Cherry Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Cherry Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies



Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 20-25 cookies

These are tender, buttery shortbread cookies replete with cherries, tangy lemon, and rosemary. Enjoy them hot from the oven and freeze some for baking in a pinch.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves, chopped finely
3/8 cup powdered sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (about the zest from one lemon)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
about 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and dried rosemary. In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter, lemon zest, and powdered sugar 2-3 minutes or until pale, light, and fluffy. Mix in the lemon juice. Beat in the flour mixture and then stir in the cherries by hand to be sure everything is combined.

Use a sheet of wax paper to roll the dough into a 1 1/2-inch wide log (if you’re having trouble, chill the dough for a bit in the fridge before rolling it). Wrap plastic wrap or foil around the logs and freeze them until firm (you can also double-wrap them and leave them frozen for up to 3 weeks at this point. When you’re ready to bake, just use a serrated knife to cut the cookies and bake as usual. It make take a few minutes longer since they’ll be baking from frozen, but just keep an eye on them.) While they cookies are freezing, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the rack in the center. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Use a serrated knife to slice each log into 1/4-inch slices and place these about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 8-10 minutes, rotating once halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes on the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. In the meantime, melt white chocolate according to package instructions (usually half-power, in small increments, stirring often) and spoon it into a plastic zip-top bag with a tiny corner cut off. Set cookies on wax or parchment paper and squeeze the melted chocolate from the zip-top bag over them in a zig zag design. Let them dry. Store them in an airtight container separated by leaves of parchment or wax paper for up to a week.

Refreshing, Tart Lemon Granita with Fresh Berries

Refreshing, Tart Lemon Granita with Fresh Berries



Recipe by: Slightly adapted from Gourmet, via Epicurious
Yield: 2-4 servings

This amazing lemon granita is lip-puckering good! It’s like a sweet/tart lemonade frozen into a refreshing summer ice. If you’re a lemon fan, you’ll love it with a drizzle of limoncello and a handful of fresh, sweet berries.

Ingredients:
2 to 4 large lemons
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
a few teaspoons limoncello (optional)
fresh berries (optional)

Directions:
With a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, remove zest in long pieces from 1 lemon. Scrape off the white rind from the zest if you got much — this could make your granita bitter. Finely grate off the zest of another lemon. Squeeze 1/2 cup juice from lemons (this took 4 lemons worth of squeezin’ for me, but you only use the zest from the first 2).

In a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine water and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in zest (strips and grated) and transfer this mixture to a bowl to cool. Chill syrup, covered, overnight.

About 20 minutes before you’d like to serve your granita, discard large strips of zest (the grated zest stays in for flavor and texture) and stir the 1/2 cup lemon juice into the syrup. Freeze lemon mixture in an ice-cream maker until it’s “spoonable but not crumbly.” This usually took about 12-15 minutes for me. (If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can freeze the mixture, stirring every 30 minutes, for 3-4 hours.) Serve immediately, garnished with a teaspoon of limoncello and fresh berries if desired.

Red, White, and Blue Desserts!

Happy 4th of July! Here are some red, white, and blue desserts for your celebration. And don’t forget the sparkling raspberry lemonade and soft pretzel dogs, while you’re at it.

RED

1. Red Velvet Cheesecake
2. Itsy Bitsy Berry Cream Pies
3. (Freshly Picked!) Strawberry Cream Pie
4. Gooey Butter Strawberry Shortcake (add blueberries too, if you’d like!)



WHITE

1. The Ultimate Moist, Fluffy, Ridiculous Coconut Cake
2. Limoncello-Spiked Shortbread Icebox Cake with Fresh Raspberries (add blueberries too, if you’d like!)
3. Tres Leches Coconut Cake Trifle
4. White Sheet Cake with Fluffy Whipped Icing



BLUE

1. Itsy Bitsy Berry Cream Pies
2. Fresh Blueberry Pie
3. Blueberry Cream Cheese Almond Braid
4. Blueberry Walnut Bread


Quick Reminder: Google Reader is Shutting Down

Friends, this is just a quick reminder that Google Reader is shutting down tomorrow. If you currently follow blogs on Google Reader, you can check out other readers like feedly and bloglovin’, both of which allow you to import all your Google Reader subscriptions with just a click or two. That way you won’t miss out on any dessert!

P.S. Byrd says to tell you that if you snooze, you lose. And she eats your share of the cupcakes.

Limoncello-Spiked Shortbread Icebox Cake with Fresh Raspberries

Limoncello-Spiked Shortbread Icebox Cake with Fresh Raspberries



Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 10 servings

Icebox cake traditionally layers oreo cookies and whipped cream. Upon chilling, the dessert turns into a velvety, indulgent masterpiece — with no cooking and no fuss. This version is updated for spring, using buttery Walker’s shortbread cookies, whipped cream spiked with limoncello, and a pile of fresh berries.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons limocello
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 cups cream
4 (150 g) packages Walkers Shortbread rounds
fresh berries of your choice
lemon zest for topping (optional)

Directions:
In a large, chilled bowl, combine limoncello, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and cream. Beat with chilled beaters to stiff peaks. Place a layer of shortbread rounds in a large trifle dish. Top with about an inch of cream. Continue layering, ending with cream. Cover and chill this overnight in fridge. Before serving, sprinkle lemon zest over the top and pile high with berries of your choice.

1 60 61 62 63 64 127