Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies- And a Gadget Recommendation…

It’s Cookie Time!

imagesI can’t go very long between baking cookie baking sessions. I think I’d revert to some sub-human level. Picture something out of a Lord of the Rings movie. I’d like to register a complaint to The Board of Fairness- I bake for a hobby, my husband gets cookies; his hobby, biking, just has me occasionally bonking my head on the bikes hanging from our garage ceiling. Not. Fair.

I have way too many cookie recipes on a Pinterest board for desserts. With too many things on my plate this week and a a spare hour, I crammed in making this recipe. I made the dough for these Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies, ran carpool while it chilled in the fridge, then came home to bake.

Get a rasp grater, really.
Get a rasp grater, really.

Several years back I read a short writeup in a magazine about hardware store rasp graters being bought by home cooks and chefs alike to grate hard cheeses and citrus rinds. If you haven’t bought one for your kitchen and are passing up recipes calling for citrus zest because you don’t like wrestling with a round fruit and a sharp paring knife, go get a rasp grater! I don’t like to own many tools that do only one thing- a good knife can probably replace half of the gadget wall in any store’s housewares department. Even though I only use a rasp for parmesan cheese and grating citrus rind, I keep it because it really works well-  finely grated lemon rind with practically no effort.

DSC_0073
Refrigerated dough, sliced, now ready to bake.

This recipe hails from a great travel and food blog, TinyUrbanKitchen.com. I love it when bloggers mention where they originally found a recipe, and she respectfully credits The Joy of Cooking in her adaptation of this shortbread. I followed the recipe, but with one small change- instead of two teaspoons of vanilla I used one, and added a teaspoon of lemon extract to really get the lemon flavor to pop. These were delicious! The recipe would work well as a plain shortbread cookie or almond flavored with sliced, toasted almonds on top… yum! I might need to make another batch tomorrow… do I have enough almond extract?

Click here to go over to TinyUrbanKitchen.com for the Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookie recipe. These were great!

Really Good Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Really Good Lemon Shortbread Cookies

February’s Project: Learning to use a Nikon DSLR

January has come and gone so I need a a project for the month of February. I am ready to jump into learning how to use this fabulous camera that the family gave me for Christmas- a Nikon D3300. I have no goals to set with this project because at this point, I have NO idea how to use this grand device. But Imma gonna learn!!

I’ve been interested in photography for some time and am blown away with what I have captured using either a Blackberry or iPhones-

Blackberry, 2009; Treasures Collected, Morro Bay, CA
Blackberry, 2009; Treasures Collected, Morro Bay, CA

I love this photo of treasures we collected from Moro bay in 2009.

Taken with a Blackberry Curve

I went on to snap even better pics with iPhones- 3s, 4s and 5s models-

Cedar and Mistletoe Idyllwild, Ca iPhone 4s
Cedar and Mistletoe
Idyllwild, Ca
iPhone 4s
Boston All Saints Way 2011
Boston MA North End, All Saints Way iPhone 4s
Jelly Beans
Feeling snacky? Easter, 2014 iPhone 5s

I started a board on Pinterest to keep my favorite photos that I had taken all in one spot:

…or two:

I can’t wait to see what I can learn to do with a much better camera!

Meyer Lemon Muffins for a Rainy Day

It is amazing how many lemons even one little potted Meyer lemon tree can crank out. There are blossoms on it continuously, providing a non-stop supply of my favorite floral scent. Heavenly!

This tree keeps me in need of recipes to use up all of the lemons, and a quick Pinterest search turned up one calling for the entire lemon- score! A great treat to bake on a rare rainy day in the Southland.

Here’s the original recipe:

http://www.aminglingoftastes.com/2008/01/meyer-lemon-muffins.html

At first, I wondered why the blogger went with photos of this batch of her muffins… they turned out so flat. Then I made her same recipe and got the same results. It has to be all of the acid from the whole lemons.

Meyer Lemon Muffin prep
Meyer Lemon Muffin prep

Here’s the finished muffins! They taste great, and I will be using this recipe again- I will monkey with the flour and levening ratios, and the 1 teaspoon of salt called for is too much, in my opinion, but great overall!

Meyer Lemon Muffins
Meyer Lemon Muffins

I ❤️ Baking!

Tomorrow I have to hit my Pinterest boards… I hear them calling me! Most of my pins are food based, and there are hundreds of new recipes I want to try this year…

Since my kids have a busy weekend ahead, I think I will crank something out of the kitchen that I have never tried, and they will have to grab and go.

Is it just me, or does everyone else on Pinterest think that they are the most interesting person in the world, based on how awesome their Pins are? I love my electronic hoard!

See for yourself how fabulous I am (ha!)-