I am taking no solace in the fact that Spring begins in a few days. Despite the bitter cold and snow accompanying Winter, at least Winter is pretty. I enjoy watching snowflakes accumulate on the tree branches and discovering dangling icicle spears that resemble translucent stalactites. There is something very serene about the cold silence being pierced by crunching of fresh snow underfoot.
Once that beauty melts away, however, we are left with a fallacy that it is magically Spring and I’ve concluded, this week that Spring in Pennsylvania is over-rated. While retailers are parading bathing suits, gardening supplies and cheery pastel-colored confections to mark the arrival of the solstice, I remain entrapped in the post-Winter/pre-Spring doldrums. I simply cannot avert my attention from the reality of sunless skies, grey mounds of snow and mud laden boots no matter how cute the Easter crafts donning the covers of my magazines or how many bouquets of birthday flowers adorn my kitchen countertop. I need every minute of sleep possible and resent the time change.
Coming up with practical recipes to present in this column has come easy for me thus far, however, this is a tough season because I am equally tired of heavy desserts as I am of heavy coats. When my mother-in-law recently asked me to prepare a dessert she could take to a social event I decided on lemon squares. Lemon squares fit the bill since it was easy to find lemons and lemon squares don’t require the use of a stand mixer. Yes, I admit, I STILL haven’t managed to repair my inoperable stand mixers. Fortunately I was able to find the recipe that my mother always used online when I couldn’t locate her cookbook in my stash.
Lemon SquaresIngredients:1 stick of softened butter
1/4 cup powdered confectioner’s sugar
1 cup flour2 eggs1 cup sugar2 teaspoons lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon saltInstructions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl blend together the butter, confectioner’s sugar and the flour. Use a fork or your hands. Press into the bottom of a 8x8x2 pan. I recommend spraying it with cooking spray first. Bake for approximately 12 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. In another bowl whip together the eggs, sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, baking powder and salt until it’s foamy. I used my stick mixer for this task. Pour the lemon mixture into the pan and bake approximately 25 minutes. Cool, dust with powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
If I’m to heed the decorating and organizing advice doled out in my stack of Spring magazines I think I should start with my kitchen because where in the world is my mother’s cookbook? Also, am I the only person who wonders how people with those all-white mud rooms keep them free of mud and lastly, the $64,000 question for me at the moment is, did my mother-in-law take credit for my dessert?
Felicia Fisher is the founder of the Black Buggy Baking Company and lives in Oley, Pa. with her husband and three children who are all willing taste-testers. For more information on what Felicia’s baking up visit her web page www.blackbuggybakingcompany.com or e-mail her at blackbuggybakingcompany@yahoo.com.
