Lemon Rosemary Polenta Sables, Just Because

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Every now and then I have a cookie idea and go crazy until I get to try it. I saw some ritzy cookies at Katzinger's Deli awhile ago and was oh so tempted to make a purchase. There were two varieties calling my name: polenta pennies and salted rosemary shortbread. However, I also thought "Well, this is dumb. I can do that." No only can I do that, I can yield 3 times the amount by doing it myself. These "polenta pennies" seemed easy enough, your basic butter sable or shortbread cookie injected with texturally fabulous polenta grains. The salted rosemary shortbread? Also a brilliant idea. I love a buttery cookie with a bit of salt, and then aromatic rosemary on top of that? Sure! Why not? So as I stood there, being enticed by the silent but deadly cookies, I was also getting super jazzed about my next baking adventure.

Instead of tackling one cookie at a time, I just combined the two concepts. All the flavors go well together so it seemed like a natural improvement on the originals. Also, I added lemon zest. I'm an absolute sucker for citrus zest in sables. I used my favorite sable recipe from Joy the Baker for the basic recipe, though left out the lime zest from her version (I actually like them better than Martha's, believe it or not). I also reduced the flour, using yellow corn meal in its place. You know what? This is going to get too complicated for a paragraph. Here we go:

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Lemon Rosemary Polenta Sables

Adapted from Joy the Baker's Citrus Sables

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature


1/2 cup granulated sugar


1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar


1 teaspoon salt, preferably sea salt


2 large egg yolks, preferably at room temperature


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow corn meal

zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp rosemary, ground or finely chopped

For glitzing up the edges:


1 egg yolk

turbinado sugar

Joy does an excellent job of the instructions, so seriously, go check out her post and just adapt the above ingredients. No point in me retyping directions, right? (To be perfectly honest, I'm feeling a bit lazy, too!) I do recommend slicing up a batch for now and saving the other rolled log in the freezer for a later date. I know, you'll have to resist the urge to devour the cookies in a quick minute, but trust me. You never know when you will a) get a random craving again and hallelujah! you're prepared! or b) need an emergency house-warming gift/party contribution/dessert for an event. Have a barbecue to go to all of the sudden? Need something to bring? Well luckily, you have those cookies in the freezer! See what I mean?

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The results are fabulous, especially now that it's spring (when the rain pauses and it heats up beyond 50° anyway). They're the perfect light treat with coffee or tea. Or perhaps an easy way to say "Thanks, Mom!" now that this weekend is Mother's Day! Or maybe even for a Kentucky Derby Party? So get in touch with your butter-lovin' Paula Deen side and make these delicious cookies. Ready, set, go!

Ginger Meyer Lemon Bars

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Meyer lemons. What's the deal? I'll tell you what the deal is—they're delicious. The little special lemons are a hybrid of a lemon and an orange. They're small, juicy, and sweeter than your usual lemon. Over the past few years they've become the little darling of the culinary world. They're not necessarily that easy to come by either, at least, not if you're going to your regular grocery store in Columbus. They tend to be a specialty item, offered for a brief time, and also kind of pricy.

That all changed two weeks ago when I walked into my Kroger one fateful Wednesday. There was a produce fixture full of bags of meyer lemons... for $1.25 per bag. Each bag contained 6. Um, hello? This is amazing! I grabbed a bag. Then turned around for a second bag. Then went back later for the 3rd. That's right. Three bags of glorious little meyer lemons in my grasp for whatever baking project I see fit. Oh, sweet glory be.

The decision was hard. What do I do? What should I make? I considered limoncello, but since that involves the lemon peel, meyer lemons don't really get me anywhere on this. Do I make a tart? Sounds reasonable enough. But wait... I could also make LEMON BARS. I don't make them very often. Maybe once or twice a year, if I have time? I think it is the perfect opportunity. Meyer lemon bars... with a hint of ginger. Now doesn't that just sound delightful??

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I planned to try out a recipe from The Craft of Baking. I've had this book for a little over a year and haven't dived nearly deep enough into it. While my usual lemon bar recipe is solidified (and awesome), I wanted to try something new. Research, you know? After reading the instructions for the crust, I gave up. Sort of. I settled on a crust from a Martha Stewart recipe, but kept The Craft of Baking's recipe for the lemon goo. Turns out, the crust in TCoB is made like pie dough—chilling, rolling, etc. Yeah, I didn't have time to mess with that. I wanted to do this in one Saturday afternoon in under 3 hours, including oven time.

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Martha's crust is divine. It's insanely buttery and rich, as opposed to crumbly and painfully sweet like most recipes. I used an 8x8 pan, for which I cut the crust recipe in half. Also, I replaced the wheat germ with cornmeal. I'm a sucker for cornmeal, and it seemed crazy enough to work. In the past I've done straight flour, which works also.

Now for the lemon goo. This recipe doesn't use much lemon juice, there's a good amount of sugar, and I used meyer lemons. What does that mean? They're not uber tart. They're pretty mellow for lemon bars, actually. I would've preferred a slightly larger pucker, but everyone else truly loved them. Also, you can vary the amount of fresh ginger—that's entirely up to you. I like a punch, so I lean more towards 1.5-2 grated tbsp. If you want just a little essence, I'd err towards 1 tbsp.

:::Lemon Bar Filling:::

Adapted from "Little Lemon Bars," The Craft of Baking

4 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (approx. 3 lemons), strained

1-2 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Prepared your crust and bake as directed (again—follow Martha's recipe, but cut the crust amount in half for your 8x8 pan). Start blending the filling ingredients. Juice your lemons and strain the juice to get rid of the pulp. Zest two lemons (use two of the fruits you just juiced), then grate your ginger. If you want a strong ginger kick, go for 2 tbsp. If you want it milder, use just 1 tbsp. TIP: You can keep fresh ginger in the freezer. You don't even need to thaw it if you're going to grate it—you can just pull it out and grate as needed. I don't know about you, but I can't go through an entire piece of ginger root before it goes bad. The freezing tip (from Melissa D'Arabian of Food Network) is a big ingredients and money saver! Next, blend the juice, zest, and ginger into the eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together, then pour into the egg mixture. Mix until just combined.

The crust should be baked until lightly golden. Pour the lemon bar filling onto the baked crust, then pop back into the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350°. The top should be firm to the touch when finished. Transfer to a cooling rack, cool completely, then sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

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I still have about 8 lemons left in my refrigerator. I've been using them randomly—in cocktails, or just as straight juice added to mug of hot water (I'm telling you—healthy and tasty!). But what to do with those last few? A tart? Pancakes? Oh, the possibilities!

Sugarlush Wedding Post No. 02

Vanilla cake, raspberry amaretto frosting & rainbow nonpareils.
Sprinkles are my ultimate weakness.

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My second round of cupcakes for a wedding! Actually, a wedding reception. The couple was married in Hawaii over the summer and they just had a reception here this past weekend. A college friend showed her some of my pics on Facebook. See? All those fb photos aren't just for show! They're good for business! Anyway. The order started out being 5 dozen. Alright, no prob. Later, the girl called me back and changed it to 7 dozen. Eeek! But, luckily the cake flavors were just additions to what I was already making, with an additional frosting.

Total Tally:
• 84 cupcakes
• 2 dozen carrot cake, cream cheese frosting
• 2 dozen chocolate cake, salted caramel frosting (the most popular order)
• 1 dozen chocolate cake, citrus glaze
• 1 dozen vanilla cake, citrus glaze
• 1 dozen vanilla cake, raspberry amaretto frosting

WHEW! Thank goodness, with a little bit of prep work each day of the week, it's completely managable. Before boxing them up for pick-up, I did the usual living room photoshoot. And away we go!

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Carrot cake, cream cheese frosting & slice of carrot

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Vanilla cake, raspberry-amaretto frosting & silver dragee



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Vanilla cake, citrus glaze & decorative piping




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Chocolate cake, salted caramel frosting & fleur de sel caramel topper

So those are the cupcakes. They only look half as good as they taste, and they look pretty dang good, right? ;-) Sometime I'd like to venture out and do cute printed-paper toppers that could label the flavors &/or state the names of the couple. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to do that for this one but if you give me enough notice, it's certainly a possibility! It'd be perfect for baby showers too.

And with that, I bid you adieu so I can go clean the mess in my kitchen. WOO!! Fun Sunday! :-)