Lemon Blueberry Diamonds Food

LEMON-BLUEBERRY BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees and line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper so it hangs over the edges on all sides by a few inches. (You may need to use two pieces of parchment.)
• Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest and salt. Add butter and pulse until a crumbly dough forms, about 10 seconds. (Or mix dry ingredients in a bowl and use pastry cutter to cut in butter, clumping the mixture together in your hands until it holds together.) Press dough into prepared pan. Bake until light golden, 25 to 35 minutes.
• As crust bakes, make the curd: In a medium pot, whisk together the granulated sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks, whole eggs, cornstarch and fine sea salt until well combined. Place over medium heat and stir with a heatproof rubber spatula (or wooden spoon), making sure to scrape around the sides and edges of the pot, until mixture is simmering and thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Bring mixture to a boil and let cook for about 30 seconds, but no longer than 1 minute. Immediately strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in butter, lemon zest and lime zest, and stir until butter melts. Stir in blueberries.
• Pour mixture over crust, then stir to evenly distribute berries. Return to oven, and bake until blueberries begin to burst and curd starts to turn golden around the edges, 33 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator until thoroughly cold before cutting, at least 3 hours. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

LEMON-BLUEBERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 4-by-8-by-2-inch loaf pan.
• Toss the blueberries in 2 tablespoons of the flour in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Beat together the butter, granulated sugar, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice in the bowl of an electric mixer. Sift together the baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt and remaining 1 1/2 cups flour in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture in alternating batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in the pecans and blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack.
• For the glaze: Stir together 2 tablespoons lemon juice with the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl until completely smooth. Reserve the remaining lemon juice for another use. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the loaf while it is still warm, allowing it to drip down the sides. Serve the loaf warm or at room temperature.

LEMON-BLUEBERRY DIAMONDS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 13x9 baking pan with nonstick foil.
• Crust: In a bowl, stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt.
• Gradually stir in flour.
• Press dough over pan, bake in oven for 20 minutes or until edge turns golden brown.
• Filling: In a large bowl, mix granualted sugar and flour.
• Mix in eggs with a whisk, till smooth.
• Stir in lemon grind and juice.
• Fold in berry, pour over crust.
• Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, till set.
• Let cool in pan.
• Dust with remaining confectioners' sugar, cut into diamond shaped bars.

CHEWY CARAMEL PECAN DIAMONDS

Steps:

• Set oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on all sides; butter foil.
• In a food processor, blend the flour confectioner's sugar, cornstarch and salt for a couple of seconds.
• Add in 3/4 cup COld butter (cut into chunks); process until mixture begins to clump together.
• Press the dough evenly onto the bottom of the foil-lined baking pan.
• Bake until light and golden, about 25 minutes (don't overbake).
• Remove from oven; let stand while preparing the topping.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• FOR TOPPING: stir the brown sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, until the sugar dissolves, and the mixture boils; boil for 1 minute.
• Add in the pecans and the whipping cream; boil until the mixture thickens slightly (about 3 minutes).
• Stir in vanilla.
• Pour over the warm baked crust.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping is darker, and bubbles thickly.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack; cool completely in the pan (topping will harden).
• In a double boiler, melt the caramels with 2-3 tsp whipping cream.
• Drizzle over the top of the cooked nut topping; cool.
• Lift foil out of the pan onto a cutting board.
• Using a heavy, sharp knife, cut the crust with nut topping into 1-1/2 x 1-inch diamonds.
• These keep for up to 1 week.