorite chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.

A Delicious Mess

Strawberry season finally, finally arrived here in the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon after what seems to be the wettest, cloudiest Spring imaginable.  The strawberries grown in this neck of the woods are so superior from any I have had from other parts of the West (sorry Washington and California).  They are so sweet and red through and through and when you bite into one, the juice just oozes out all over your fingers.

It's a short season though so buying and using them as often as possible in a variety of ways is always a goal of mine.  This recipe called Eton Mess is one I have never tried but I saw Jamie Oliver make once on his wonderful cooking show called Jamie at Home.  It apparently is a dessert which originated at Eton, an elite all boys school in England and is served at cricket games in the early summer when strawberries are in abundance. 

It couldn't be easier, especially if you buy your meringues already made from a bakery.  I chose to make my own using this recipe from an earlier blog entry of mine. 

Eton Mess
(serves 2)

1/2 cup whipped cream and 2 Tbsp sugar beaten until cream holds soft peaks
4 cookie sized meringues, broken up into bite size pieces
1 pint of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

Gently fold meringue pieces and sliced strawberries into the whipped cream and spoon into bowls.  Serve immediately so meringues don't dissolve.

Bakewell Tart

Here is a wonderful English dessert called the Bakewell tart which I have been wanting to try for quite some time.  In my research on the Internet I found the following information regarding its' history:    In 1820 Mrs. Greaves the landlady of the White Horse Inn, (now known as the Rutland Arms), invited friends round for dinner. She was busy entertaining, so gave instructions to her cook directing her to make a pudding.

She told her to mix an egg mixture with a secret ingredient into a pastry crust and spread strawberry jam on top. The cook was inexperienced so misunderstood Mrs. Greaves instructions, and poured the egg mixture onto the jam instead, therefore making a tart, not a pudding.

This is a a tasty dessert with its combination of a custard like filling over a jam filled crust.  My recipe called for almond extract but I substituted vanilla extract instead.   It went together very quickly as I had a round of my favorite pie crust already in the freezer and it rolled out into a lovely tart crust.  Next time I make this, I will not be so skimpy with the jam and will spread on a much thicker layer. 

Now to go put the tea kettle, cut a slice of tart and think of England.

Bakewell Tart

Pastry for one 9" tart pan  (Or use your favorite tart crust recipe)
(This recipe makes enough for two, so freeze the second one for another time)


2 1/2 sticks of cold butter, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup cold shortening, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp salt
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup ice water

Pulse flour, sugar and salt together in food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture has the consistency of small peas. Slowly add the ice water until the mixture comes together in a clump.

Put out onto floured board and knead slightly and form two even sized balls. Press into flat discs and put in fridge for at least 30 minutes or freeze for future use.

Bakewell Tart Filling

2-3 Tbsp jam of your choice (I used raspberry)
2 whole eggs and 2 extra yolks
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
confectioners sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out the pastry and use to line a 7-9 inch loose based tart pan.  Spread the jam over the filling.  Set aside.

Beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until the mixture is thick and pale.  Gently stir in the melted butter, ground almonds and vanilla.

Pour the mixture over the jam in the pastry shell.  Put the tart into the oven and cook for 30 minutes until just set and browned.  When cool, sift confectioners sugar over the top before serving warm or at room temperature.

Baked Caramel Egg Custard

I've been obsessed lately with recipes utilizing the wonderful eggs my co-worker has been bringing in by the DOZENS. His hens, eight of them, are laying an egg a day. Some he claims are laying two a day. They must be very happy chickens.

Today's recipe is an old fashioned baked caramel custard. It is sublime. Eggy, creamy, sweet with a light caramel sauce on the bottom and fairly easy to make. The secret to a very creamy custard is to cook it in a bain marie, or water bath. This just means to put the cooking vessel, in my case a casserole dish, in a larger pan and surround the casserole dish with water about half way up. This is then baked at a low temperature so as not to curdle the delicate mixture.

After it is thoroughly cooled, you just scoop out the custard into individual serving dishes and then spoon the wonderful, caramel syrup over the custard. Enjoy!

Baked Caramel Egg Custard
3 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups very hot milk
1/2 cup sugar for caramel

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a heavy frying pan put 1/2 cup sugar over medium high and swirl sugar around until it turns liquid. Watch very carefully and swirl often or the caramel will burn and be bitter and unusable. Pour this caramel sauce into the bottom of a 3 quart casserole dish sprayed with vegetable spray and set aside. The caramel will harden but that's okay, after baking it turns liquid again. Heat the milk in a saucepan until very hot but not boiling. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and salt together until combined. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until combined then add vanilla. Pour the custard mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Place the dish into a larger pan, put in oven then pour hot water around the casserole to fill up to half the sides of the dish. Cook for 50 minutes until custard is totally set but still somewhat jiggly. Take out of bain marie and set aside to cool for an hour then put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.

Key Lime Pie-O-My

Time to make another pie though this is a cheating kind of pie as it has no pastry crust. This is actually my own invention; a key lime pie utilizing my all time favorite recipe for Cheery Cherry Cheese pie which I wrote about some months ago. I saw this product, Nellie and Joe's Key West Lime Juice, in the grocery store while wandering aimlessly through the aisles (a dangerous thing to do) and decided to purchase it and see what I could make. The recipe on the bottle for Key Lime Pie sounded okay but I decided to experiment with my tried and true recipe, substituting the lime juice for the usual lemon juice. Let me say, it was delicious and very easy to make. Even my first attempt at piping on whipped cream with a pastry bag turned out just fine. All in all, a good experiment.Key Lime Pie-O-My

1 graham cracker crust

1 8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature

1 can condensed milk

1/3 cup bottled lime juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whipped cream for garnish

2 Tbsp. lime zest for garnish (optional)

Beat the cream cheese in electric mixer until softened. Add condensed milk, lime juice and vanilla and fully incorporate in with cream cheese. Put mixture into graham cracker crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and serve.

Baking with Dorie Greenspan

I purchased a marvelous cookbook a few months ago called Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I have followed for many months the wonderful blogs of folks who participate in an interesting cooking experience called Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD). Each week a member selects a recipe from this comprehensive baking cookbook and they all cook the selection and post it on Tuesday. It is so interesting to see the variations for the same recipe and read people's comments on their successes and failures.

Well, reading these recipes made me decide I must purchase this book and so I did utilizing Amazon and through the used books option I was able to purchase the book brand spanking new for $7.99 plus shipping. Once received, I was so thrilled with it I turned around and had another copy shipped to my dear friend Warren, who also likes to whip up magnificent pies and cakes on occasion.

I have made a few things from the book and last weekend made the Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake featured on page 286. It turned out to be an extremely moist, rich chocolate cake with a nice cherry jam filling and a tangy, intensely chocolate fudge-like frosting. I must admit I did have trouble getting it out of the pan, most likely due to not letting it cool enough before attempting it's release. Fortunately, the photo of the end product does not reveal this issue. Thank goodness for photo cropping!

I am not going to post the recipe but instead suggest that anyone interested in a very thorough and easy to follow cookbook on baking, run to your nearest bookstore or keyboard and purchase Dorie's book immediately. You'll be glad you did.

Butterscotch Pudding

Not to put down Jell-O, because I have always been a huge fan, but do you know how easy it is to make your own pudding? Well I'm here to tell you, it's very easy. I found this recipe in the February 2009 edition of Gourmet magazine and it just sounded so darn enticing, I'd thought I'd give it a whirl.

The pudding took a total of 10 minutes to make and then a couple hours to cool. I had all the simple ingredients available and it turned out amazingly creamy, rich and tasty. So, next time you're in the mood for pudding why don't you skip the cardboard box of powdery stuff and make it from scratch. You'll be glad you did!

Butterscotch Pudding

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into bits

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extractWhisk together the sugar, salt and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the milk and cream. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently then boil for 1 minute, whisking continuously. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and butter. Pour into a bowl and cover with buttered parchment or wax paper and cool completely. Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Makes 4 servings.

Shrewsbury Biscuits

While thumbing through one of my English cookbooks I found an interesting sounding cookie recipe called Shrewsbury Biscuits. They originate from the area of Shrewsbury in England and like so many recipes from that wonderful country, they have a long history and there are many renditions for these cookies. As I investigated on the Internet further, I found some recipes had currants and various spices included. I liked the fact that in this recipe the ingredients were simple enough, flour, sugar, butter, lemon rind and egg yolks. The picture of them looked so delightful I just had to try my hand at making them.

They were very simple but the dough was less than malleable when first put together so I added about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice so that it would hold together while rolling out and it worked just fine. I think these will be wonderful with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea. They have a light texture with just a hint of lemon flavor.

The Husband thinks they are too plain and that they need an inch of frosting on top of them. I say that the next time he bakes some cookies, he can frost them any old way he would like!Shrewsbury Biscuits

3/4 cups sugar
1 stick butter, at room temperature
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour
lemon rind from 1 lemon

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add flour and lemon rind and beat until batter holds together in a stiff dough. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 3 inch floured cookie cutter and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 - 11 minutes until just golden in color. Place on wire racks to cool completely. Makes 24 biscuits.

Lemon Pudding

Here is an easy, lemony dessert to make that is called a pudding but really is more like a pudding cake. Because of the small amount of flour in the batter, it forms a thin cake-like topping with a filling which resembles a souffle. The ingredients are simple and putting it together can be done in a few minutes. I think it is quite old fashioned and very homey.

I found this recipe in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook revised by Marion Cunningham. It is one of my favorite cookbooks and one that I refer to often when I want something basic, be it a dessert or a main course. The recipes are easy to follow and obviously well tested, as I have yet to have a failure when utilizing them.

Lemon Pudding

2 Tbsp softened butter

7/8 cup sugar (an odd measurement!)

3 eggs separated

1 cup milk

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

grated rind of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Beat the butter until soft, then gradually add the sugar, beating until well incorporated. Beat in the egg yolks one by one until combined then beat in milk, flour, lemon juice and the rind and mix well. The mixture will have a curdled look to it. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks then gently incorporate them into the batter.

Turn into a 1 1/2 quart greased baking dish and set it in a pan of hot water that comes halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Let cool and serve either tepid or chilled with some whipped cream.