Lemon bars

I've been baking for a long time.  I estimate I've been baking from scratch for at least two and a half decades.  I started baking on my own before that for friends in high school, with boxed mixes, even before that.  I've made countless brownies, cupcakes, cakes, fudges, and enough cookies to feed a small army.  One thing I've never made, until today?  Lemon bars!

I honestly don't know why it's taken me this long to bake them.  I think the actual idea got planted in my head when I was shopping at Trader Joe's recently, and they had candied lemon slices. I (obviously) bought them without thinking about it, and then was trying to figure out what I could use them for.  Originally I thought about using them as a garnish on a lemon cupcake, but then the thought came to me: lemon bars!

I have to say that these lemon bars are super easy to make.  Make the shortbread dough, and while it's baking in the oven, prepare the lemon filling.  Then, pour the filling over the hot shortbread crust and pop them back in the oven.  That's it!  The hardest part wasn't actually hard, it was more time consuming -- I had tiny lemons and had to juice them all by hand.  The real hardest part is waiting over 2 hours before being able to cut into them!  (Don't worry, I cheated to taste them -- they're delicious!).

I made these for a baby shower that my friend L and I hosted for our friend E, who is expecting a baby girl at the beginning of February.  The ladies at the shower loved and devoured them!  I had a few leftover at the end of the shower that went to the soon-to-be-daddy, my dad, and B.

I really recommend these lemon bars -- the super thick lemony layer is the real proverbial icing on the cake (or rather filling on the bar ;-))

Thick Lemon Bars
from Little Sweet Baker

Ingredients:

Crust

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Filling

3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large/regular sized lemons)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Decorations

Powdered sugar for dusting
Lemon slices or dried lemon slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line an 8x8" square baking pan with parchment paper (I don't have an 8x8" pan so I used my trusty 9x9" pan).

Toss flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch together.
Cut in the softened butter using a fork or pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly.  You can also pulse with a food processor.
Press into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together he eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Slowly add the flour, whisking to prevent lumps.
Pour the mixture over the hot crust.
Bake for another 25 minutes or until the lemon filling is set.

Let stand at room temperature to cool.
Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

Dust with powdered sugar and top with lemon slices.

Note: Lemon bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container

Mini pumpkin spice crumb muffins

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a few weeks, since my friend and I are hosting a baby shower for another friend of ours!  There were a thousand things I wanted to bake, but only a day or two to get things done (work schedule is packed and I work super long days three days a week now).  These muffins definitely made the list, though!

Now I've said it before and I'll (have to) say it again: I hate pumpkin spice.  Like ugh, gross, despise it.  But almost everyone else loves it, including the mom-to-be, who told me she was "bad" when she got a pumpkin spice latte (caffeine is OK when pregnant, so I'm not sure why she thinks she was "bad," but I digress....).  So when hosting a baby shower for 13 women, including at least one who has confirmed her love for pumpkin spice, these muffins were a given!  Plus, they have the most heavenly looking crumb topping.  [I debated making these pumpkin spice latte cupcakes, but wanted something more breakfast/brunch-y.  And again, remember, crumbs!]

I ended up making mini muffins, since they were being served before lunch.  I halved the recipe since I didn't want to have an insane amount of muffins, and as it was I got 27 mini muffins with a half recipe.  I didn't, however, half the crumb topping since I figured mini muffins = more surface area, and I'd probably need extra crumbs.  As it ended up, I had leftover crumb topping, but that's fine.  Better to have too much than not enough!

* Full disclosure, it took me a long time to post this blog post, despite having written it and staging the photos at the time I baked them.  When I went to put the final edits on the post and add the recipe, the original link I had was defunct.  When I searched the blog again, I came across this recipe, which from my recollection is the same * 

Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins

From Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the (optional) maple icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Spray a 2 x 12 count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners.  This recipe makes 15 full sized muffins, so you'll need a second pan. (I made mini muffins, and used a 24-cavity mini muffin pan, but chose to use liners instead of spraying it; I halved the recipe and got 27 mini muffins, so you'd need do to this for at least 2 muffin pans).

Prepare the muffins.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together until combined.
Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk together until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

Fold everything together gentlyy, just until combined and no flour pockets remain.

Spoon batter into liners, until almost full.

Make the crumb topping.

Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice until combined.

Using a fork, lightly mix in the melted butter until crumbs form.

Do not over mix.

Spoon crumbs evenly on top of the batter and gently press them down into the batter.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425, then while the muffins are still in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350F.

Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For my mini muffins, I baked at 425 for 5 minutes, then lowered the heat to 350F and baked for 8 more minutes.  The newer version of this recipe says to bake mini muffins for 11-13 minutes at 350F the entire time.

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes as you make the icing.

To make the icing, whisk the milk, maple syrup, and confectioners' sugar together until combined and smooth.  

Drizzle over muffins and serve warm.

*These can be stored at room temp for 1-2 days, in the fridge for up to a week, and can be frozen (with or without the icing, though I generally recommend freezing without icing and icing them once they've thawed).