Time for cookie #4 in the Christmas cookie list. No, those aren’t mini bagels. And no, they’re not mini donuts either! They’re cookies!

This is a simple cookie with a lot of frills and froufrou to dress it up. It’s a nice simple lemon cookie with lemon glaze, but it’s just so pretty. And sometimes (let’s face it), that’s what holiday baking is all about.

I strayed from Martha’s recipe a bit because my dough came out incredibly sticky when I was done, so I added a bit more flour, chilled it overnight, and did a double glaze to get that great bright white color on top. I love the little white nonpareils on top since they look like snow (and add great texture), but if you really wanted to push the wreath idea, green and red would also be super fun.

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Lemon Glazed Wreaths

Based on the recipe from Martha Stewart.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
• ½ Tbsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. kosher salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 medium eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

For the glaze

• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 7-8 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• Nonpareils or dragees of your choice or colored sprinkles (for decoration)

Directions

1.) Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of a food processor pulse together sugar and lemon zest until completely pulverized, about 2 minutes.

2.) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together sugar-zest mixture and butter on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running on low, add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract and lemon juice. With the mixer still running, slowly add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Cover and chill dough at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

3.) Preheat oven to 350° F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

4.) Flour a cutting board or counter. Scoop 1-tablespoon sized balls of dough onto surface, roll in flour, and roll into a 4-inch long rope. Bring the ends together overlapping slightly, and press together to form the wreath. Place wreath on prepared cookie sheets. Repeat with all remaining cookies spacing at least 1½ inches apart.

5.) Bake cookies until lightly golden on the bottoms and around the edges, about 18 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool completely.

6.) Once the cookies have cooled, whisk together powdered sugar  and lemon juice until smooth. Place wire racks on top of cookie sheets. Dip the top side of each cookie into glaze, letting excess drip off. Return cookies to wire racks, glaze side up, and refrigerate 5 minutes. Once the first glaze has set, dip again and sprinkle with nonpareils. Let dry completely and refrigerate to set.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: christmas, christmas cookies, cookies, lemon

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I don’t know about you – but I am so over winter. The snow has been beautiful, the root veggies have been great, the sweaters comfortable, but I am dying for sunlight and sandals and summer produce!

Thankfully, spring is en route, and these lemon bars are a perfect transition into the season. Using good winter citrus and a buttery shortbread crust, but still getting that zing found in fresh fruit desserts, they toe the line perfectly between the seasons, as we are doing right now.

My special addition here is limoncello, a traditional Italian digestif made from steeping lemon zest in alcohol and then adding sugar. We used to make it in-house at Lidia’s but you can find it at any liquor store. However, if you’re trying to save money, just sub the limoncello with lemon juice and they’re still molto deliziosa.

Bright and sunny!

Such an odd measuring spoon, but I love it.

Baked.

Thiiiiiiiick!

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Lemon Squares

Based loosely on the recipes from  Epicurious, Ina Garten, and CHOW.

I prefer my lemon squares to have a closer crust-to-curd ratio than many out there, so they’re not as thick as many you may see. When the filling is tart and ooey-gooey rich enough as it is here, however, I think you’ll warm to the idea!

Ingredients

For the shortbread crust:

• 1½ sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and kept very cold until used (reserve the wrapper to grease the pan)
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tablespoon lemon zest (be sure to scrub and wash your lemons before zesting)

For the filling:

• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1¼ cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons grated lemon zest (be sure to scrub and wash your lemons before zesting)
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 4 lemons, depending on size)
• 3 tablespoons limoncello
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• About 1/3 cup powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350° F with rack set in center of oven. Grease a 9x13x2-inch baking dish with the reserved butter wrapper and set aside.

2.) Prepare the crust. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt, sugar, and zest. Get the butter out of the fridge and add to the bowl, pulsing a few times until incorporated. The dough will be very loose, but stick together when clumped.

3.) Dump the dough out into the prepared baking dish, jiggle to evenly distribute, and using either your floured hands or a drinking glass with the based dipped in flour, spread and press the dough into the pan. Bake until stiff and fragrant, about 15-20 minutes. The dough will not brown. Remove and make the filling while it cools on a wire rack.

4.) Make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, limoncello, and flour. Pour over warm (but not hot) crust and bake 25-30 minutes until set, but still slightly jiggly.

5.) Let cool completely on wire rack before sprinkling with more powdered sugar. Cut into 24 squares and enjoy!

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cookies, dessert, dough, lemon

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One of the things I miss most about living near my family is Sunday dinner.  When I was living at home, it was always something I looked forward to, and it was my weekly chance to show off a little and make something extra scrumptious and more time-consuming than any other weeknight meal.

This is one of the most thumbed, stained recipes in my Ina Garten cookbook, and for good reason.  It’s a really simple dish – just the classic pan-fried pounded chicken with lemon-butter sauce.  I just love a lemon beurre blanc and Ina’s is so fantastic, I don’t change much and it’s one of the easiest ways to learn how to work with acid and butter.

One of the other great things about the recipe is that it halves or multiplies very easily, so you can make this for 2 or 4 or 8 easily every time. I like serving a nice pasta tossed simply with good olive oil and herbs on the side, but you can also serve rice or just a fresh salad too.

Chicken Piccata

Based on the recipe by Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa at Home.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 TBL water
• 1½ cups Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 TBL unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons, halves reserved)
• ½ cup dry white wine
• Sliced lemon, for serving
• Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2.) Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or cling wrap and pound out to ¼-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

3.) Mix the flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a shallow dish, beat the egg and ½ tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures. Dredge all the breasts before you start to pan fry them.

4.) Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Wait until they are all fried and then place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

5.) For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, reserved lemon halves, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes.

6.) Take the pan off the heat, and then add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and top with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Serve with pasta with fresh herbs and a nice green salad.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chicken, lemon, pasta

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Roasted salmon with green beans and olives

Based on Jamie Oliver’s recipe in The Naked Chef.

Ingredients

• 2 large handfuls fresh green beans, stems snapped off
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 cup good black olives (the kind from the olive bar, not a can, please!)
• 10 anchovy fillets, packed in olive oil
• 4 fresh salmon fillets (preferably wild, not farm-raised), skin-on
• 1 lemon
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 box instant couscous, any flavor of your choice (I fancy Near East’s Roasted Garlic for this recipe)

Directions

1. Put your roasting pan in the oven on the middle rack and preheat the oven to 475º F.  Par-cook the green beans by either steaming them (for about 7 minutes) or boiling them in salted water, for about the same time.  You want them to go into the oven with a bit of a snappy bite still, since they’ll roast at such a high temperature.
2. Prepare the couscous according to box directions.  I often do this at the very beginning, set it aside with the lid on, and it will still be warm by the time we eat.
3. Meanwhile, rub the salmon with some lemon juice and olive oil.  Season generously and set aside.
4. Once the green beans are done, toss with the tomatoes, olives, some olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
5. When the oven is ready, carefully lay the salmon with the skin facing up into one end of the pan.  Fill the other end of the pan with the green bean mixture and spread out evenly.  Lay the anchovy fillets over the green beans and then roast everything for 10 minutes.
6. After everything is nicely roasted, toss the green bean mixture with tongs to break up the anchovies (they should be melty and dissolving) and squeeze some lemon juice over the salmon.  Taste everything for seasoning.
7. Serve with warm couscous and a glass of chardonnay or chablis.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: favorite, lemon, salty, savory, seafood, summer, tomato

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When I was an intern in Meredith Corporation’s food dept, one of the most fun, exciting days was when I got to help the test kitchen prepare the Thanksgiving spread tasting panel for Better Homes &  Gardens.  Sure, it was about 98º outside in the sweltering July heat and the last thing most of us wanted to eat was turkey, gravy and all the fix-ins, but it was still so fun and, well, delicious, because we worked with recipes from Scott Peacock and his book The Gift of Southern Cooking.  Co-written with Edna Lewis, the quintessential southern soul food cook, every recipe we tried was outstanding.  Amazing.  Even the jello with cucumbers in it (yes, seriously).  I can’t even begin to describe the awesomeness of the gravy and the butternut squash soup, which is still one of my all-time favorite things I have ever eaten in my life.

After that day my ears would always perk up if I heard either of their names, or I would always save a recipe if I saw it was from either of them.  I’ve had this cookie recipe saved for awhile after seeing it in Gourmet ages ago, and finally got around to making it last night.  I love buttermilk to death (it goes in pancakes, hello), but it really is one of those odd ingredients you don’t see used much anymore.  I was excited to try it in a very simple recipe where I hoped it would really shine.

The cookies have a very soft, almost cake-like texture with a very lightly crispy bottom and the flavor is very subtle.  I added more buttermilk to the icing to really get that tangy flavor going, and the overall taste is something airy, buttery and not overly sweet.  The original recipe suggests pairing them with a glass of lemonade which turns out to be a brilliant suggestion because all it does is bring out the zest in the cookies (and icing, in my case).  If you really want to go all out, try pairing them with a Pimm’s cup made with lemonade after a heavy meal — what a perfect appertif on a hot summer evening.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cookies, dessert, lemon, summer, sweet

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