Did you know that the lemon tree is originally native to Asia? They also first grew in India, Northern Burma and China. Around 700 AD the lemon tree was introduced to Persia then Iraq and Egypt. The lemon was distributed throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 AD and 1150 AD.
Lemons entered Europe (near Italy) around the time of Ancient Rome, but they were not widely cultivated. Christopher Columbus brought lemons (seeds) to American (thank you Mr. Columbus). Lemons at that time were mainly used for ornamental and medicine. In the 1700's and late 1800's lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California where they were used in cooking and flavoring.
Jerry and I always grew dwarf lemon trees at our homes in CA and we currently have a couple of dwarf trees here in Texas. I enjoy creating recipes with lemons and you can't beat a ice cold glass of lemonade on a HOT summer Texas day.
Jerry and I used to go to The Lazy H Ranch in Pauma Valley, just North of San Diego on Hwy. 76. Built in the 1920's it's a fun and funky little motel/resort with lots of lemon trees. They have a bar with a very large tree growing in the middle of it and the restaurant is fantastic. My favorite dish there was large butterflied shrimp, coated with coconut and lightly fried served with an outstanding avocado dipping sauce. Outside on the grounds are numerous lemon trees with lemons that are the size of footballs and no I'm not exaggerating. Jerry was friends with the owners and I took home a lemon one visit and juiced and zested it. I had juice to use in so many dishes/desserts I couldn't believe it.
Now that we've had a little history on one of my favorite fruits, let's get to the recipes. All of these will be of the sweet variety.
Lemon Curd (originally served in England on scones) Dorothy my mom's recipe
4 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbl. lemon zest
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbl. unsalted butter, room temp.
In a bowl placed over simmering water (double boiler) whisk together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thickened. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until butter has melted. Add lemon zest and cool. Cover with plastic wrap so it touches the curd and refrigerate.
Mom's Lemon Bars (with my twist, the addition of my favorite rhubarb)
Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
Mix all together and put in a lightly sprayed (PAM) 8x11 baking pan. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes.
Filling:
1 cup sugar
3 Tbl. all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbl. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
1 cup rhubarb, finely diced
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting
Mix the filling ingredients (except powdered sugar) and pour over crust. Bake 325 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven on cooling rack. Cool and sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar.
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 tsp. lemon zest
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 tsp. poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 375. Remember when making muffins, do not overmix or the batter will be tough. Get a 12 cup muffin tin and add muffin liners. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixer bowl, cream butter, sugar and zest until light and fluffy. Add your eggs and beat well after each addition, scraping down bowl. Stir in the poppy seeds and fold in the flour mixture alternating with milk until just combined. Place mixture into muffin pans and bake approximately 25 minutes.
Lemon Cookies
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 Tbl. lemon juice
1 Tbl. lemon zest
Heat oven to 375. In a large mixer bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, lemon juice and zest. In another bowl, whisk flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt and combine with butter mixture. Scrape bowl until well mixed. Drop dough by spoonfuls on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to wire cooking rack. Glaze: Combine 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar and blend in 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice and 1 Tbl. lemon zest. Frost cooking with a little of the glaze.
Luscious Lemon Pudding Cake
2 large lemons (1/4 cup juice, plus 2 Tbl. juice)
1 Tbl. lemon zest
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, whisk flour, salt and 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbl. sugar. In another bowl whisk together egg yolks, milk, lemon zest and juice; add to flour mixture until combined. Beat whites in another bowl until they are soft peaks. Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar until you have stiff glossy peaks. Whisk about 1/4 of the whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites. Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 qt. shallow baking dish and bake in a hot water bath until puffed and golden approximately 50 minutes.
Lemon Blueberry Scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbl. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbl. sugar
5 Tbl. butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 Tbl. lemon zest
Glaze:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 Cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbl. lemon zest
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. With a pastry cutter, cut in the butter, it should look like coarse crumbs. Add the heavy cream and fold just to incorporate. Do not overmix the dough. Gently fold in the blueberries and zest. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into a circle or a couple of circles. Cut triangle pieces and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. For the glaze; in a bowl add sifted powdered sugar and whisk in the lemon juice and zest until there are no lumps. Drizzle over scones, or you can omit glaze and before baking scones brush with a little whipping cream and sprinkle on Turbinado sugar.
Lemon Raisin Tarts - Olive Briggs recipe (former mother-in-law)
My former mother-in-law was quite an outspoken character. She was a great cook though and I received some wonderful recipes from her and this is one of my favorites. Thanks, Olive
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs, well beaten
1 large lemon, juiced and zested
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 1/2 cup dark raisins
Combine all ingredient's, except raisins in a double boiler and cook until thick, then stir in raisins. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Make your own tarts or purchase tart shells and spoon in mixture. Delicious!!
Lemon Cheese Bread (my mom Dorothy's recipe and I've said before she was a fantastic baker/cook)
1 package (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
3 Tbl. warm water (115 degrees)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Filling:
2 packages (one 8 oz. and one 3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. lemon zest
Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
2 to 3 tsp. milk
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
In a mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sugar, milk, butter, eggs, salt and 2 cups of flour. Beat on low for 3 minutes. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled about 1 hour. Next, beat filling ingredients in a bowl until fluffy and set aside. Punch dough down. On a floured surface, roll in to a 14 x 12 rectangle. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet (I use PAM spray). Spread filling down center third of rectangle. On each long side cut 1-inch wide strips, 3-inches into center. Starting at one end fold alternating strips at an angle across filling. Seal end. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Cool and drizzle with icing.
Fresh Lemonade - so nice on a hot summer day
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar to taste - sometimes I use honey as the sweetener
1 cup crushed ice
4 cups cold water
Place all ingredient's into a blender and process until smooth. Serve over ice cubes. You can also use limes or a mixture of both.
Pomegranate Lemonade - lovely and refreshing
2 cups lemonade
1 cup club soda
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
Ice cubes
Mix lemonade, soda and pomegranate juice in a pitcher. Fill glasses with ice and pour over.
Blackberry Lemonade - Jerry and I had an abundant amount of wild mountain blackberries on our property in WA and we always made this.
4 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tb. lemon zest
1 cup blackberries
In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups water and sugar to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest and remaining water; cool slightly. In a blender, combine 1 cup of the lemon mixture and the blackberries; cover and process until blended. Strain and discard seeds. Pour blackberry mixture and remaining lemon mixture into pitcher and stir well. Refrigerate and serve in glasses filled with ice. Garnish it lemon slice.
Simply Easy Lemon Tart
In a hurry or have unexpected guests? Try this simple lemon tart, but you have to have lemon curd, so either make your own (see my recipe) or run to the grocery store and purchase bottled.
Get a prepared package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (15 oz.) and use half of it.
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
Lemon curd - homemade or store bought
1 pint of fresh raspberries or blackberries
Heavy whipping cream, whipped
Powdered sugar
Chambord Liqueur
Heat oven to 350 and lightly spray with PAM a 9-inch springform pan with removable bottom. In a large bowl mix dough with zest until blended. If dough becomes too soft, refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Press dough in tart pan and up sides. Bake crust at 350 for about 20 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack. When ready to serve, remove crust from tart pan and place on serving plate. Spread a good amount of lemon curd over crust and top with raspberries or blackberries peak side up. Serve with whipped cream which you have added Chambord liquor whipped in with a little powdered sugar (1/4 cup)
Julia's Lemon Sour Cream Cake - made this when I used to cater
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, room temp.
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
Grated zest of large lemon
1 cup sour cream
Lemon Frosting: In a saucepan heat and stir together 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking without stirring until syrup reaches 240 degrees on candy thermometer. Next beat 2 egg whites until stiff peaks. Drizzle in the hot sugar syrup beating at high speed until frosting is fluffy and syrup is incorporated. Beat in 1/4 homemade lemon curd, blending well. All to cool and frost top of cake. Preheat oven to 325. Generously butter and lightly flour a 10-inch bundt pan. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl cream 1 cup butter and sugar; beat at high speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scrape down the bowl, blend in lemon zest. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternating with sour cream. Scrape sides of bowl frequently. Pour batter into prepared cake pan; bake in preheated oven 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. When cooled about 10/15 minutes turn cake out onto cake dish and cool completely before frosting top of cake.
Bon Appetit
"God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His son".
1 Corinthians 1:9
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