Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

So, I love warm cookies. I can probably eat 10 times more cookies when they are warm...it's like it doesn't count if you can shove them in before they cool...or something like that. BUT, these cookies were actually better COLD! Every little bite I took of these mini-cookies kept me grabbing for more. I seriously couldn't stop thinking about them all day today. I was able to share them with some friends, and they loved them as well. The original recipe omitted the lemon juice and the glaze...but I highly recommend doing both. It gave them that extra kick of lemon they needed to make them spectacular.


Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
Printable Version

Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup buttermilk (or a scant ¼ cup of milk with ½ tsp. vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
½ Tbs. lemon zest
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and poppy seeds. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk. Mix well.
Drop the dough by small tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are set.
While cookies are baking, make glaze. Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together with a fork.

The cookies should be puffy and fairly light in color when they are finished baking. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet. Move the cookies to a wire rack and spread 1 tsp glaze on each cookie while warm.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

Lemon Bundt Cake

Cody has asked for this quite a few times since I made it...last week.  It was moist, flavorful, and delicious. I had to borrow a bundt cake pan from a friend, but since it was such a hit I am going to have to buy one of my own. Pretty soon I am going to run out of cupboard space...my little kitchen can't keep up with my addiction! I switched this recipe up here and there and combined a few recipes. It ended out as a keeper!

Lemon Bundt Cake
Printable Version

3 lemons , zest grated and saved, then juiced for 3 tablespoons juice
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1  teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
3 large eggs , at room temperature
1 large egg yolk , at room temperature
18 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 1/4 sticks), at room temperature
2 cups sugar (14 ounces)

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Combine lemon juice mixture, vanilla, and buttermilk in medium bowl. In small bowl, gently whisk eggs and yolk to combine. In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce to medium speed and add half of eggs, mixing until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Repeat with remaining eggs; scrape down bowl again. Reduce to low speed; add about one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until just incorporated after each addition (about 5 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture. Scrape bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Scrape into prepared pan.

Bake until top is golden brown and wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into center comes out with no crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes.

Glaze:
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 Tbs. lemon juice

Mix all 3 ingredients above. Pour Glaze over cake while warm.

Serves 12 to 14.
Recipe adapted from Tortatebukura’s Blog

Maple Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

Pioneer Woman said, "Make these for a friend today! I promise it will seal the relationship." Seriously. I could make all SORTS of friends with these babies! (If only I could stop eating them and share them...decisions, decisions!) I have made these twice in 2 weeks and I hate making bread. I am usually a big fat failure when it comes to making bread. I have succeeded TWICE with these! YESSS! Yummy yummy ooey-gooey-ness. I have to stop typing. I need another bite. Sorry.


Maple Frosted Cinnamon Rolls
Printable Version


Dough
1 quart whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
9 cups all-purpose flour
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
1 scant tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. salt


Filling
1 1/2 cups melted butter (plus 1/4 cup for greasing pans)
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar


Icing
2 pounds powdered sugar
3/4 cup whole milk
6 Tbs. butter, melted
dash of salt
1 Tbs. maple flavoring or maple extract


For the dough, scald the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large saucepan(large enough to add 9 cups of flour to later!) over medium heat. To SCALD means to heat almost to a boiling point. Do NOT let the mixture boil! Just get as close as possible...fun huh?
Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for 2 minutes.


Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined.
*insert-you will be worried at this point. The dough is uber-gooey. Like so-not-even-close to how perfect bread dough should be. Stop screaming. It will work. Have faith.*
Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for about 1 hour. The dough should almost double in this amount of time.


Remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining 1 cup of flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. (tip:use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days!)


Remove half of the dough from the pan. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a large 30x10inch rectangle.
Pour 3/4 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Spread the butter almost to the edge of the dough. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cinnamon and 1 cup of sugar generously over the dough.
Starting at the end furthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly toward you. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together to prevent oozing of the ooey-gooeness!
With a sharp knife, (or dental floss slipped under the roll, then brought up around it like tying a shoe to cut!) make 1 1/2 inch slices. One log will produce 13-15 rolls.


Pour a couple of tablespoons of melted butter into desired baking pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans. I put 12 in a 9x13...just to give you an idea of space.
Repeat the rolling/sugar/butter process with the other half of the dough. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for at least 20 minutes. Remove the towel and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.


While the rolls are cooking, make the maple icing.
In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, butter, and salt. Splash in the maple flavoring. Whisk until very smooth. Add more milk if needed, the icing should be thick but pourable.
While the rolls are still warm, generously drizzle icing over the top.


Makes about 30 rolls
Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman.

Monkey Bread

We eat monkey bread every Christmas morning in my home, and I look forward to it all year long. It is so easy to make, so I decided that it could be a every-big-holiday breakfast! I made it for the first time without my mom this Easter morning. It was ooey-gooey and delicious, and now I can't wait until Christmas! (If I can wait that long!)

Monkey Bread

Printable Version

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

18 freezer rolls (I use Rhode's)

1 small package Cook N' Serve Butterscotch pudding

1 cube butter (1/2 cup)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

The night before you want to serve these, grease a Bundt pan or an Angel Food Cake pan (grease fairly generously).
Put in chopped nuts and frozen rolls. Sprinkle butterscotch pudding over rolls. Melt butter in a small dish and add brown sugar and cinnamon, mix until combined.

Pour butter mixture over rolls. Let sit overnight, covered with plastic wrap, on the cabinet. The next morning, bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Cover with foil for the last 10 minutes to avoid browning too much. Remove from the oven and invert onto serving plate.

Serves 6-8.

Recipe from Momma!