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the annual abuse of the pancreas
Giftmas (and the following January) is the only time of year when I allow myself to just eat cookies at will. I kind of hate myself for it, but they're tasty. The things I like best about this time of year are giving presents, strings of lights, and cookies.

If you or your family celebrates Giftmas, what kinds of cookies do you make? What cookies do you remember from childhood? Post recipes too!

In my life, we made:

-snickerdoodles
-shaped sugar cookies
-raspberry crumble bars
-thumbprint cookies
-chocolate chip congo bars
-seven-layer bars
-lemon bars

Both dogoncouch's mom and m00n's mom make mean Russian Teacakes, and I want to try those this year if I get around to it.

I'd post recipes, but they all came from my mother's late 70s Betty Crocker book and various things cut from magazines. Seven-layer bars have the wonderful simplicity of simply opening packages and dumping them, in order, into the baking pan.

However, I really like these lemon bars:

Super Lemony Lemon Squares
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004


12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks), plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt plus a pinch
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons limoncello, or other lemon-flavored liqueur, optional

Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter and line with 1 sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Butter the top of this sheet of paper with 1 teaspoon of the remaining butter and then lay a second sheet of parchment or waxed paper crosswise over the first sheet. The parchment should be cut large enough so that the sides are even with the top of the baking dish; this extra paper will function as handles to help you remove the lemon squares from the pan later. Set pan aside.

In a large bowl combine 1 3/4 cups of the flour, 2/3 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the cornstarch, and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and mix thoroughly. Cut the remaining 12 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using your hands, 2 forks, or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer the butter-flour mixture to the prepared baking dish and press into an even 1/4-inch layer along the bottom and partly up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the crust is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the crust until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

While the crust is baking, assemble the filling by combining the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon zest in a medium bowl and whisking until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, milk, limoncello, and remaining pinch of salt and mix well.

When the crust is golden brown, remove it from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Stir the lemon mixture again, then pour onto the warm crust. Bake until the filling is set, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Grasp the waxed paper that lines the 2 longest sides of the baking dish and remove the bars from the pan by pulling up gently. The entire dessert should easily dislodge and come away from the pan. Transfer to a cutting board and, using a clean knife, cut into squares, wiping knife after each cut. Place a small amount of confectioners' sugar into a small sieve, and sprinkle the bars with the sugar. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, wrapped with plastic wrap, up to 2 days, until ready to serve.


Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: about 24 (1 1/2 to 2-inch) squares
User Rating: 5 Stars

Episode#: EE2E04
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved



It's snowing pretty hard out there. It's pretty, and I'm glad I have no car to dig out.