Sour Lemon Squares

Sour Lemon Squares
Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 113.

These were a hit! They reminded me of chess pie. Michael thought they tasted like cheesecake. The slightly tart lemon filling is soft and the combination of it and the buttery crust base is wonderful. This only makes 16 squares and they will disappear quickly! If you are having company, you might consider making an extra batch.

Base

3 oz. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

Adjust rack to center of the oven and preheat to 350. Line a 8x8x2 square pan with foil.

Butter the foil by placing a tablepoon of butter on the foil, place it in the oven until it melts, and then brush on the bottom and sides of the foil.

In a food processor, place the dry ingredients in the bowl with a steel blade.

Cut the butter into pieces, add to the dry ingredients and process until thoroughly mixed. (This can also be done in a mixer).

If the mixture doesn't hold together (and it didn't for me), knead it into a ball. Place dots of it in the foil-lined pan and then press it together with your fingertips.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until it is lightly colored.

Prepare the lemon filling while the crust is baking.

Lemon Layer

Finely grated rind of 2 medium-sized lemons
3 TBS. fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS. sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Confectioners sugar (for baking)

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon rind and lemon juice.

Beat the eggs well.

Add the sugar, flour and baking powder. Beat on high speed for 1 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice and rind mixture.

Pour the batter over the warm crust.

Bake in 350 oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is lightly colored and dry to the touch. It will be spongy and custardy, not dry or stiff.

Cool completely in the pan then freeze for at least 1/2 hour.

Remove the pan from the freezer and invert to remove. Carefully peel off the foil (it should come off quite easily).

Use a large, sharp knife to cut into 16 squares. (Clean the knife between each cut). Dust confectioner's sugar over the top. They can be served cold or at room temperature. We liked them best cold!

Chocolate Pound Cake

Chocolate Pound Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 163.

The cake is dense and not too sweet. The chocolate icing (made from 2 ingredients - semi-sweet chocolate and a ridiculous amount of butter) is and makes a nice contrast to the cake. The icing recipe made a ton of icing which ended up completely covering the cake. I don't mind that at all but if you just wanted a drizzle over the cake, I suppose you could half the icing recipe.

Cake

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 TBS. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1 TBS. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 TBS. plus 1 tsp. instant coffee
3 cups sugar
3 eggs 
1 cup strained, powdered, unsweetened cocoa (preferably Dutch process)
1 3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Adjust rack one-third up. Butter (or spray) a 10x4-inch tube pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and coat lightly with fine bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter to soften.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts.

Add the instant coffee.

Gradually add the sugar.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until each is incorporated.

On lowest speed, gradually add the cocoa.

Alternately add the milk and dry ingredients in three additions (begin with the milk since the batter is heavy at this stage).

(Adding the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, finishing with the flour mixture) Beat until smooth.

Pour batter into cake pan. Turn the pan briskly a few times to level the top.

Bake from 70-90 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and the cake comes away from the sides of the pan.

After removing from oven, cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a baking rack and let cool completely.

Icing

9 oz. sweet or semisweet chocolate
4 1/2 oz. (1 stick plus 1 TBS.) butter, at room tempeature

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water.

When the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking until it melts in the chocolate.

Place strips of wax paper or parchment around the outer edges of the cake and spoon the icing over the cake. Allow the cake to sit while the icing hardens before serving.

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 196.

These cookies are a breeze to make and they taste just like the ones you remember your mother or grandmother making. The dough is very stiff and it is very easy to form the balls. The best trick I learned for making cookies is to use a trigger-release scoop. I don't, however, have a teaspoon sized one. The one I own makes huge cookies. The dough for these is not sticky though and I just used a regular melon baller and it worked fine. This recipe makes about 48 cookies.

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
3 oz. (3/4 cup) salted peanuts, chopped fine (not ground)

Preheat oven to 375. Use the upper rack for baking and bake one sheet at a time.

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat the butter to soften it.

Add the vanilla extract.

Add both the white and...

brown sugar and beat for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the egg.

Adjust the mixer speed to low and add half of the flour mixture.

Add the peanut butter.

Add the remaining flour mixture.

Add the peanuts and beat until mixed.

Remove from the mixture and form into a ball. Knead only until everything is blended. The mixture will be stiff.

Use a rounded teaspoon to form the dough into balls 1" in diameter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Press the tops slightly with a fork to form an impression. Turn the fork and press again to form a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 9-12 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned. Watch carefully - they burn easily.

Cool on racks. The cookies will harden and crisp as they cool.

Pecan-Peanut Butter-Banana Bread

Pecan-Peanut Butter-Banana Bread
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 267.

More banana bread! This time with peanut butter, which I've not tried before. This is an old recipe and said to be used by George Washington's family. It was also the specialty of Corrie Hill, a famous Montgomery, Alabama hostess who was a relative of George Washington.

It seems that every recipe by Maida calls for a different sized pan. I don't know how much room she had for storage but it had to have been large! This recipe says to use 2 small loaf pans with a 4-5 cup capacity. I used a slightly larger pan and, as a result, I think the bread turned out rather thin. It was still good, however, very dense, nutty and wheaty. I could not detect the peanut butter flavor though which was disappointing.

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup sifted whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 oz. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
2 to 3 fully ripened bananas (to make 1 cup, mashed)
6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) pecan halves or large pieces, toasted 

To toast the pecans: Place them in a shallow pan in the middle of a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are hot but not until they become darker in color. (I find that when I smell them, they are done).

Mash the bananas with a large fork so that they remain chunky (don't use a food processor or blender).

Preheat oven to 375. Butter 2 small loaf pans, each with a 4-5 cup capacity (8"x4"x2"). Dust them with fine bread crumbs or toasted wheat germ. Set aside.

Sift the flours, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat the butter until softened.

Add the peanut butter.

Beat until blended.

Add the brown sugar.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until mixed.

Add the bananas, beating well.

On low speed, add the dry ingredients and beat only until incorporated.

Stir in the pecans.

Pour the batter, divided equally, into the two pans.

Smooth the top of the batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 25-40 minutes. When a tester, inserted in the midde, comes out clean, it is done.

The bread will not rise too much at all. My loafs look a bit thinner because of the larger pans I used.