All posts tagged lime

Triple Citrus Bars

Back in April, I made key lime pie bars and I loved them so much, I ate most of them myself (almost half while taking the pictures). At the bottom of the recipe, there was a variation for triple citrus bars that also sounded delicious, but I didn’t have the lemons and oranges. So, I stuck with the lime and bookmarked these to make some other time. Tonight we had a bunch of people over for a Burbs viewing party (how awesome is that?) and so I made the “god damn brownies”, Baked of course. I thought these citrus bars would be the perfect non-chocolate dessert to serve with the super rich fudgy brownies. And, that way, I couldn’t eat them all this time.

These bars are really easy to make. The hardest and most time consuming part is collecting up all the zest and all the juice. But, I loved the contrast of the tartness from the lime and lemon with the sweetness from the orange. The flecks of orange, green and yellow zest looked so pretty against the cream colored base. So, it is well worth the effort. I really enjoyed the animal cracker crust as opposed to the usual graham cracker. Its more neutral flavor really allows the citrus flavors to sing. Then you have the creaminess from the condensed milk. Mmmm…condensed milk. Am I the only one that could eat a can of this stuff with a spoon?

I’m sure you have had lemon bars a million times. And, they are delicious, one of my favorites. But, next time you have a taste for citrus…change things up a bit and try these triple citrus bars. You won’t be sorry.

Triple Citrus Bars

Yield: 8 x 8 pan (9 to 16 bars depending on how you cut them)

For the crust:

5 oz animal crackers

3 tablespoons brown sugar

pinch salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Filling:

2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

pinch salt

1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 large egg yolk

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with 2 pieces of foil perpendicular to each other, leaving overhang on all 4 sides. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

For the crust: Pulse animal crackers in the food processor until broken down, ~ 10 pulses. Process the crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds (you should have about 1 1/4 cups crumbs). Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine, 10 – 12 pulses (if large sugar lumps remain, break them apart with fingers). Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened, ~ 10 pulses. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

For the filling: While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zests, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add the condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain. Whisk in the egg yolk. Add the 3 juices and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

Pour filling into crust; spread to the corners and smooth the surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

To serve, loosen edges with paring knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil extensions. Cut the bars into 16 squares. Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 2 days; the crust will soften slightly. Let the bars stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.

Source: More Best Recipes

10 Comments

by Just Baked on July 30, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Bars, Fruit, Lemon

Tagged ATK, Bars, citrus, condensed milk, dessert, lemon, lime, orange, summer

Posted by Just Baked on July 30, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/triple-citrus-bars/

Fresh lime sherbet

When I was a kid, my favorite flavor at the ice cream shop was rainbow sherbet. I was one of the weird kids who picked through the sherbet not for the orange or the raspberry. Nope, I loved the lime. So, I had a bunch of limes to use and I found this recipe for fresh lime sherbet. Perfect. All lime, so no picking through rainbow sherbet for the good stuff. I had never made sherbet before. And, even though it sounds all fancy, it really isn’t any harder than making homemade ice cream. After countless times of stinging hands and burning eyes from hand juicing citrus, I finally broke down and bought a juicer. I know. What had I been waiting for? This made the juicing process so much easier. But, then I had to go ahead and somehow zest off part of two of my knuckles. Ouch. But, Sammie kissed them and now they are all better.

According to ATK, sherbet is a cross between sorbet and ice cream, containing fruit, sugar, and dairy, but no egg yolks. It should taste vibrant and fresh like sorbet, be smooth in texture but not heavy like ice cream. So, how do you do make lime sorbet? The first step is grinding the lime zest (Don’t worry. I only used the zest, pre-accident ) with the sugar and salt in the food processor to release the oils. You then then add lime juice mixed with water (to reduce the acidity) and strain it so the sherbet is totally smooth. The lime mixture is added to heavy cream that has been whipped to create the light texture. You then churn the base in your ice cream maker and freeze it at least 3 hours before eating. Ugh. Three hours is a long time. But, let me tell you, it was so worth the wait. The sherbet is super creamy and tastes so unbelievably bold with fresh lime flavor. Are you looking for the perfect, refreshing dessert to complete a delicious summer meal? Well, I’m thinking this is it.

Fresh Lime Sherbet

Yield: 1 quart

1 tablespoon lime zest
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons vodka or Triple Sec (I used vodka)
2/3 cup heavy cream

Process the zest, sugar and salt in your food processor until it’s damp, 10 to 15 one second pulses. Combine the lime juice and water in a large measuring cup. With the machine running, add the juice-water mixture in a slow, steady stream. Continue to process until the sugar has dissolved completely, about 1 minute. Strain the mixture through a nonreactive, fine-mesh strainer into a medium, freezer-safe bowl. Stir in the vodka (or Triple Sec) and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Chill in your freezer until the mixture is very cold (about 40 degrees F), 30 – 60 minutes. Don’t let the mixture freeze.

When the mixture is cold, using a whisk, whip the heavy ream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Whisking constantly, slowly add the cold juice mixture in a slow, steady steam down the edge of the bowl and into the cream. Immediately start up your ice cream maker and add the juice-cream mixture to the canister; churn until it has the consistency of soft serve ice cream, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the sherbet to an airtight storage container; press a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours. The sherbet can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 week. To serve, let the sherbet sit at room temperature until slightly softened and an instant read thermometer reads 12 to 15 degrees.

Source: The New Best Recipe

5 Comments

by Just Baked on July 16, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Fruit, ice cream

Tagged ATK, CI, citrus, Cook's illustrated, dessert, freeze, frozen, lime, sherbet

Posted by Just Baked on July 16, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/fresh-lime-sherbe/

Key Lime Pie Bars

I enjoyed the bright, refreshing flavor of the lemonade sugar cookies that I made recently so much, that I was kind of hankering for some more citrus. But instead of lemon again, I decided to go with lime this time. I was thinking key lime pie. But when I was looking through my Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, I saw this recipe for key lime pie bars. The crust is unique in that it uses animal crackers instead of graham crackers because their more neutral taste allows the lime to sing. The filling is thickened with both cream cheese and an egg yolk so it is firm enough to hold together when you pick up a bar. Surprisingly, this recipe recommends using supermarket limes (Persian) over true key limes. Why? There are a few reasons. ATK says that most people can’t distinguish the flavor difference, they are easier to find and there are much fewer to juice. I think the bars are perfect as is or with a touch of sweetened whipped cream. But if you want, you can top them with sweetened, toasted coconut.

These bars are surprisingly easy to put together. The hardest part is squeezing the limes. My hands were aching a bit and burning from the acid. Oh, and I can’t even tell you how much it hurt to get a big squirt of lime juice in my eyes. This is a time when I wish I had a juicer! I bought 4 limes as the recipe stated and 2 of those limes were so dry, they only provided a few drops of juice each. I had baked the crust and I was already halfway into making the filling. I did not want to run to the store then with Sammie and Alex. But, I only got a little over 1/3 cup of juice from 4 limes. Luckily I thought to check in the crisper drawer (crossing my fingers) and I found 2 more limes that I bought recently for iced water. Phew! I got the 1/2 cup of juice needed for the recipe exactly. I am usually a chocolate girl, but I honestly cannot stop eating these bars. I ate a whole row while taking these pictures. In fact, I ate so many that the cake plate above is only half full, hence the picture of half the plate.

Key Lime Pie Bars

Yield: an 8 x 8 pan of bars, about 16 squares.

Crust

5 ounces animal crackers
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Filling
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon grated lime zest plus 1/2 cup juice (4 limes)
pinch salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk

Garnish: Optional (I did not use)

3/4 cup (2 1/4 oz) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted until golden and crisp

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 F. Make a foil sling by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so they are as wide as an 8 inch baking pan. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to one another, with extra foil hanging over the edges of the pan so you can use them to lift the bars out after they’ve baked. Push the foil into the corners and up sides of the pan, smoothing foil flush to the pan. Grease foil. I used Pam spray.

For the crust: Pulse the animal crackers in food processor until they are broken down, about 10 pulses; process crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds (you should have about 1 1/4 cups of crumbs). Add the brown sugar and salt; process to combine, 10 to 12 pulses (if large sugar lumps remain, break them apart with your fingers). Drizzle the butter over crumbs and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten pulses. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking pan and press the crumbs evenly and firmly to form the crust in the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes (I did 15 minutes). Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack while you make the filling. Do not turn off the oven.

For the filling: While the crust cools, in a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, lime zest and salt with a rubber spatula until softened, creamy and thoroughly combined. Add the sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until fully incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain. Whisk in the egg yolk. Add the lime juice and whisk gently until it is incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly)

Pour the filling onto the crust, spread it into the corners and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake until the filling is set and the edges begin to pull away slightly from the sides, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. Use the foil handles to lift the bars out of the pan; cut them into 16 bars. Sprinkle with toasted coconut if using, and serve. Store the bars in the refrigerator up to 2 days. The crust will soften slightly.

Source: Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook: 2000 Recipes from 20 years of America’s Most Trusted Food Magazine

10 Comments

by Just Baked on April 11, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Bars

Tagged Bars, dessert, key lime, lime, pie

Posted by Just Baked on April 11, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/key-lime-pie-bars/

Lemon Lime Crinkles

Here in Chicago, it’s 30 degrees and the ground is covered with slushy, dirty, nasty snow. It’s so cold that it makes you not want to leave the house unless you really have to. I’ve lived here all my life, so you would think I’d get used to it. But, no, I don’t. I still hate the winter. I would move some place warmer in an instant if all my family and friends didn’t live here. So, to chase away the winter blues, I thought I would bake something to remind me of summer. When I think of the warm Chicago summer, I think of my kids running through the sprinkler, shooting each other with water guns and me watching, trying to keep cool with a cold drink. Nothing really quenches your thirst better than a tall glass of ice cold lemonade. I came across these lemon lime crinkle cookies and I thought they would replicate the flavor of my favorite summer drink. You make a basic sugar cookie dough and add some lemon and lime zest to give it a bright citrus flavor. They have crispy edges, a chewy middle and a lemon lime flavor that is totally addicting. Unfortunately, summer is several months away. But if you make some of these cookies, it will add a little warmth to your otherwise freezing cold day.

Lemon Lime Crinkles

Yield: 36 small cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 egg

1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon peel (Microplane)

1 tsp finely shredded lime peel (Microplane)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp white, yellow, and/or green nonpareils or plain sugar – I went a little crazy with the sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of sugar, the baking soda and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg, lemon and lime peel, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer and then finish mixing by hand with a wooden spoon.

Place the nonpareils or sugar in a bowl. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Dip the tops of the dough balls in the nonpareils or roll in sugar. (I pressed the tops in the nonpareils, then rolled the uncovered part in sugar.) Place two inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. (I got 16 cookies/sheet). Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or just until the edges start to brown. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies 2008