Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread

This bread is a great variation on the traditional zucchini bread.  Made this over the summer when zucchini from the garden was abundant!  I found the recipe on this site.

Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread

• 2 cups cake flour (I used one cup wheat flour and one cup white flour.)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil (I used melted coconut oil.)
• 1 1/3 cups sugar (May try coconut sugar or even substitute half honey next time.)
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup grated zucchini 

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 1 TB milk 

1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased 9x5 loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
7. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the bread. Let the glaze set up before cutting and serving.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

My friend Lauren made these for a baby shower recently and they were delicious.  (Hers were much more petite and cuter than mine.)  I asked her for the recipe and made them this past week.  The biggest compliment for any sweet treat around here is Ben's consumption of it.  He's eaten his fair share of these! 

In other news, I finally invested in a Silpat.  They are pricey (this one was $20 on Amazon) but considering the cost of parchment paper, it won't be long before this thing actually saves me money.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

• 1 stick softened unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP lemon zest (about one lemon's worth)
• 1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
  
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

With a whisk, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a separate larger bowl, cream softened butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture and combine.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a Silpat).  Pour powdered sugar into a small bowl.  Roll cookie dough into small 1 inch balls and roll in sugar, coating evenly.  Place cookie balls 2 inches apart on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes

This recipe is for all the lemon lovers out there!  I won't tell you how many of these I ate today but it didn't help keep the pregnancy weight gain down! 

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding
1/4 cup flour (This extra flour is not necessary if you are making a cake, but if you are making cupcakes they will fall in the middle if you leave this out.)


Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

For the cake, mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Place cupcake liners in cupcake tin and fill half full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  If making a cake, bake 9×13 or two 9 in rounds 25-30 minutes. Don’t over-bake or the cake will be too dry.

For the frosting, place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency.  (May not need all 8 cups.) Use and then store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Another goodie from http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com. Can you tell I love this blog? This is the sisters' grandma's recipe and I love the combination of blueberry and lemon. (BTW, I substituted butter in mine too.)


Blueberry Lemon Muffins


2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of one lemon
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shortening (or butter*)
1 cup frozen blueberries

Topping (this makes extra - you can try cutting it down if you want):
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tb lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar


Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs, milk and shortening. Stir in blueberries. Add dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Combine butter and lemon juice. While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice, then dip in sugar. Makes 12 muffins.
*I substitute butter because I love the taste! It works great either way.