Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

With the arrival of Spring, I'm on a citrus kick.  I have three recipes to share with you, and two of them uses Meyer Lemons.  My husband planted a Meyer Lemon tree for me, a few years ago.  I love the beautiful orange color of Meyer lemons and am always looking for ways to enjoy the flavor of these lovely citrus fruits.

Meyer lemons are thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin or a common orange; they are a bit sweeter than the more traditional Eureka lemons.They're also pricey to buy! Yikes! Still, they're worth it.

If you've never made scones before, I can assure you that they are very easy to do.  They are virtually fool-proof-- but there are a few important tips that I will share with you.  I was inspired to make these scones when I saw them posted on "Our Best Bites".  My son loves Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, and he used to buy some "pre-fab" scones that are sold in a plastic bucket.  I knew I could make a better version.  I printed the recipe and made a batch in no time at all.

The recipe begins with flour, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest...and (I would find out too late), some sugar.   I rarely do this, but I forgot the sugar!  More on that later....

Tip #1:  Grate frozen butter.  This is much easier than cutting cold butter, and using a pastry blender. You can use a box grater, a micro-plane (for cutting coarser products...yes, I have an assortment of micro-planes) or your food processor with the grating disc.

 

Why frozen butter?  Tip #2: Scones puff up better, and have a very tender texture when there are cold chunks of butter (just like making pie crusts).  The butter creates more steam, they bake.  Add the grated butter to the dry ingredients, and use your fingers to toss and combine-- until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Tip #3: Don't overwork the dough!  Don't squeeze the dough... just toss gently.

For the wet ingredients, whisk one egg with the buttermilk.   I wanted to make sure that the lemon flavor would be the star of the show.  I keep pure lemon oil in my refrigerator, for times like this. I suppose lemon extract could work, but I'm a purist.  A little goes a long way, I added 1/4 teaspoon.

Pour the wet ingredients over the crumbly mixture and gently combine with two forks, or I like to use a flat whisk.  You don't want the dough to be "wet", but more "shaggy".  That means, mix until it's wet enough that any loose flour has been incorporated.  Then, stop!

Lightly flour a surface and dump the dough.  Patiently pat the dough... pat, pat, pat.   NOTE: This is the first batch that I made, and I had to add a bit more buttermilk to it.  It did come together better.

Tip #4:  We are not making bread!  Don't be tempted to knead the dough!  Pat, pat, pat.  Trust me, we don't want to work the gluten in the flour, or we'll have hockey pucks for scones.

When I posted recipes for  my Strawberry Scones or Harvest Pumpkin Scones, I show how I shaped the dough into a circle, and then cut them into wedges. 

This time, I wanted to make mini scones, so I shaped the dough so that I cut squares and then cut each one into a triangle.

A bench scraper makes this easier to do.

Spread each scone, evenly, on either parchment paper or a Silpat Mat.

Tip #5:  Freeze the scones. Yes, freeze them for at least 10 minutes.  Tips #1 & 2 explains why this is a good thing.

I set two timers-- one for 15 minutes, and another for 12 minutes. I wanted to be sure that I didn't burn the scones.  At 12 minutes, they weren't golden brown, yet. So 15 minutes did the trick. Look!  Puffy!

While the scones were baking, I made a glaze of powdered sugar, the juice of the zested lemon and 2 Tablespoons of half & half cream.  NOTE: In my first batch, I made a glaze with melted butter, instead of half & half, but found that the butter muted the lemon flavor.  I prefer a glaze that I can easily drizzle over a scone, so add the half & half (or you can use heavy cream or whole milk) a little at a time.    Here's the COOLEST TIP YET:  Balance a cooking rack over your kitchen sink (carefully, obviously)...

That way, when you spoon a glaze, the mess drips right into your sink-- no tray to wash, no parchment paper to waste.

Easy cleanup!

This is the first batch of glaze, made with melted butter instead of half & half.  It's thick, but as I've said, I felt it muted the lemon flavor. It was good, but...

I made a thinner glaze and spooned it over warm scones.  NOTE: I forgot to sift the powdered sugar, for this batch, hence there are clumps of sugar.  Simply esthetic flaws, but the flavor was great.

Once the scones had cooled, I added one more layer of glaze. Perfect!

TASTING NOTES FOR BATCH #1:  As I first mentioned, I forgot to add sugar to my first batch.  However, the thicker glaze saved the day.  I was disappointed, and my son reluctantly said that these were "okay".  Craig, on the other hand, ate them all and said he liked that they weren't sweet.

I couldn't stand it-- I had to make another batch, and tweak the recipe a bit.  I decided to switch sour cream for buttermilk, because I felt that my first batch of scones had a texture that I wasn't crazy about.  This time, I added the sugar, and made the glaze without butter.

TASTING NOTES FOR BATCH #2:   Bingo!  Redemption tastes sweet.  In this case, the sugar made these scones just sweet enough. I loved that the lemon flavor really took center stage.  The scones were tender and I am happy with this version.  That is not to say that Our Best Bites recipes isn't good. It is-- sometimes, a tweak or two is a good thing. In this case, I can say that this recipe is adapted from "Our Best Bites".  Thanks for the inspiration!

By the way, I froze half of my second batch of scones.  The following Saturday, I took them from the freezer into a 400F oven, and they turned out perfectly!  This is a great tip for planning ahead-- or, in my case, not being tempted to eat all of them at once.

A recipe card is at the end of this post.  If you can't "view" the card on this page, please click here.

 

 

                       

Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake

Many of you have heard the saying that "Lemon is my Chocolate".  I like chocolate, but lemon is what makes my taste buds very happy.  When I think of lemon, I think of a clean and refreshing taste.  Plus, I think lemon is one of those universal fruits that makes perks up the flavor in otherwise bland dishes, such as creamed soups and steamed vegetables.  My fondness for Greek food is because lemon is found in so many Greek recipes.  Our garden has both a Eureka and a Meyer lemon tree.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Meyer lemons, they are a hybrid that traces back to Mandarins.  The skins are much smoother than the more common Eureka lemon, and the flavor does have a sweet note of mandarin. 

The first recipe I made with this year's harvest of these lemons was a Meyer Limoncello Sorbet. (My husband has been hinting for more of this refreshing treat.)  I decided to make one of my favorite lemon dessert recipes, from Ina Garten; it's a popular in blogosphere, as I've seen it on several blogs.  I found the recipe in  my Ina Garten cookbook library, "Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again." The first time I posted this recipe, I named it "Guilt-Less Lemon Yogurt Cake".  This time, I used Meyer lemons, instead of Eureka lemons-- but either lemon works very well.  You can see step-by-step photos on how to make this right here.

This time, I used a bundt pan and I made two changes-- I added pure lemon extract into the batter, for more flavor. I also used low-fat vanilla yogurt since I didn't have Greek yogurt on hand.   The cake took about 45 minutes to be ready, but I always say it's safer to check your cakes before the suggested time (Ina says 50 minutes). 

Thanks to Baker's Joy, I can easily spray my bundt pan and the cake slips right out! Allow the cake to cook for about 5 minutes, on a cooling rack.

While the cake is almost finished baking, I made a simple syrup of lemon juice and sugar. Pour it on the warm cake, and allow it to absorb.

Once the cake has cooled, I made a quick glaze of powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice.

... and I spooned the glaze over the top, and allowed it to pour down the sides. Nice!

To me, bundt cakes are so effortless to make.  There's no fussing with making icing (I never buy canned icing... bleccccccccccch!)  There's no need to slice the cake and frost them.

Once sliced, they also transport well in lunch boxes.  They also taste great with a fresh cup of coffee or tea.
 My family loves this cake.  It's fool-proof and it disappears really fast.

You can view a printable recipe at the bottom of this page.  Make this cake, I tell you! It'll quickly become a keepsake, if you love lemon.

Baked with love,

Christmas Easy German Stollen

Whatever happened to my childhood Christmas time-line? As a kid, it seemed as though that special day of our family gathering to celebrate on Christmas Eve would never come.  Being of German descent, my mother would make a traditional German dinner and then the kids would disappear into our bedrooms. We couldn't come out until we heard Mutti ringing a bell to signal that the "Krist Kindlein" (Christ Child) had come. Our parents weren't particularly well-to-do, but my memories were that gifts were abundant.


Now that my parents are gone, I try to carry on the traditions to my own son and niece.  German Stollen is very much a part of my Christmas childhood memories.  I've never made my own Stollen, and it's been my Recipe Bucket List for several Christmas's past. In the meantime,  I have resorted to buying German Stollen's from Trader Joe's. They're not bad, as long as you eat a slice with a cup of coffee.  A few days ago, I spotted King Arthur Flour's recipe for their Easiest Stollen. Traditional Stollen is made with yeast; this version uses ricotta cheese and baking powder. I was intrigued, and grateful, to find a short-cut since December 23rd was the first-- and only-- day that I had to bake something to give as gifts.

There are two ingredients that King Arthur recommends to make this recipe-- Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor and Lemon Oil.  I fell in-love with the Buttery Sweet Dough flavor, about a year ago.  It smells like yellow cake batter, and it gives a special flavor to any of your baked goods.  Trust me, this is one of my favorite products that I order from King Arthur Flour's website (yes, I pay for it... I'm not given this for free).  The lemon oil is a great product, because it's a natural product, made from the lemon rind (unlike lemon extract).  Is it required that you use these?  No.  The lemon oil is a shortcut from having to zest lemons, and I think it packs a great punch of lemon citrus.  Of course, you need pure vanilla.

As you can see, I shop, often, online at KAF-- I bought this European candied mix peel, last Christmas. It was destined to become Stollen.  It never happened, so I used half to make an Easter Ricotta Pie.  The other half was exactly enough to make this stollen recipe-- and it was still good to go!  You can use any kind of dried fruit-- cranberries, raisins... whatever you like.  If I didn't have this fruit, I would have chosen golden raisins because they are very traditional.

Almonds are the traditional nut to add to Stollen. I didn't have slivered almonds, but I always keep a bag of sliced almonds on hand.  These are already toasted, which really brings out the flavor.

For the dry ingredients, we need flour, salt, baking powder and salt...

For the wet ingredients, we need ricotta cheese, vanilla. Add lemon zest or use the optional lemon oil and Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor...

...give it whisk and smell.  Wow!  The aroma smells so good with the vanilla, lemon and emulsion!

The dry ingredients are whisked together, and then the nuts and dried fruit is added...

Now, we need COLD butter.  

 My shortcut is to grate cold (or frozen) butter. It works great!

Time to make dough!

With a stand-mixer, it takes a minute or two (or, you can do this by hand).

Perfect!

Now, we add the wet ingredients...

...and mix until the flour is just moistened. Don't overwork it!

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it two or three times, until it holds together.

Cut the dough in half. In my case, I cut the dough into thirds. I was going to give two away, and keep one for "us".

My own "twist" to this recipe was to add a very traditional ingredient-- Marzipan.  I love it.  Skip it if you don't like it...

I decided to make one Stollen without marzipan and two with (guess which one is for "us"?) Now fold the Stollen in half, leaving the top half a little short of the edge. (I have read that the shape is to symbolize the Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes.)

These are baked at 325F for about 40 minutes. Because these are smaller (at 3 Stollen), I set my timer for 25 minutes. They are perfect and smell really great!  To me, they seemed more like a large cookie..but I carried on with the next few steps:

Remove the stollen from the oven, and transfer to a rack. Brush them each with 2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle heavily with confectioners’ sugar.

Allow the stollen to cool, then brush with butter again, and sprinkle with sugar again. I know this appears to be a bit excessive, but trust me-- it's how the German's roll (said with affection).

Now, for the moment of truth...

VERDICT: This recipe gets the O-M-G rating from me!  The stollen reminds me of Biscotti, without the crunch of a second bake.  The outside texture is a little crunchy, which isn't how must authentic stollens are.  However, the inside is moist and has just the right amount of density to it. The flavor... (rolls eyes).  I think the Buttery Sweet Dough flavor is something you have to experience.  The flavor tastes like vanilla, lemon and butter. The fruit is just the right amount.  The powdered sugar coating give just the right amount of balance.  I'm beginning to have my first pangs of greed selfishness.

One Stollen was devoured by my husband and son.  They loved it!  I set one Stollen on the table, unsliced.  Is this a subliminal message "look, but don't eat"?

The next day, I unwrapped the third Stollen, and gave it  a fresh dusting of powdered sugar.

VERDICT #2: I think these taste better after a day...or two. The spirit of giving is alive and well!  OK, so I didn't give these away. I shared them. This is a new Christmas tradition for me to make, only I'll quadruple how much I make.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like this recipe better than the yeast type of bread. Seriously. I don't think I'll wait an entire year to make this again.  A slice, or two, of this with a hot cup of coffee brings back memories of watching my Mutti dunk hers with glee.  

The Stollen recipe is posted below:

Merry Christmas 2010!