Meyer Lemon Petites Madeleines

Yesterday was my neighbor's birthday and I wanted to make her a little treat. I knew I wanted to flavor the goods with the Meyer lemons James and I picked from my girlfriend's tree last week, and I wanted to make something that was feminine and sweet and would make the birthday girl feel special. Being such a sucker for specialty kitchen goods, I had bought a madeleine pan a few months ago and it had just been sitting there. Lonely. Unpurposed. It was time for it's kitchen debut.

I turned to the blogging hemisphere for madeleine recipes and ended up choosing and adapting Heidi Swanson's. Heidi's recipes are always pretty simplified and generally yield fine results. I feel confident and secure when going by her instructions. She's a wonderful partner in any culinary effort. You do need a madeleine pan to make these, of course, but if you don't have one, or the idea of buying one never entered your mind, I encourage you to go get one. If you like madeleines, that is. And make sure it's metal, and not the newer silicone kind. It will make much prettier cookies.

                    1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (6 ounces)
                    2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (for greasing pan)
                    3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
                    4 large eggs
                    a pinch fine-grain sea salt
                    2/3 cups sugar
                    zest of one large lemon
                    3 tablespoons lemon juice from the lemon
                    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
                    powdered sugar
                    a little flour for dusting the pan

         Special equipment: A madeleine baking pan, any size

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt the 1 1/2 sticks of butter in a small pot over medium heat until it's brown and smells nutty and fragrant. About 15 to 20 minutes. Strain with a mesh strainer and discard the solids. Cool the butter to room temperature.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and use it to brush the madeleine molds. Dust with flour and invert the pan tapping out any excess flour.

Whisk the eggs and salt on high speed with the whisking attachment in an electric mixer until thick, and the eggs have doubled or tripled in volume (about 3 minutes). Continuing to whisk on high speed, and slowly and steadily add the sugar. Whisk for 2 minutes or until the mixture is thick and ribbony. Then, fold in the lemon zest, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and vanilla with a rubber spatula, just until combined.

Sprinkle the flour on top of the egg batter, and gently fold it in. Next, fold in the butter. Stir gently, only enough to bring everything together.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each mold 2/3 -3/4 full. I used a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon for the petites madeleines and it worked perfectly.

Bake the madeleines for 12 - 14 minutes (7-10 minutes for smaller cookies), or until the edges of the madeleines are golden brown. Remove from the oven and invert the madeleines onto a cooling rack immediately. Cool on racks and dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 2 -3 dozen regular madeleines.


Adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

Lemon Lime Cookies

After ogling endlessly at these over at lovely Hannah's Honey and Jam, I decided to try them - with a twist. I had a surplus of both lemons and limes, so it made sense to use both, rather than just limes as in the original recipe. As well, I literally lost control while making these, and found myself sprinkling the beyond belief gorgeous zest-infused sugar over the top, instead of just rolling it around the sides. In my opinion, this is the best part of the recipe. The zest gets worked into the sugar for several minutes making it moist, fragrant and beautiful.

There's a bit more to this story. The recipe calls for forming the dough into cylinders, and for the life of me, I could not get a perfectly round tube of dough. The pathetic aesthetic was further accentuated by the fact that when I put the dough on a plate to chill in the fridge, the bottom side took a flat shape and when slicing off the 1/4-inch "rounds", mine weren't, sadly. Round, that is. They were roundish, with one straight edge - if you can imagine that. It was near catastrophic. Soooooooo, Plan B. Okay Life, if this is how it's going to be... I can "fix it" as my childhood art teacher, Mrs. Kinney, used to say when I would ask if I could start over. Ironically, I've thought about her a couple of times lately. For the first time in almost twenty years. So I fixed it. I took small handfuls of the dough and rolled them out to a 1/4"-thick, and then used a cookie cutter. Not bad. Then I joyfully sprinkled the sugar all over the place.

For the cookies:

                    3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

                    1 3/4 cups raw cane sugar

                    1/4 teaspoon salt

                    zest of 1 large lime, and 1 lemon

                    12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 24 pieces

                    2 large eggs

For the sugar coating:

                    1 1/2 cups raw cane sugar

                    zest of 1/2 a lime and 1/2 a lemon

Mix the flour, 1 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and zests in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 10 times to reduce the zest to smaller pieces.

Add the butter and pulse until it is completely mixed into the dry ingredients, but the mixture is still powdery. Add the eggs and pulse until the dough forms a ball. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and divide into two equal pieces. Form each into a ridiculous wannabe cylinder about 8 inches long.

Clean any flour off the work surface and combine the 1 1/2 cup sugar and lime zest, working together with fingertips for a minute to release the lime flavor into the sugar. Pour the sugar onto the work surface in a wide line about 8 inches long. Roll one of the logs of dough in it to coat the outside completely. Repeat with the other log of dough. Wrap each log of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. 

When you are ready to bake the cookies, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350˚F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the logs of dough into 1/4-inch thick slices and arrange them on prepared pans about 1 inch apart on all sides. See how silly they look. Laugh nervously, panic briefly, and then opt for rolling the dough out to a 1/4" thick, working in small batches and being careful to handle it as little as possible. Cut the desired shape out with a cookie cutter.  Repeat with the second log of dough, or wrap, freeze, and save it for another day.

Bake the cookies until they are firm and golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, place the pan from the lower rack on the upper one and vise versa, turning the pans from back to front at the same time. Slide the papers off the pans to cool the cookies. If you only have one pan of cookies to bake, adjust the racks to the middle of the oven. 

Store cookies at room temperature between sheets of wax paper in an air-tight container.

Makes 40-60 cookies, depending on the size.

Adapted from The Modern Baker.

Brown Sugar Tart Shell with Lemon Curd

Since making lemon curd a couple of weeks ago,  I have not been able to shake the thought of individual lemon tarts. Lo and behold, what do I find on page 108 of this month's Sunset? A no-roll tart shell recipe. That's right. No rolling. Could it really be? Now for you experienced bakers, this may not be as life-changing as it was for me. But since I am not a lifelong fancy goodies maker, I was in disbelief. The thought of no rolling had me smiling from ear to ear. So, I went straight to work. This is a quick, no-fuss way to make tart crust. The dough gets pressed into the tart pan(s) and baked until the edges are golden. I was very happy with the results, as the vanilla and brown sugar were a perfect match for the tart lemon (no pun intended). This recipe is definitely a keeper.

                  1 cup flour
                  2 tablespoons brown sugar
                  1 tablespoon corn starch
                  1/8 teaspoon salt
                  1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
                  1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
                  1 recipe lemon curd
                  freshly whipped cream (optional)
                  thinly sliced strawberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350. In a food processor, whirl the flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until combined. Add the butter and vanilla and pulse until fine crumbs form and the dough just begins to come together. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" round tart pan, or four individual tart pans. Prick the center(s) with a fork.

Bake until the edges are golden, about 20-22 minutes if using one large pan, or 15-18 minutes if using individual pans. Let cool on a rack before gently removing from the pan(s).

Spoon the lemon curd into the tart(s), and if using, top with freshly whipped cream and thinly sliced strawberries.

Makes one 9" tart, or four individual tarts.


Adapted from Sunset.

Lemon Curd

Call me old-fashioned, but there are few things that sound better to me around 2:30 in the afternoon than black tea and a little nibble. If I could, everyday near that hour, I would serve myself a nice, warm cup and perhaps enjoy little cucumber sandwiches, or scones with clotted cream and lemon curd, on tiny beautiful plates while gazing at fresh flowers and listening to relaxing classical music. Then I might even go down for a light snooze. However, because I'm not an English countryside castle or palace-dweller in the late 19th century, I am quite content waking up and making lemon curd to enjoy a bit later in the day while James takes his second nap.

The weather warmed up considerably last weekend and the lemons were practically serenading me every time I opened the refrigerator door. So, this week I made fresh, delightfully creamy and smooth lemon curd from organic, unwaxed lemons. Making this very simple spread was easier than I thought, AND gave me an opportunity to use my candy thermometer, which feels special in and of itself. I didn't have time to make the fresh scones I fantasized about for 15 seconds, and opted for a quick fix instead. Strawberries. They were the perfect vehicle - possibly too much tarty fruitiness for some of you, but I loved it and the whole experience felt that much more like summer. Since we live 5 miles from the strawberry capital (Carlsbad, CA), they are readily available...certainly not anywhere near their best, but still good. Other ways to enjoy: spoon over basic Scottish shortbread biscuits, spread over toast, pour into your favorite tart shell (easy recipe here), or enjoy alone with a dollop of fresh unsweetened whipped cream.

                  4 organic, unwaxed lemons
                  1/2 cup lemon juice
                  2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
                  1 stick butter cut into four pieces
                  3/4 cup sugar
                  2 eggs

Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a heat-safe bowl and add butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, all the while whisking, until thickened and smooth. When a candy thermometer reads 160°F., (about 5 minutes), remove curd from heat and strain through using a fine sieve strainer into a bowl. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to squeeze out as much as you can. If you plan on using a jar (this recipe makes enough for two small to medium jars), pour immediately and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Lemon curd also freezes well, so if you don't think you'll use it all, save some for later!

Makes 1-1/2 cups.

Orange and Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Wow. This is my ideal cake. Not too sweet, the perfect texture, infused with citrus flavor, and dusted with powdered sugar. I've never been one for sugary, frosted, over the top cakes with layers and fancy fillings. I'll admit to enjoying a few bites here and there on a special occasion, but I prefer simpler cakes that aren't too sweet and showcase the pure flavors of fruit. Cakes that would be perfect with a cup of tea in the afternoon. And this is exactly that. What's more...as it's name implies, it has no butter, offering instead the comfortably familiar and virtuous flavor of that esteemed oil known as olive.

The recipe calls for simmering the citrus for thirty minutes, and let me just tell you that this simple act alone resulted in great happiness. The house smelled divine - I was already enjoying the cake and it wasn't even on the plate yet. There's something about cooking the orange and lemon that removes the bitterness from the rind, which is later ground into a fine paste and incorporated into the batter. And I haven't yet mentioned that there are toasted almonds to look forward to as well. Please do yourself a favor and toast raw almonds yourself if you usually buy them. At least for the purposes of this cake. They will taste much fresher, make the house smell even better than it already does, and make the whole shebang that much more rewarding.

And now, in case you aren't already convinced, I can say with confidence that it's not just me who liked this cake. I served it to friends at dinner and EVERYONE had a second slice. In fact, I'm pretty sure Dan had a third. If that doesn't give meaning to "the proof is in the pudding", I don't know what does.

          1 small to medium orange
          1 lemon
          6 ounces raw almonds
          1 cup all-purpose flour
          1 Tbsp. baking powder
          4 large eggs, ideally at room temperature
          ½ tsp. table salt
          1 ½ cups sugar
          2/3 cup olive oil
          Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Put the orange and the lemon in a saucepan, and cover with water. (They’ll float - no worries.) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain, and cool.

While the citrus is simmering, toast the almonds. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and set a rack in the middle position. Put the almonds on an ungreased sheet pan, and bake until they look golden and smell toasty, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. When the almonds are cool, pulse them in a food processor until finely ground, the texture of coarse sand. Set aside.

Set the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9-inch round springform pan.

When the citrus is cool, cut the lemon in half, and scoop out and discard the pulp and seeds. Cut the orange in half, and discard the seeds. Put the lemon rind and orange halves in the food processor – there’s no need to wash it after grinding the almonds – and process to chop finely, almost to a coarse paste.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

Combine the eggs and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat until foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Fold in the flour mixture. Add the citrus, almonds, and olive oil, and beat on low speed to just incorporate. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack. Remove the sides of the pan. Dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Store it at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Recipe from Orangette. (Thank you! I am eternally grateful.)