Lemon Ricotta Cookies

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

INGREDIENTS
Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
1 lemon, zested
2 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until pale yellow and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time. Add the ricotta, and lemon juice and beat until fully combined.

To the butter/ricotta mixture, add half of the prepared dry ingredients, and mix on low. Scrap sides of bowl and add remaining half of dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Gently fold the dough taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl, to finish the mixing the dough.

Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets. *I prefer a #20 scoop (3.5 tbsp), and can fit about 24 cookies on a half sheet pan. Prepared cookies sheets, and dough should be kept in the refrigerator if not in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove sheets from oven, and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes. The cookies are extra delicate when warm, and the residual heat of the sheet helps to firm up the bottoms. When cookies have cooled, prepare glaze.

Combine powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Dip cookies, and let glaze harden at room temperature. Enjoy!

Are these cookies a family favorite that will be gone in less than 45 minutes? Yes. My family loves them more than they love me. At least that's the vibe I get from my mother and sister. My sister has requested that if she ever marries that I make her wedding cake out of these cookies- stacked to be the cake. They are the perfect delicate little cookie. Sweet but tart, tender, moist, and just plain delicious. You should definitely make them, especially when lemons are in season. I added more flour than the original recipe calls for, and highly suggest taking care to be sure it's fully mixed. If not, the cookies will spread like the devil, and it will be a crunchy lemon sugar butter mess. Extra delicious? Yes. Beautiful cookie? heck no.

VARIATIONS:

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Berry Glaze
            Replace 2 Tbsp lemon juice with fresh berry juice of your choice.
            Strawberry & Raspberry SO good.
Orange Ricotta Cookies with Chocolate Glaze
            Replace Lemons with Oranges
            Double the zest in the cookies
            Chocolate Glaze

                        1 cup powdered sugar                            1 Tbsp butter, melted                        Orange Zest

                        2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder    1 Tbsp Orange Juice
                       
                       

Martha's Chocolate-Raspberry Cake

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart

INGREDIENTS

CAKE
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (61 percent cacao), melted and cooled
FILLING
24 ounces fresh raspberries (a scant 6 cups)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, then dump some flour in, and shake until coated with a light layer of flour. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl, beat butter with sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in almond extract. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk in two batches. Beat to combine, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in melted chocolate.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through front to back and top to bottom, until a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around edges, then invert onto rack. Remove parchment and let cool completely, about 25 minutes. With a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes so they're level.

Filling: While cakes are baking, stir together 3 cups raspberries, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over high, stirring frequently and mashing with the back of a spoon, until mixture comes to a boil, 2 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and clings to spoon, 7 to 8 minutes more. (You should have 1 1/3 cups.) Let cool 30 minutes. Stir in 2 cups raspberries, reserving remainder.

Spread half of filling over one cake. Top with second layer; spread remaining filling over top. Top with final layer, cut-side down. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with remaining raspberries.

Fact: I am terrible at reading recipes lately, and once I get the ingredients together, I put them together using whatever method would work best based on the ingredients. Which is probably how I didn't catch that this should have been made using THREE cake pans. While my cake turned out okay, using three pans would've made it so much easier with the filling and frosting. #whoopsie This cake is RICH, and slightly tangy from the raspberries. I am definitely going to keep baking this chocolate cake recipe, and the frosting is to die for! I used almond extract instead of the raspberry liquor, mostly because I didn't want to buy (let's be honest find in my home) Chambord. I do like almond with raspberry together, so I was pleased with the result.

Cranberry Apple Pie

adapted from A Bountiful Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

7 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup fresh cranberries, washed
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
dash salt

2 9-inch pie crusts

Egg wash

Sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rack on bottom third of oven.
Place bottom crust onto 9-inch pie plate. Set aside.
Place apples in large bowl and mix with cranberries. Add rest of filling ingredients and mix well. Fill bottom crust with apple cranberry mixture.

Place other half of dough on top of filling in pie plate. Crimp edges. Make slits on top of pie for steam to escape.

Brush with egg wash if desired, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.
Place pie onto foil lined cookie sheet (important, this usually bubbles over a bit.
Bake for about 60 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if pie is getting too brown.
Continue baking for about 10-15 minutes or until pie is bubbly and golden.

Remove from oven and let sit for at least four hours. This will prevent the pie from becoming a gooey mess, and help to keep it's shape when cutting and serving.