Thursday, October 10, 2019

LEMON BAR COOKIE CUPS


INGREDIENTS
  •  1 3/4 cups all purpose flour*
  •  1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  •  1/2 teaspoon salt
  •  1/2 teaspoon baking soda*
  •  1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  •  1/2 cup butter, softened
  •  1/2 cup sugar*
  •  1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
  •  1/2 cup canola oil
  •  1 egg
  •  1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  •  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  •  3/4 cup lemon curd (recipe below)
  •  powdered sugar for decorating, optional

LEMON CURD
  •  6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
  •  1 cup sugar
  •  2 large eggs
  •  2 large egg yolks
  •  2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  •  1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

INSTRUCTIONS
  • Prepare lemon curd.
  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Combine the flours, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar in a small bowl and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil, egg and extracts. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and stir until combined.
  • Drop one tablespoon dough (I used a #50 scoop) into each cup of a greased mini muffin tin. Bake for 8 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Fill with a teaspoon of lemon curd. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 4 minutes, or until cookies are firm and lightly browned on the sides. Remove to wire racks to cool.
  • Sprinkle the edges of the cookies with powdered sugar.

Lemon Curd
  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, until well combined. Add the eggs and yolks and beat for 1 min. Add the lemon juice and mix until blended - the mixture will look lumpy.
  2. In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it melts. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil. (Once it was completely melted, mine thickened and reached 170º in just a few minutes, so watch it closely.)
  3. Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

This article adapted from this site

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