Tag Archives: easy

Lemon Cream Bars

When I saw this recipe featured on Tasty Kitchen, I immediately decided to make it. I had committed to bringing a treat to a Women’s Ministry event at my church last Friday, and this seemed like a pretty easy little number.

As soon as I started baking it, my husband looked at me happily. “Oooh, you’ve made this before, right? These are those great lemon bars!”

Suddenly, strange half-formed memories started emerging. Had I made these before? After ruminating for days, seeing a hypnotist and a psychotherapist and undergoing memory revitalization at a clinic in Tibet, I have finally reached the conclusion that I simply can’t remember! It’s rare that a cooking memory could turn so foggy–I tend to remember everything I make in mouth-watering detail. However, all I can conjure up regarding these bars is an undefined sense of deja vu.

But why are we wasting time talking about my early onset of memory loss? The point is–this is a VERY easy dessert to whip up. It takes very little time to get into the oven, and the tanginess of the lemon juice and crumbly texture of the streusel combine to make a lovely little treat. Plus, the ingredients are all things I tend to have in the pantry, so if I’m in a dessert bind, I know I can turn to these.

Ingredients

(Makes 20 bars)

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 1/2 lemons)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup oats

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup butter, melted (10.6 TBS)

1 tsp baking powder

1 pinch salt

First things first: preheat the oven to 350 F and assemble the ingredients.

Now it’s time to squeeze the lemons–fresh lemon juice is always best, especially when it’s such a central flavor in the end product.

I had a papercut under my fingernail, so I enlisted my husband to squeeze them for me.

Thanks, babes.

There wasn’t quite enough lemon juice in 2 lemons, so I broke my own rule about fresh lemon juice and supplemented with this little bottle.

What’s the point of making a rule if you don’t break it yourself 5 seconds after declaring it to the world?

I’m glad you feel the same way.

Next up: mix the lemon juice and condensed milk with a whisk or fork until they’re nicely combined. You can’t tell in this picture, but I spilled about half the mixture on the counter due to the violence of my whipping technique. Then I licked it off the counter and called myself Blessed.

So please use a larger bowl than the one pictured.

Set it aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients to form the streusel.

Gratuitous shot of pouring in the liquid butter:

This stuff is so tasty just as it is. I munched on it as I mixed.

Next time I’ll make a little extra and sprinkle some into my yoghurt.

Press half the streusel into a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish, creating an even layer.

If you can remember to save the paper wrappers from the butter you melted earlier, you can use them to grease the pan quite nicely. I (of course) forgot and threw them away, so I resorted to some baking spray.

Pour the lemon/condensed milk mixture over top of the streusel . . .

. . . and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon.

Sprinkle the rest of the streusel evenly over top.

Bake that baby for 25-30 minutes.

There it is, fresh out of the oven.

Don’t try to taste or cut into now, or you will leave a path of destruction in your wake. Cool the bars completely! Exercise your patience.

The rewards will be worth it.

If you don’t mean to consume the bars immediately, store them in the refrigerator–I should add that they’re good warm, room-temperature, or chilled and straight out of the fridge. Yes, I had them all 3 ways.

I was a little afraid that the crumbly streusel would result in a bar that would completely fall apart upon contact with my human hand.

(As opposed to the robot hand that I keep in the drawer, of course.)

So I was obliged to test my theory.

A couple times.

The bars held up quite well!

Aren’t you glad I’m here to figure these things out in advance for you?

To troubleshoot, so to speak?

So am I.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Lemon Cream Bars

Irish Soda Bread

I came across this recipe on one of the blogs I read, Mommie Cooks. She also happens to be a Tasty Kitchen member, and her recipe box is full of delicious and quick things to make. I love a good quickbread recipe, and the fact that this one takes only about 5 minutes to throw together is a huge plus. All the magic happens in the oven, with hardly any effort on your part. And who doesn’t love a loaf of freshly baked bread? It just screams ‘home’ to me. I made this bread for our Bible study group, and I could almost swear more bread was eaten than the main dish that I prepared to go with it.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

4 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp caraway seeds

3 TBS honey

1 egg

1 ½ cups buttermilk

3 TBS butter, melted

Only 4 dry ingredients need to be assembled: flour, salt, baking soda, and caraway seeds.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

I love the flavor that the caraway seeds give this bread. They are nice and strong, so even though the recipe only calls for a teaspoon, that’s exactly the right amount.

And I love, love, love my new flour canister. It’s from WalMart.

It makes the flour-measuring experience so much cleaner than when I measured it straight out of the paper bag and flour poofed all over my countertops, floor, and clothing.

Now gather the remaining ingredients:

No, that’s not a mug of tea or coffee–it’s the melted butter. And don’t tempt me to drink it straight outta that mug, because I won’t!

Unless it’s a double-dog dare.

I’ve never been double-dog-dared before, so I have no idea what would happen were I confronted with a choice. Swallow my pride . . . or drink the butter. Humble myself . . . or drink the golden greasy stuff.

Ah, the mental dilemmas that rage in my mind throughout the day.

Add the egg and honey. . .

. . . pour in the buttermilk (I never have buttermilk on hand, so I used a handy substitution: 2% milk mixed with 1 1/2 TBS of lemon juice) . . .

. . . and stir everything around until the dough is just starting to come together (about 1 minute).

Add in the melted butter . . .

. . . and knead very briefly on a floured countertop, just until the dough holds its shape.

Make sure not to overknead! This step only took me (literally) 15 seconds.

Form a ball, and cut two slits in the top of the ball in the shape of a cross.

Put the dough on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes.

When you remove it from the oven, test the bread with a toothpick in its thickest part to make sure it’s done.

If the toothpick comes out sticky or has a little dough on it, put the bread back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes and then probe its depths again.

I didn’t test my bread very carefully, so upon cutting it open I encountered a large lump of uncooked dough in the middle. Mercifully, I just popped it back in the oven and all was well–thank heavens for low-maintenance baking recipes such as this one.

Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Slather with butter, if desired.

I desire.

Would you look at that beautiful crust?

I need to put this on the menu again asap.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Irish Soda Bread