Lemon Squares

I recently made dinner for my grandparents and figured lemon squares were a classic favorite so I attempted a recipe I found on pinterest and they turned out fantastic!

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Crust: 

2 cups flour 

1 cup butter  (melted)

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

Filling: 

4 well beaten eggs 

1 tsp. baking powder 

1 3/4 cups sugar

6 tbsp. lemon juice (preferably fresh squeezed)

lemon zest (half a lemon) (more for super lemony flavor)

4 tbsp. flour

-Mix crust ingredients together in medium mixing bowl

-Pat mixture into 9x13 inch pan 

-Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees

-While crust is baking, combine eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in medium mixing bowl. 

-Gradually add the flour and baking powder to mixture and mix until frothy. 

-Immediately after taking crust out of the oven, pour in filling. 

-Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees 

-Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool 

Skinny Snickerdoodles

I took this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie after I perused the internet for (semi) healthy cookie recipes. With low butter and flour in this recipe, the unhealthy aspects of traditional baking are minimized, while also creating a tasty treat! The recipe makes approximately 10 cookies so if you are baking them for more than just yourself I would recommend doubling the recipe. Click on "chocolate covered Katie" above for the original recipe! (I changed it slightly, adding a bit more flour because the dough ended up a little too sticky for me, upping the oven temperature, just things based on personal experience with the recipe!)

Skinny Snickerdoodles

• 1 cup ww pastry flour (or white flour) (See below for notes on a gluten-free option)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt (just under level)
• 1/4 tsp cream of tarter (optional)
• 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar (+ 3 teaspoons for coating)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons milk of choice
• 1/4 cup “butter” of choice, such as Earth Balance (I haven’t tried a lower-fat butter sub in this recipe, so I don’t know if that would work.)
• Cinnamon (for cinnamon sugar coating)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. In a separate bowl, melt the butter of choice, then stir in vanilla and milk. Pour dry into wet and mix again. Put dough into refrigerator (covered) for about fifteen minutes, then roll dough into balls about 3/4" in diameter. Put 3 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl and mix well. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing them from cookie sheet.

Tuesday Cake

This recipe was given to me by my friend Brigid and dubbed "Tuesday Cake" as she always makes the cake on Tuesdays and eats it the rest of the week. A cross between a pound cake and a traditional lemon cake Tuesday cake is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or an after dinner treat. Shown in the photo below I used powdered sugar as the topping but I also think it would be delicious with a light frosting type of glaze, I will try that next time!

butter for pan

1 cup full-fat ricotta
1/3 cup unflavored apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350, line the bottom of a nine inch springform pan with parchment paper, coat the paper and the sides of the ban with butter or oil

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta, apple sauce, sugar, and zest. Add the eggs one by one and whisk well. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the wet.

Pour batter into cake pan and bake for half an hour, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for ten minutes and then loosen the cake and flip onto a cooling rack. Place cake on designated plate after sufficiently cooled and sprinkle or spread powdered sugar across the top. 

4th of July Rice Krispie Treats!

Want to wow everyone on the fourth of July with a creative dessert? Look no further than red, white, and blue rice krispie treats. Easy to make and easy to impress.

Recipe:

Ingredients: 

1 bag of marshmallows 

4 1/2 tbsp. butter

6 cups rice krispies 

Red and Blue food dye 

9x9 baking pan or serving pan

Directions: 

-Sort marshmallows into 3 even piles 

-In a pot on the stove on low heat add 1 1/2 tbsp. of butter and let melt. 

-Add one pile of marshmallows and stir into the butter until smooth and without lumps. 

-Add in as much red food dye as you need to reach your desired red color for this layer.

-Mix thoroughly until color is consistent. 

-Add two cups of rice krispies and mix until they are fully coated and dyed by the mixture. 

-Add mixture to the baking pan and flatten until even. 

Repeat the above steps in separate pots for the white and blue layers. For the white layer do not use food dye. Add both layers and flatten onto the red layer in the baking pan. Cool in the refrigerator for 30 mins, cut into squares and then they are ready to serve! 

Margaret's Guacamole

This guac is great with tacos, chips, or pretty much anything. Easy to make and super tasty.

Recipe

Ingredients:
3 avocados
1/2 tomato
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 limes (juice)
salt to taste
1 teaspoon white pepper
ground pepper to taste

Directions:
-Gut avocado and put insides in bowl. Mash until smooth.
-Chop tomato finely, taking out the seeds and inner liquid in the process.
-Add tomato to the avocado.
-Press Garlic and add to avocado and tomato mixture.
-Add white pepper, salt, and ground pepper.
-Mix together with a wooden spoon until combined.
-Serve with chips, on tacos or however you want!

Traditional Scottish Scones

These scones are perfect: easy to make, and delicious.

Recipe: 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ingredients:
2-3 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
salt to taste
1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup milk

Directions:
-sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salta
-cut in butter until mixture looks grainy, like corse crumbs
-pour milk in a well in the center and mix until a soft elastic dough is formed
-knead dough into circular shape about 3/4 inches thick
-cut dough into desired shapes (above I did 6 triangles)
-bake 10 minutes or until risen & golden

An Introduction...

I am a 19 year old college student attending the University of Rochester in New York. Next year, I will finally have a kitchen in my college dorm. In the spirit of good food for sophomore year this summer I am trying out a multitude of recipes that I can make during the year. I am going to try and post a new recipe I've tried every week with tips and a rating and any other information I think is useful. I may not have the biggest palette of everyone out there, but I'm in search of simple, quick, and tasty recipes that anyone can make.

Happy cooking,

Margaret