Let It Go, Let It Flow

"Keep Calm and Carry On" was our motto for the kitchen remodel.  "Let It Go, Let It Flow" is our motto for the New Year.  Let 2012 go and let 2013 flow.  We didn't have a bad year, in fact, it was pretty good, but as we look forward it is time to let go and let things happen in the coming year. May we all have a happy, healthy, prosperous 2013.

If, however, life gives you lemons, which sometimes it does - make Lemon Bites.  I call them bites because that is what they are, just a bite or two, when cut into small squares or rectangles. When we lived in California, we had a huge, Meyer, lemon shrub outside our bedroom window.  No matter how much we pruned it back each year it grew and grew and was covered in deep, yellow lemons.  We cooked with them, we decorated with them, we gave them away.  Our supply was over-abundant. We often wondered what was buried underneath because it was so prolific.  Oh, how I wish I had that shrub today.

When my niece was about 18 months old she came to visit with her mother.  She liked to play hide and seek with the Meyer lemons in my kitchen cabinets. She would move the lemons back and forth between my yellow cabinets filling one cabinet then moving them to another.  Each time slamming the door before opening the next with surprise when she found the ones she had hidden.  It was a good game that kept her occupied for a long time.  Unfortunately, it was very early in the morning because she had come from a different time zone.  No matter, I can still see her beaming little face as she toddled back and forth discovering hidden lemons in her footed pajamas.

Meyer lemons are a cross between an orange and a lemon.  Their skin is thin.  They are juicy and not as tart as a regular lemon.  If you can't find Meyer lemons, regular lemons work just fine. Since I no longer live in California and have to buy my lemons I could only find a few Meyer lemons.  I made the lemon bites using half Meyer lemons and half regular.  No matter what you use, you won't mind being given lemons if you make lemon bites.

Lemon Bites
Adapted from Star Desserts by Emily Luchetti

1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 cup (70 g) powdered sugar
3/4 cups (6 ounces/170 g) unsalted butter, cold
6 eggs
3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (250 ml) plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup (70 g) flour
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C).  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Combine flour and powdered sugar in a mixer with a paddle attachment.  Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour and sugar.  Mix on low speed until mixture resembles small peas.  Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F (149 degrees C).  Whisk eggs and granulated sugar together, add lemon juice and flour.  Pour mixture on top of the crust.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until the lemon filling is set.  Allow to cool, then dust with powdered sugar.

Flour, powdered sugar, and butter.

Lemon bites before powdered sugar

 Happy New Year!