Southern Lemon Squares

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 eggs
2 cups of sugar
2 lemons

Preheat Conventional Oven to 350 degrees, Convection Oven 325 degrees

Mix butter, flour, and powdered sugar well. Press evenly in bottom of 9" by 9"square pan and bake for 20 minutes.



Beat four eggs and 2 cups of sugar well or until light yellow in color. Then add juice of 2 lemons through a strainer and mix well.

Pour over baked crust and bake for another 20 minutes or until set.

Banana Muffins w/ Crumb Topping



Marika's Banana Muffins w/ Crumb Topping

Ingredients


Wet
7 ripe bananas (very yellow with lots of dark speckles)
2 sticks melted butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla






Dry
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Getting started...Preheat oven to 350 degrees for a convection oven or 375 for a conventional oven.   Prepare a 12 cup jumbo muffin tin by lining with paper baking cups or by greasing them very well with vegetable spray.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together and set aside. 

In another large bowl, using a mixer with a paddle attachment, a hand mixer, or a very strong hand, mash bananas until they are a creamy consistency.  Then add sugar and blend well.  Slowly pour melted butter into banana/sugar mix while mixer is running on slow or while stirring.  Add vanilla and eggs one at a time blending well after each addition.

Add flour mix to wet mix in two parts, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula in between.  Mix until blended completely, but be careful to not over mix!  Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top leaving just a 1/2 inch of space.  Sprinkle crumb topping on each, lightly pressing the crumb topping into the batter with your hands.

Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until muffins look set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Crumb Topping (Optional)
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 cup of light brown sugar
1 stick melted butter

Mix flour and light brown sugar with a fork until blended thoroughly and no large chunks of sugar remain.  Add melted butter and form crumbs with a spoon or your hands.

Baking Tip:  Allowing eggs to sit out until room temperature allows them to blend better with the other ingredients making for a better product!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp white vinegar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 oz red food dye
1 tsp vanilla






Preheat oven to 375 degrees for a conventional oven at high altitude. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for a convection oven or if you are at sea level. Beat eggs in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or regular bowl. Slowly add oil and then sugar. Once blended, add vinegar, buttermilk, and red food coloring. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt and coca powder.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in three parts, beating just until blended and scraping sides of bowl with a spatula in between. Once batter is ready, let it rest for 15-20 minutes before baking. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into cake comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, you can make the icing.....

Frosting Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar

1lb cream cheese, room temp

1lb butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
In a mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Then add vanilla and one cup of powdered sugar, beat until blended. Then add 1/3 cup of milk and another cup of powdered sugar. Keep adding 1 cup of sugar at a time, blending in well after each addition until desired consistency is reached. Up to 6 cups of powdered sugar may be used. Consistency is best when icing does not drop from the paddle attachment when lifted from the bowl or the beaters of the handheld mixer.

Strawberry Shortbread Bars - A One Bowl Wonder!

This recipe was created after working in NYC.  Frequenting a cafe that served a similar type of dessert, I always thought to myself, "I need to figure out how to make this".  After testing various amounts of flour, butter & sugar...voila!  Our #1 selling treat is created!  Enjoy! - Christine

Strawberry Preserves (or your favorite preserve)

Preheat oven to Cooking Temperature: 350° Conventional Oven 325° Convection Oven

Crust:
2 sticks butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of cinnamon

Blend dry ingredients, then add melted butter.  Spread evenly on bottom of ungreased 9" x 13" pan.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until light golden brown at 325° degrees.

Using the Original bowl:

Crumb:
1 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
1 stick butter, melted



Blend flour & sugar together, then add melted butter.  Mix with a fork to make crumbs.

Spread baked crust with an even layer of strawberry preserves (Kirkland Organic).  Sprinkle crumbs along top evenly.  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until crumbs are just slightly golden.