Lemon & strawberry dimples

I got back home an started preparing my dinner, when all of a sudden I noticed that over a half of biscuits that I've prepared the day before were gone! Like, really gone! HALF of them! What on earth?! Just a few moments ago the plate was full of them!... Hmmm. I looked around. Nobody else but me in the flat. All alone. And that means one. single. thing. It was me. It's all my doing. I made half of the delicious, crunchy, scrumptious, omg-sooo-goood biscuits gone. Before dinner! That's unthinkable! Ohhh, but they were sooooo gooood..........

Recipe taken from here.

Makes about 45 biscuits. Preparation: 42 min. + 1 h (chilling in the fridge). Baking: 2 x 15 min.

Equipment:

- bowl,

- zest grater,

- hand mixer (or standing mixer),

- 2 biscuit trays,

- 2 sheet baking paper,

- cling film,

- thimble or bottle cap (about 1,5-2 cm in diameter)

Ingredients:

- 170g soft butter,

- 2 cups all-purpose flour,

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar,

- 1/2 cup powdered sugar,

- 1 egg,

- zest of 1 lemon,

- 1 tbsp lemon juice,

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract,

- 1 tbsp baking powder,

- jam (I used strawberry) and/or lemon curd

Method:

1) In the bowl put the butter and sugars, and mix (2 min.) until light and fluffy.

2) Add the egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest and juice, and mix well.

3) With the mixer on low speed, carefully add the baking powder and the flour, mixing until incorporated.

4) Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and put into the fridge for 1 hour.

5) After that, preheat your oven to 350F/180C.

6) Line the trays with baking paper.

7) Form small balls of dough, about 3 cm in diameter, place them on the trays and flatten them a bit. Keep them 2 inches/5 cm apart form one another.

8) With the thimble or bottle cap make a deep indentation in evey biscuit and, using a teaspoon, fill it with jam or lemon curd.

9) Bake for 15 min., until the edges become golden brown (in the meantime prepare the rest of the dimples on the other tray).

10) Let them cool first a few of minutes on the tray and then transfer on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make sure you keep them in an airtight container. Seal them or sth. Put them on the highest shelf in the house. And I mean the highest.

Wait. That won't work at all. Vacuum-cleaner mode on.

Lemon curd

I've always, always, always(!) wanted to make it! :D

According to a certain online encyclopedia ;), in 19th and 20th century England, lemon curd was served with bread, scones, biscuits, and other treats at afternoon teas - as an alternative to jam. Today, apart from the above, it's used as icing for cakes; it's being spread on toasts, waffles, pancakes, and muffins :) You can also add it to yoghurt(!), to achieve a refreshing taste. Sadly, it does not keep as well as jam - you've got to use it within two weeks. But how about a jar of it, anyway? :)

Recipe found at BBC Food.

Serves: two 250-300ml/9 oz jars. Preparation: 35 min. Cooking: 10-13 min.

Equipment:

- 2 jars,

- zest grater,

- juice squeezer,

- heatproof bowl,

- saucepan,

- small bowl,

- whisk or fork

Ingredients:

- 4 lemons,

- 200g caster sugar,

- 100g butter,

- 3 eggs + 1 egg yolk

Method:

Heat oven to 160C/320F.

Wash the jars in very warm , soapy water, dry them with a towel, place on a baking tray and sterilize them in the oven for about 10-15 min.

In the meantime, wash the lemons, grate their peel, and squeeze the juice from them.

Take out the jars and let them cool.

Half fill the saucepan with water andbring it to the boil.

Put the butter, lemon juice and zest in a heatproof bowl, and put it on the saucepan with gently simmering water, stirring from time to time, until the butter melts completely and the mixture becomes smooth.

Lightly whisk the eggs and egg yolk, and stir it into the mixture.

Leave it to cook for about 10-13 min., stirring from time to time.

The curd should have the consistency of custard, and it will continue to thicken in the jars.

Remove the mixture from the saucepan and put it aside to cool, again, stirring from time to time.

Once it cooled, pour it into the jars and seal.

Keep it in the fridge.

Lemon biscuits

Simple, quick, fragnant, crunchy, with a cup of morning coffee, or of afternoon tea, for a picnic, for work, for every-day routines, for celebrations, when you're grinning, when you're blue, for yourself, your children, your guests - any reason will do: grab a lemon biscuit ;)

Recipe taken from KUCHNIA magazine (issue 10/2011).

Serves: 20 biscuits. Preparation: about 15 min. Baking: 20 min.

Equipment:

- zest grater,

- bowl,

- mixer,

- rolling pin,

- biscuit cutter,

- baking paper,

- baking tray

Ingredients:

- 120g butter,

- 120g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) granulated sugar,

- 2 egg yolks,

- zest of 2 lemons,

- 150g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) flour,

- 110g (3/4 cup) potato starch,

- powdered sugar (for sprinkling)

Method:

In a bowl, mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (ca. 2 min.).

Preheat your oven to 160C/320F.

Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and both flours to the mixture.

Mix until incorporated.

Roll the dough out to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick sheet.

Line the tray with baking paper.

Cut out biscuit in variuos shapes and place them on the tray.

Bake for about 20 min., until golden brown.

Let them cool on the tray for a few minutes, and then put them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Caution!: they disappear in a blink of an eye ;)

Spring lemon cupcakes

Obviously, not restricted for spring only ;)

Magnificently soft and wonderfully scented lemon cupcakes covered with sweet and colourful royal icing (I've never expected these two would make such a tasty connection!). These are my absolutely first steps with ready-to-use royal icing, so the decorations are not exceptionally complex ;) Feel free to use your imagination. Enjoy and bon appetit!

Serves: 12 cupcakes. Preparation: about 40 min. Baking: 17-20 min.

Equipment:

- zest grater,

- 2 bowls,

- mixer,

- muffin tin,

- muffin cases (or a bit of butter to grease the tin),

(now, for the decoration part:)

- 1 or 2 sheets of baking paper,

- rolling pin,

- biscuit cutter (round/roundish/flower-shaped) about 8cm (3 in) in diameter,

- small flower-shaped biscuit cutter (optional)

Ingredients:

* cupcakes:

- 113g (1/2 cup) soft unsalted butter,

- 130g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar,

- 3 eggs,

- 1 tsp vanilla extract,

- zest of 1 lemon,

- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice,

- 200g (1 1/2 cup) flour,

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder,

- 1/4 tsp salt,

- 60ml (1/4 cup) milk,

(for the decoration:)

- 100g cream cheese,

- 180-200g ready-to-use icing,

- sugar pearls

Method:

Line the muffin tin with paper cases, or grease it with butter.

Grate the lemon zest.

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

In a (larger) bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (ca. 2-3 min.).

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in the vanilla extract and lemon juice.

In the other (smaller) bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mix and milk to the butter mix, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat only until incorporated.

Fill in the muffin cases.

Bake for about 17-20 min., until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely and, with a knife, spread a thin layer of creem cheese on top of them.

Prepare the decoration:

Mold the icing in your hands, until it gains the consistency of plasticine.

Put the icing between two sheets of baking paper (or just put in on one side of a sheet and cover it, folding the paper in half), and roll it out to about 1,5 mm thick sheet.

Cut out circles or flowers (with the larger cutter), carefully peel them off and place on the tops of cupcakes..

Cut out flowers (with the small cutter), and glue them with cream cheese to the cupcake icing.

Glue also the sugar pearls at the centre of the flowers.