Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

What a lovely way to start the day!

3/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange
1¾ cups flour
2½ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (plus more for tops)

Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare 12 cup muffin baking pan with spray or papers. In large bowl, stir together sugar and orange zest (optional, let this sit for an hour for the oil from the orange zest to infuse the sugar). Add flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together oil, sour cream, milk, orange juice, eggs, and vanilla. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with more mini chocolate chips if desired. Bake 18-20 minutes until center of muffins are set. Allow to cool in baking pan for about 10 minutes then remove to cooling rack. Substitute or add other mix-ins such as raspberries, raisins, nuts, etc.

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Glazed Lemon Blondies

There is just something about moist square tasty items that you can sink your teeth into, brownies, blondies, sheet cake, bars of all kinds. I admit, it’s a problem for me, but I am willing to live with it!

Lemon Blondies:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 Tbl lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1¼ cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9″x9″ baking pan with foil, spray with non-stick spray. Stirring by hand, mix butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time beating after each addition. Stir in lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix in flour and salt. Pour into prepared baking pan, spread evenly. Bake 25 minutes. Cool and glaze.

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl lemon juice

Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Spread over cooled lemon blondies. Remove from baking pan pulling out with foil. Set on cutting board, pull back foil and cut into tasty squares.

One Year Ago: Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Muffins

Two Years Ago: Big Pink Frosted Sugar Cookies

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware and kitchen tools such as Silpat & Perforated Baking Sheet please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies

Craving something lemon? Hopefully these will make you pucker and smile!

Lemon Sugar Cookies:
10 Tbl butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbl lemon juice
zest of one lemon
2 cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

With electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest; mix well. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture. Mix until well combined. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375°.  Working with 1/2 of dough at a time, on lightly floured surface roll to 1/4″ thick. Cut with cookie cutter, place on ungreased cookie sheet or Silpat lined sheet. Bake 8 minutes or until edges barely start to turn golden. Cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2½ cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tbl lemon juice
drops yellow food color (optional)
raw cane sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Whip butter with electric mixer until light and creamy. Add powdered sugar and one Tbl of lemon juice at a time until frosting is a creamy spreading consistency. Add yellow food color if using. Frost each cookie and sprinkle with raw cane sugar if desired. Makes 2½ dozen 2½” round cookies.

One Year Ago Today: Vanilla Cupcakes with Red Velvet Surprise

Two Years Ago Today: Sausage Potatoes & Artichoke Hearts

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware and kitchen tools such as the Silpat & Perforated Baking Sheet please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Apricot Bars

I am revisiting a favorite of mine. I have no self-control when I make these bars. In my mind I think, “OK, it is just better when they are gone so they are not around to tempt me”…then I proceed to finish them off. I know, I’m a little nuts when it comes to sweets! Make these bars with dried apricots, dried cranberries, dates, raisins, or a mixture, change up the combination with different chips too. How about raisins and cinnamon chips? Oh no, now I need to whip those up, I better make a plan for giving them away or my jeans won’t fit.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1½ cups quick or old-fashioned oats
2 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice, divided
1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1 cup white chips
1 cup chopped dried apricots (can use dried cranberries, dates, raisins, etc.)
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line 13 x 9 baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray.  In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.  Mix in flour, oats, lemon zest, and 1 tsp lemon juice until crumbly.  Reserve 2 cups of mixture.  Press remaining mixture onto bottom of prepared baking pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1 tsp lemon juice.  Pour cream cheese mixture over hot crust, sprinkle mini chocolate chips, white chips, and chopped dried apricots. Sprinkle with reserved flour-oat mixture and gently pat down.  Bake for additional 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set.  Remove from pan and cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Grab foil and remove from pan.  Peel foil down from sides and cut into desired size bars. Enjoy the whole pan or share with others!

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware and kitchen tools such as the Silpat & Perforated Baking Sheet please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

Lemon Cream Cheese Brunch Cake

Cake for breakfast…NO! We are having brunch…ANYTHING GOES! Something about calling a mid morning meal brunch seems to open up a whole new world of options, everything is acceptable fare. Love it, now please pass the brunch cake!

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Lemon Cake Batter:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
4 Tbl butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup lemon juice
fine zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sour cream

Lemon Glaze:
2 Tbl butter, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray and dust with flour a 7”x11” or 9”x9” baking pan, set aside. With electric mixer, whip together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla to make the cream cheese layer, set aside. In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. To this creamed mixture add flour mixture alternately with sour cream, mix well. Spoon half of cake batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of batter, gently spread. Spoon remaining cake batter over cream cheese layer, spread evenly. Bake for 38-40 minutes or until set in center and pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool. Mix together lemon glaze and drizzle over top of cake.

One Year Ago: Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cranberry Bars

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware and kitchen tools please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

Raspberry Lemon Bars

Tart and sweet with a tender flaky crust, and my favorite color. Yum!

Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour

Raspberry Lemon Layer:
3 large eggs
1½ cups sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup raspberry pie filling or raspberry jam
1/2 cup flour
Powdered sugar to sprinkle

Preheat oven to 350°. For crust, cream butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer. Mix in flour and press into sprayed 8″x8″ square pan. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Remove from oven, leave oven on. For filling, whisk together eggs, sugar, zest, lemon juice, raspberry pie filling and flour. Pour over baked crust and bake for 25-30 minutes until filling is set. Let cool to room temperature and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

One Year Ago today: Chocolate Sugar Cookies

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware and kitchen tools such as the Roul’Pat & Beechwood Rolling Pin or Silpat & Perforated Baking Sheet please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

Tangy Lemon Walnut Cake

Sitting around Sunday evening and we are feeling the need for a little something.  This is a yummy little something!

Lemon Walnut Cake:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbl lemon zest
3 Tbl lemon juice
½ cup chopped walnuts

Lemon Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 Tbl lemon juice
lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line an 8″x8″ square pan with foil, leaving overhang on each side, spray with non-stick spray.  Combine flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl.  With electric mixer, mix softened butter into dry ingredients.  In small bowl whisk eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon zest.  Add egg mixture to butter mixture and mix well.  Pour into prepared pan.  Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of cake batter.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Cool.  Whisk glaze ingredients together.  Poke toothpick all over cake to make small places for some of glaze to soak into cake.  Spoon glaze over top of cake, let set up (I put mine in fridge for about 15 minutes.  Using foil, lift cake out of pan onto cutting board, pull foil away from sides.  Cut into desired size pieces.

One Year Ago Today:  Lemon Blueberry Bread with Coconut

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware & kitchen tools please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

 

Lemon Truffle Pie

If you love pie, if you love lemon, and if you love cheesecake, you need to make this pie.  There are many versions of this pie on the web, the one I used (adapted just bit) is from doublebatch.wordpress.com, incredible!   This is lemony, creamy, happiness on a fork!

                       

1 (9” deep dish) *graham cracker crust or baked 9” deep dish pastry shell
3 Tbl cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cold water
¼ cup (about 1 lg lemon) lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup whipped cream
powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Toasted sliced almonds (optional for garnish)

Whisk cornstarch and the 1/3 cup sugar in medium saucepan, whisk in cold water.  Stir in lemon juice and lemon zest.  In a separate bowl beat egg yolks with a fork, add the 1/4 cup sugar and mix well.  Add egg yolk mixture to the lemon mixture and whisk together.  Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils for one minute.  Remove from head and stir in butter and vanilla.

Remove 1½ cups of lemon pudding and reserve for top layer.  Add while chocolate chips to mixture left in saucepan and stir until they are melted.  Cut cream cheese in cubes and add to saucepan.  Beat until well mixed and smooth.

Pour mixture into pie shell or graham cracker crust.  Pour reserved lemon pudding on top and chill at least 2 hours.  Whip cream to stiff peaks thick, add powdered sugar to taste and vanilla.  Spread whipped cream over top of pie.  Garnish with toasted sliced almonds.  Keep leftovers in refrigerator.

*Graham Cracker Crust:
1¹⁄3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbl butter, melted

Mix and press into 9″ pie plate and bake in 375° oven for 8 minutes.

One Year Ago Today:  Peanut Buster Brownies

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware & kitchen tools please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

 

Creamy Lemon Oat Bars

After looking around on the web, I believe this recipe must go way back.  It pops up on many pages and with different variations, but it is a winner.  If you love lemon desserts, try these incredibly easy, but oh so wonderful lemon bars.

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
Lemon zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1¼ cups flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375°.  Line 8″x8″ pan with enough foil so it has over-hang on each side, spray foil with non-stick spray.  Stir together sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.  In another bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Mix cut in softened butter until distributed and crumbly.  Press half of crumb mixture into even layer on bottom of prepared pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Spread lemon mixture over crumb crust.  Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over lemon layer and press down slightly.  Return to oven and bake 20 minutes.  Cool completely, remove from pan using foil over-hang to cutting board.  Peel foil down from sides, cut into bars.

One Year Ago Today:  Dark Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware & kitchen tools please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.