Lemon Bars

I am lucky enough to work for an extraordinary boss and company, so with Bosses Day hitting last week I wanted to make sure I acknowledged by boss with a treat that I know she likes. I had never made lemon bars before, but after looking around for some tips and recipe reviews, I tailored this to be what I think is the perfect ratio of sweetness, tart lemon flavor and buttery crust.

As a note, I only used a small amount of powdered sugar on the top. While I love the touch of powdered sugar, when eating treats topped with the stuff I somehow always manage to inhale or exhale at exactly the wrong moment and end up covering myself with sugar or choking on it. So, for the sake of keeping these low maintenance to eat I kept the sugar minimal. You could obviously adjust this to match your personal taste.

Lemon Bars

Crust
1 c butter, softened
2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
pinch of salt

Filling
3 c sugar
1/2 c + 2 T flour
1 1/4 c fresh lemon juice (approx 5-6 large lemons or 7-8 small lemons)
zest from 2 lemons
8 eggs

powdered sugar to top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use pastry cutter or just your hands to blend together all crust ingredients in medium bowl. Press into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly while preparing the filling.

Whisk filling ingredients together in medium bowl until well combined. Pour over crust. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Allow to cool in pan.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar to taste while still slightly warm. Once cool, cut into squares and serve.

Zombie Brain Popcorn Balls

We are somewhat infatuated with zombies at our house. So with the recent season of The Walking Dead starting, some friends invited us over to watch the premier. It only felt right to bring a zombie-related treat. These popcorn brains were fairly easy to make (just a little messy) and they turned out pretty fun. This would be a great option to take to any Halloween party or potluck with relatively low cost and low time commitment.

Popcorn Brains
6 cups popcorn, popped and lightly salted
1 bag (10 oz) mini-marshmallows
3 T butter
1/4 t vanilla
red food coloring
small paintbrush

In large saucepan, melt the butter and marshmallows over med-low heat, stirring regularly. This process may take 5-10 minutes, but if you rush the marshmallow melting, your popcorn balls will turn out hard. Once melted, add vanilla and 2 drops of food coloring and stir until color is distributed. Stir in popcorn until evenly coated.

Form popcorn into tennis ball sized balls. This is the part that can be kind of messy. I attempted to do this with my hands using some butter to grease my fingers, but the mixture was way too sticky and would not bind together but rather just stuck to my fingers. My solution was to take a square of wax paper, spray it with non-stick spray, spoon the popcorn into the center and use the wax paper to form around the popcorn ball. Then I carefully peeled back the wax paper to release the popcorn ball.

You will want to form these into a somewhat flattened ball so they more resemble a brain shape. After forming a ball in the wax paper, I squished the ball slightly and pressed down along the center to create a minor valley between the brain hemispheres. This is the line where you will later paint your major dividing vein. Set the finished brains aside on another clean piece of wax paper to cool.

After forming all the brains, use a paint brush and food coloring to paint the major vein down the middle of the brain and then as many side veins as you want for effect. Mmmmm....BRAINNNZZZZ!

Pumpkin Roll

I've always wanted to make a pumpkin roll. So this year I attempted it and it turned out beautiful and delicious. It was a great addition to the Thanksgiving desserts, right next to my pecan pie and cheesecake. And then I made a couple more for Christmas to use as gifts and party food. I opted to use fresh roasted pumpkin from the garden, but you can easily replace that with the canned version for this recipe.

Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin puree (fresh roasted or canned)

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking soda

powdered sugar for dusting

Filling

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 T butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper or wax paper. Grease and flour the paper.

In large bowl, beat eggs on high for 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar and pumpkin. Add flour, cinnamon, pie spice, and baking soda. Mix well. Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately turn out onto linen towel (or wax paper) dusted well with powdered sugar. Peel off original paper and roll cake up in towel, starting at the short end. Cool completely.

To make filling, beat powdered sugar, vanilla, butter, and cream cheese together until smooth.

Carefully unroll cooled cake. Spread filling over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Roll cake again. Wrap cake roll in foil and chill until ready to serve. If you put in the freezer for 15 minutes prior to serving, it will be easier to slice. Dust with additional powdered sugar if desired. Slice to serve.

Each roll makes approximately 10-12 slices.

Lemon Delight Cake

This was another lower-fat dessert option I found. This lemon cake turns out light and moist with a mild lemon flavor. This is a great option for a summer dessert.

Lemon Delight Cake
Cake
1 pkg lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding mix
1 3/4 cups water
3 egg whites

Topping
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 (1 oz) pkg instant lemon pudding mix
1 (8 oz) container frozen light whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 inch cake pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Add water and egg whites. Beat on low for 1 minute. Increase to high speed and beat for 4 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely.
To prepare the whipped topping, Combine milk, lemon extract and pudding mix. Beat on low for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cooled cake. Decorate top with lemon slices or lemon rind. Store cake in refrigerator.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

We've been eating pretty healthy this year, but I still love to make dessert when we have family get-togethers or dinner parties. So I have made it a point to try to find some less fattening dessert options. I don't pretend that these are "healthy", but they are a lower fat alternative than some of the things I normally make.
These crinkle cookies were a huge hit with the family. The presentation is nice and I have had several requests since to make them again. They have a very brownie-like flavor. You will love these!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar

In medium mixing bowl, combine cocoa, sugar and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into cocoa mixture. Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put powdered sugar in shallow bowl. Wet your hands and roll dough into 1 inch balls. If your fingers are not moist or the dough is not cold it will stick to your hands. Place dough ball into powdered sugar and coat liberally. Making sure the ball is completely coated will create a better "crinkle" look once baked. Place on lined or greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.