Monday, July 21, 2008

More citrus dreaming

As I've mentioned before, I love citrus, especially in the summer time, when my sweet tooth craves something that's also tart and refreshing. I've been favoring cookies over cake/pie lately, so I dug through my recipes binder and found three Martha Stewart Living recipes I've been meaning to try.
First the Lime flowers, which I turned into rounds for lack of a flower cookie cutter.

Limerounds

lime flowers (app 2 dozen)
1. Sift together 2 c all-purpose flour, 1/2 ts baking powder, and 1/4 ts salt in a large bowl, set aside.
2. Put 1 c granulated sugar and 2 TS lime zest in a mixing bowl, mix on medium speed about 1 min. Add 1.5 sticks unsalted softened butter; mix until fluffy, about 2 mins. Mix in 1 ts vanilla extract and 1/4 c fresh lime juice. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, halve the dough. Flatten each half into a 10" disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill dough in freezer 30 mins.
4. Preheat oven to 325 dF. Roll out disk on parchment paper to 1/8" thick. Using a 3" cookie cutter, cut shapes from dough. Space on baking sheets 1" apart. Repeat with other disk.
5. Bake until set, about 16 mins. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool. Before serving, sift confectioners' sugar over cookies.

Omitted: I didn't sift confectioners' sugar over the finished cookies. I like sweets, but I don't like them too sweet.

Next time: I loved these cookies, however, sometimes I could taste the vanilla extract and it just didn't seem to go. I'll omit the vanilla extract when I make these again.


Next up, Lemon Poppyseed cookies. I omitted the last step of adding more poppyseeds on top. Like the lime flowers, they are buttery and have the perfect texture just between soft and crunchy.

LemonPoppy

lemon poppy-seed cookies (app.30)
1. Preheat oven to 375 dF. Bring 1/4 c fresh lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced by half. Add 1 stick butter, stir until melted.
2. Whisk together 2 c all-purpose flour, 1 ts baking powder and 1/2 ts salt. Cream 1 stick butter and 1c sugar on medium speed. Mix in 1 large egg and lemon butter, mix until pale, about 3 min. Mix in 2 ts pure vanilla extract and 2 TS freshly grated lemon zest. Mix in flour mixture and 1 TS poppy seeds.
3. Stir together 1/2 c sugar and 1.5 ts lemon zest. Roll spoonfuls of dough into 1.25" balls; roll them in sugar mixture. Place 2" apart on baking sheets. Press each with the flat end of a glass dipped in sugar mixture until 1.25" thick. Sprinkle with poppyseeds.
4. Bake until just browned around bottom edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely.

Omitted: Rolling the dough balls in the sugar mixture. I thought there was already so much sugar in these cookies, more would have been overkill.

Next time: BF thought they were perfect, I found them a tad too sweet. Compared to the other two recipes, there is an extra half cup of sugar in these cookies. I'll use one cup of sugar when I make these again.


Last, and definitely my favorite, are the Lime Cornmeal Glazed cookies. I was very curious about using cornmeal in cookies, I haven't really tasted it in anything else besides cornbread. The cookies are a bit fragile (they crumble easily) but they taste amazing and are well worth the work. I often forgo glazes (too sugary), but this glaze (with bits of lime and orange rind) is so good, I even ate the leftover glaze by the spoonful.

get the recipe here: Lime Cornmeal Glazed Cookies
LimeCornmeal1

Omitted/Substituted: I used whole wheat flour instead of regular. It was a great choice and went incredibly well with the lime. Sometimes Martha's recipes use too much zest for my taste, here I used 2 ts of zest instead of the 4 ts suggested.

Next time: I'll omit the almond extract. Like the vanilla extract in the lime flowers, it adds an somewhat odd aftertaste I can make out now and then. I think these fab cookies will be better without.

Last thoughts: Yummy cookies, all of them. They had in common an incredibly sticky dough, but rolling it out between two sheets of plastic wrap made handling it much easier.

c = cup
ts = teaspoon
TS = tablespoon
dF = degree Fahrenheit

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those all look so yummy! I'll have to try them out, soon.

Anonymous said...

Yum! We are fans of citrusy cookies in our house - I will have to try these!

Philigry said...

yummy!
thanks for the recipes. i love lemon,a nd I think i may have to make a lemon pie. i also have a recipe, from Martha, for a lemon coffee cake!

yaiAnn said...

Are you bringing those over on Sunday? ;)

Connie said...

Mmmmm, those look so yummy! I'm a huge fan of citrus too. Nothing beats the tartness and sweetness of a lemon bar or lemon gelato. Thanks for the recipes. I'll have to try them. My husband is a lemon fan too!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing - me too, love citrusy cookies!! By the way, your photos are beautiful - wouldn't mind having a set in the kitchen!! Terry

Anonymous said...

yummmmy, die kekse sehen überaus lecker aus. die rezepte muss ichauch mal ausprobieren, ich liebe gebäck mit zitronen.

lg,sab

Anonymous said...

Those all look really good! I'll definitely have to try these recipes. Thanks very much for sharing them!

maritza said...

These all look divine! I have been meaning to make lemon squares for weeks now, and I think this lovely post was all the motivation I needed to do it today. Thanks for sharing the recipes!

Jenn Huck said...

Thanks for the recipes! These will go well with my collection of "savory" cookies (like ginger, pepper, and chinese five spice varieties).

Unknown said...

oh, these look so delicious! I love citrus with poppyseeds!
Emily

Nancy McCarroll said...

The cookies all look yummy! And you took great pictures!

Munchkins and Music said...

I cannot wait to try these!

Octopus Knits said...

All three types of cookie look (and sound) completely delicious!

P.S. Love your bears :)

cidell said...

I am a citrus fiend and just got a ton of limes!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing... they look wonderful!

Unknown said...

oh, i'm usually a disaster in the kitchen, but i can bake if inspired. i am inspired! yum

Kookababy said...

Wow, I'm so glad I stumbled into this blog. I adore citrus in all forms. I would choose it over chocolate in dessert form any day. Thanks for posting this!

TELMA GUEDES said...

your blog is lovely! hugs from Sao Paulo, Brazil!

Ainhoa said...

Thank you for sharing!

We made them and are delicious!

reda gamal 01220689236 said...


هل تعاني من مشكلة التنظيف هل تؤجل المناسبات نظرا لعدم نظافة وترتيب منزلك بالشكل الأمثل وسئمت من الطرق التقليدية والحلول معكم شركة ركن الشروق افضل شركة تنظيف بخميس مشيط وأرخص شركة تنظيف بخميس مشيط تنظيف المنازل تنظيف البيوت تنظيف المجالس تواصل معنا عزيزي العميل وسوف نصلك في أسرع وقت ممكن شركة تنظيف بخميس مشيط
شركة مكافحة حشرات بخميس مشيط
شركة تنظيف مجالس بخميس مشيط

شركة رواد الحرمين said...


شركه عزل فوم بالرياض
أيضاً تسبب في سقوط الطلاء وظهور التشققات، ولكن من الآن لا داعي

شركه تنظيف مكيفات بالرياض
شركه عزل فوم بالدمام
شركه تنظيف منازل بالدمام

رواد الحرمين said...

عزل اسطح بالدمام لحماية وزيادة عمر الخزان الافتراضي.

شركه عزل فوم بالدمام عزل فوم بعنيزة هو افضل انواع العوازل فى الفترة الاخيرة المستخدم فى حماية الأسطح من الرطوبة العالية وتسربات المياه.
شركه كشف تسربات المياه بالاحساء

mhmod said...


شركة كشف تسربات المياة بالرياض
انشاء وصيانة وعزل المسابح بالرياض
شركة عزل خزانات المياة بالرياض
شركة ترميمات منازل وفلل بالرياض
شركة عزل اسطح بالرياض
شركة عزل حمامات بالرياض
شركة كشف تسربات المياة بالرياض