Cooking with Love

with Gianna Conte    (Jan)

The most lemony lemon bars you've ever tasted

The most lemony lemon bars you've ever tasted

LEMONY BARS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Crust:

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

zest of 2 lemons

Put all ingredients in food processor. Pulse just until dough comes together.

Press dough into ungreased 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Filling:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, to taste

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

Put all ingredients into food processor bowl and blend until combined. When crust has baked 20 minutes, remove from oven and pour filling over crust. Return to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes until filling is set and light golden brown on top. Cool completely.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into desired number of bars.

Pucker up ......



Let's get baking!


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees


 1 whole thin skinned orange, remove the stem and cut in quarters. Keep the skin on the oranges.

In a clean large food processor, add the orange quarters, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, three large eggs, 1 tsp of vanilla, 1 tsp of orange extract, 1 tbsp of Triple Sec liqueur, optional, 2/3 cup vegetable oil. 


Pulse all ingredients in the processor and then puree until mixture becomes a batter with specs of orange peel.


Add to the processor:


2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt


Process all dry ingredients until they are entirely incorporated into the batter.


Bake in a greased and floured spring pan, using a parchment paper circle on top of the greased bottom.*


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place in the center rack of the oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven.


Remove from your oven and let it cool down completely. Dust with powdered sugar or make a drizzle of 1/4 cup powdered sugar and fresh squeezed orange until thick and smooth.  Pour onto the cooled fresh orange cake.


*if you don't have a large processor, you can use a blender.


Enjoy with some espresso and close your eyes and it will feel like you're in Sicily.