A friend recently sent me a link to a recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies. It had won one first place in a cookie contest at LDS Living magazine.

Since I had a whole bag of lemons sitting on my kitchen counter, just waiting to be used, I decided to give the cookies a try – right then. I mean don’t you put everything on hold in life when a new lemon recipe is calling your name? Well, I do!

The cookies have a nice light lemon flavor to them, not too tart or overpowering. They also have a nice soft texture and the powdered sugar coating gives them a melt in your mouth quality. They would be quite lovely with a cup of tea.

Happy Springtime (even though it still looks and feels like winter her in Portland!)

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Printable Recipe

from LDS Living

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen

½ C butter, softened
1 C sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp baking soda
1-½ C flour
½ C powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy 3-5 minutes. Add in the vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Pour powdered sugar onto a bowl. Form dough in a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

The post Lemon Crinkle Cookies appeared first on Portland Mama.

We love nice, hearty, healthy pancakes like these oatmeal pancakes.

And we love a nice light, delicate pancake like today’s recipe for Swedish Pancakes.

I used my trusty old cast iron skillet to make them but any nice frying pan will do. There is just something about cooking in cast iron that I think makes food taste better!

The trick to getting a nice smooth batter without a lot of lumps is to use your blender – just toss the ingredients in and blend!

We like to serve Swedish Pancakes with fresh, yummy strawberries, real maple syrup and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

They are just as yummy with powdered sugar sprinkled on top and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice!  Swedish Pancakes are more crepe like than pancake like.  I am thinking they would also be good with some Nutella and bananas on top!

We actually enjoy Swedish Pancakes for dinner as much as we do for breakfast!

What’s your favorite pancake topping??

Swedish Pancakes

8 Tbsp butter

1 C flour

1 3/4 C whole milk

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Powdered sugar, lemon juice, maple syrup, strawberries for topping.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a 10 inch nonstick or cast iron skillet.  Combine the flour, milk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.

Heat oven to 200 to keep cooked pancakes warm while you continue cooking additional ones.

Heat skillet over medium heat or until a drop of water sizzles in the pan.

Add 1 tsp butter, coat the pan with melted butter.  Pour a scant 1/3 cup of batter and quickly swirl the pan to evenly coat the bottom.

Cook until the pancake sets, about 1-2 minutes.  Using a spatula, lift the pancake by the edge and turn;  cook until lightly golden on the other side, about 15-30 seconds.  Transfer to a plate and keep warm in oven while making the others.  Repeat with butter and batter – will make about 12 pancakes (depending on the size of your pan)  If the batter seems too thick, thin it with a bit of warm water.

You can serve the pancakes, flat and open or I like to fold them into fourths – they look prettier that way!

The post Swedish Pancakes appeared first on Portland Mama.

Another one of my favorite things to do is to try and recreate at home an amazing dish I have had at a restaurant.

I recently enjoyed lunch with a friend at the Hands on Cafe, a fun little student run cafe at the School of Arts & Crafts on the west side of Portland.  The menu is limited but always amazing using fresh, local ingredients.

The day we were there they served a yummy lemon pound cake with lemon curd and whip cream.  My friend had to stop me from licking the plate!  We had decided to split a piece and did I regret that decision! The cake was delicious but the addition of the lemon curd was truly amazing.

I rushed right home to try and recreate this amazing dessert.  The only problem with the Hands on Cafe is their menu changes on a daily basis and you never know when they might offer that lemon pound cake again.

Now I don’t have to worry because I can make it anytime I want – at home!

Remember – this cake MUST be served with the lemon curd and whipped cream.  Making lemon curd is a little bit of work but so worth it!!

Lemon Pound Cake

2 C sugar

1 C butter, softened

4 eggs

3 C flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 C buttermilk

1 Tbsp freshly grated lemon peel

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Glaze

1 1/4 C powdered sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

1-2 Tbsp. milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine sugar and butter in large bowl.  Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy.  Continue beating, adding eggs one at a time until well mixed.  Reduce speed to low.  Beat, gradually adding flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt alternately with buttermilk and scraping bowl often, until well mixed.  Add lemon peel and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.  Continue beating until well mixed.

Spread batter into a greased and flour 12 cup Bundt pan or a 10 inch angel food cake pan.  Bake for 55-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely.

Stir together powdered sugar, 2 tsp lemon juice and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl.  Drizzle over cooled cake.

Lemon Curd

4 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Fill a medium pot 1/3 full of water and bring to a very low boil.

In a medium heatproof bowl or double broiler whisk together egg yolks, egg, sugar.  Whisk in 1/2 cup lemon juice.

Set the bowl or double boiler over the pot of water making sure water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes.  Strain the curd into a bowl.  Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming on the surface.  Chill curd until ready to use.

Whipped cream sweetened with a little powdered sugar and vanilla to top off the cake!

The post Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Curd appeared first on Portland Mama.

We love lemon anything at our house, be it sweet or savory.

I especially like my lemon when it’s combined with poppy seeds!

If you are looking for a nice, light sweet bread to include in your Easter Brunch/Breakfast menu this weekend you might want to consider a loaf of Lemon Poppy Seed Bread.

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it has a nice light lemon flavor.  Even non lemon lovers may enjoy it. There is lemon peel in the batter and then a nice sugary, lemony coating on top that soaks into the bread as it cools creating a lovely sugary topping to the bread.

The recipe calls to divide the batter among four small mini loaf pans.  It makes it easy to wrap them up and give them as gifts to friends and neighbors.

So it’s up to you, enjoy all four loaves yourself (I promise I won’t tell) or wrap up a loaf or two and share this lemon goodness with someone!

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Land O’Lakes Best of Baking Recipe Collection

2 1/4 C all purpose flour

1 1/4 C sugar

1 C butter, softened

3/4 C milk

3 eggs

2 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 Tbsp freshly grated lemon peel

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Glaze

1/2 C sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

4 tsp lemon juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom only of four (5 1/2 x 3 inch) mini loaf pans.  Set aside.

Combine all bread ingredients in large bowl.  Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until well mixed.

Spread batter into prepared pans.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Stir together all glaze ingredients in small bowl.  Drizzle over warm bread loaves.  Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

enJOY!

The post Lemon Poppy Seed Bread appeared first on Portland Mama.