Lemon Bars

(about 25 squares)

These lemon squares probably won't last very long, which kinda makes them a bad idea, but I have been thinking about them for quite some time now.

shortbread crust
1 cup flour
3 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
8 tbsp butter, (1 stick)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Combine the flour, icing sugar, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade. Pulse a few times to combine well.

Cut the butter into a few pieces and scatter them evenly over the flour mixture. Pulse a few more times until the mixture resembles a course crumbs.

Remove and pack firmly into the bottom of an 8" square baking dish.

Bake the shortbread for about 20 minutes or until the top looks golden brown. In the meantime, prepare the lemon curd.

lemon curd
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, depending on how tangy or sweet you like your curd
zest from 2 large lemons
juice from 2 large lemons, about 1/2 cup
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

Place the sugar and lemon zest into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Let the motor run until the zest and sugar are well combined.

Add the lemon juice, eggs and egg yolks. Run the motor until the mixture is well combined.

When the shortbread crust is ready, remove it from the oven and pour the lemon mixture evenly over it.

Return to the oven and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until the lemon curd has set.

Remove and allow to cool. Dust with icing sugar, if you like. Cut into squares.

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans

(about 6-8 cookies)

I woke up to a very cold house this morning and wondered what was up with the temperature. Its nearing the end of March and often I'm already running the air conditioner. Well, I looked out of the window and there was snow on the ground; in Dallas of all places.

This seems to have been an unusual year. Last month around President's Day we had snow which remained on the ground for several days as well. Brings back memories of Canada.

Cold days seem nice for baking, so I made a batch of these cookies to have with my coffee this morning. I wasn't thinking and used white chocolate chips which are too sweet for this. In retrospect, I should have used semi or bittersweet chocolate chips.

1 1/3 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder, I used Hershey's unsweetened natural

1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans, lightly toasted and broken up
2 large egg whites, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Combine the icing sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and pecans in a large bowl. When the dry ingredients are well combined, stir in the egg whites just until everything is evenly moist.

Drop by the heaping tablespoonful onto parchment or Spilat lined cookie sheets (those French baking mats).

Bake for about 16-18 minutes or until the tops are slightly cracked. I err on the side of slightly under-baked as I like them somewhat chewy. Allow to cool before removing from the cookie sheets.

I make these in small batches because they seem best the day they are made or perhaps one day later.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

(about 24 cookies)

My mother found out she had celiac disease a year or two ago and complained about how awful some of the gluten free products were. Initially I tried out various store bought cakes, cookies and breads. In the process, I came across a wonderful bakery outside of Seattle, Wow Baking Company which makes some of the best cookies I've tasted. I can tolerate gluten just fine, but sometimes I can't resist picking up a tub of their Ginger Molasses Cookies. They are simply amazing.

I've also started to experiment in the kitchen a bit. This peanut butter cookie recipe appears to be quite popular on the internet. What bothered me about it though was the amount of sugar used. One cup of sugar to one cup of peanut butter. Too sweet for my taste. I cut the sugar by half, added a tablespoon of cornstarch and the cookie turned out great.

1 cup chunky peanut butter, unsweetened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1 large egg

1 - 1 1/2  3.5 oz bars of semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine the peanut butter, sugar, cornstarch and baking soda in a bowl. When it's well mixed, add the egg and continue to mix until the egg is well incorporated. The dough will also lose it's sticky, gooey consistancy.

Shape small walnut sized pieces into balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart, and flatten with a fork or the bottom of a glass. Place a piece of chocolate onto the centre of each cookie, if using.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned; the centre should still be soft. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool on the cookie sheet.