Lemon Squares With Candied Ginger Food

LEMON-GLAZED CANDIED-GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Cream butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add ginger, and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Add flour mixture, and then beat on medium-low speed until dough just comes together.
• Shape dough into two 1-inch-thick disks. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out 1 disk on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out 2-inch circles. Place the rounds 1/2 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll out and cut scraps. Refrigerate rounds for 10 minutes.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set and edges are light gold, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. (Cookies can be stored for up to 3 days.)
• Whisk confectioners' sugar, lemon zest and juice, honey, water, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cooled cookies. Let stand until glaze is set, at least 20 minutes.

LEMON GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, allspice, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in 2 Tablespoons of chopped crystallized ginger. Dough will be thick and sticky. Scoop small sections of dough (about 1 scant Tablespoon of dough each) and roll into balls. Very lightly dip the tops of each into remaining crystallized ginger. (You don't want too much- just a few pieces.) Place dough balls onto a large plate or lined baking sheet.
• Cover and chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (and up to 4 days).
• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• Arrange chilled cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
• Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Whisk the glaze ingredients together. If desired, add more confectioners' sugar to thicken or more juice to thin out. The thicker the glaze, the whiter (and less translucent) it will be. Drizzle on cooled cookies. Icing will set after about 1 hour, so these are convenient to store and transport.
• Cookies without glaze stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies with glaze stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

LEMON SQUARES WITH CANDIED GINGER

Steps:

• Crust:.
• In medium bowl or food processor combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture starts to hold together.
• Press mixture into bottom of 8 or 9 inch square baking dish lined with parchment paper or make sure it is well buttered.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
• Set aside to cool slightly.
• Topping:.
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs with sugar until light and creamy.
• Mix flour with baking powder and stir into egg mixture.
• Add lemon peel and juice,coconut and ginger, stir well.
• Pour topping mixture over baked crust, bake for 20 minutes in 350 degree oven until just set.
• Cool on rack. Cut into squares. Dust with icing sugar, if desired.
• This will yield approximately 25 squares,depending on how you cut them.
• Serve and enjoy!

GINGER AND ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line the pan with baking parchment, letting the parchment hang over the sides. (This will make it easier to remove the dessert once baked.)
• Prepare the base:
• In the saucepan, melt the butter. Add the almond meal, fresh ginger, honey, egg, salt, and vanilla. Stir until well combined. The mixture should be thick and sticky.
• Turn the mixture out into the prepared pan. To help make a level and even base, place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the base. Using a flat-bottomed glass (or your fingers), smooth out the base by pressing gently to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. Remove and discard the plastic wrap. Bake until the base is slightly firm, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the topping:
• In the same saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the almonds, candied ginger, honey, salt, and vanilla. Stir just until the ingredients are incorporated.
• When the base is baked, spread the topping evenly over the base and bake until the topping is dark and sizzling, 12 to 15 minutes. Do not underbake.
• Transfer the pan to the baking rack to cool. When the dessert is completely cool, remove it from the pan using the overhanging parchment as handles and cut it into 16 even squares.
• Do Ahead
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
• Variation:
• Chestnut Honey Squares: For the base, replace 1 cup (90g) almond meal with 3/4 cup (120 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour and use a strong honey, such as chestnut, in place of the mild honey. For the topping, replace the candied ginger with organic candied orange or lemon peel, cut into tiny cubes.

LEMON SQUARES

Steps:

• For the crust: Lightly brush a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with butter. Beat the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Whisk the flour, cornstarch and salt together in a medium bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter and mix just until combined. Evenly press the dough into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pierce the dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Cool.
• For the filling: Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, granulated sugar, flour, salt, eggs and yolks in a large bowl until thick and light. Lightly whisk in the citrus juices. Pour the filling into the crust. Bake until set but still loose in the center, about 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Cut into 2-inch squares and just before serving, dust generously with confectioners' sugar.

GINGER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a medium pot, combine cream, milk, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, clove and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cover, remove from heat, and let steep for 1 hour.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the cream into the yolks, then whisk yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions, adding the candied ginger during the last few seconds of churning. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed. Serve topped with extra candied ginger if desired.

SQUIDGY LEMON-GINGER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line a 20cm round cake tin (about 8cm deep) with baking parchment. Put dates in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Heat the butter in a small pan until melted, and stir in the sugar. Allow to cool slightly.
• Beat in the eggs, ginger and lemon zest. Drain the dates and chop them finely. Scrape them into the pan too, and mix well. Stir in the flour, then apple. Spoon into the cake tin, put the tin on a baking sheet (this stops the base browning too much) then bake for about 1¼ hrs, until well risen. A skewer stuck into the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Leave it to cool in the tin.
• Break the white chocolate into a non-metallic bowl. Heat in the microwave, on medium setting, in one minute bursts until melted (or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water). Remove the cake from the tin and peel off the paper. Trickle the chocolate over the cake, scatter with the crystallised lemon peel and coffee crystals and leave to set before serving. If well wrapped, the cake keeps for at least a week - it just gets better and better. Or, wrap the cooled cake in several layers of cling film before decorating, and freeze for up to two months.

LEMON CRUMBLE SQUARES

Steps:

• Combine butter, coconut, sugar, flour until mixture is crumbled.
• Press half of the crumble in a long ungreased pan (9x13-inch).
• Prepare lemon pie filling as directed on box then pour over the pressed crumble.
• Add the remaining crumble over the lemon filling.
• Put in oven at 325F for a few minutes until the top of the squares are golden brown.
• (about 10-15 minutes) Take out and let cool in refrigerator.
• Cut into squares and serve.

CRYSTALLIZED CANDIED GINGER

Steps:

• Peel the ginger using a sharp-edged teaspoon (or a small knife) -- yep that is the easiest way, just scrape it toward you and all comes off. In the joints just break apart the pieces to get all the peeling.
• Now slice it in 1/4-inch-thick slices -- I used the Cuisinart since I was doing so much but you can use a mandoline or sharp knife.
• Place the slices in a large nonreactive saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Drain, cover with fresh cold water, boil, and again cook 15 minutes. Repeat this blanching process 2 more times, for a total of 4 blanchings in all.
• After the last blanching, drain and cover with 6 cups of fresh cold water and 3 cups of sugar. Slowly bring the syrup to a boil, stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the ginger is translucent and the syrup is thickened, about 20-30 minutes; watch carefully. Remove from heat.
• You now have Canton candied ginger and can store it this way (in it's syrup, in a sterilized jar with a tight fitting lid, and refrigerated) for practically forever.
• Or, for crystallized ginger, let stand for about 30 minutes, for the ginger to absorb more syrup. Then you can take the pieces of ginger from the syrup and toss it in granulated sugar and put it on a rack (or on a parchment lined baking sheet) to dry, uncovered at room temperature, for at least 8 hours or overnight, until the sugar coating is firm and the slices are no longer sticky. This also keeps for at least a year, stored in a cool dry place in an airtight container.
• Notes: Save the syrup for flavoring, it has a strong ginger flavor and can be used to flavor drinks-- it is so yummy! I also save the sugar that I tossed it in to use in recipes.

LEMON-GLAZED CANDIED-GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoons salt into bowl. Cream butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add candied ginger, and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Add flour mixture, then beat on medium-low speed until dough just comes together.
• Shape dough into two 1-inch thick disks. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Roll out 1 disk on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out 2-inch circles. Place rounds 1/2 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Rolls out scraps. Refrigerate rounds for 10 minutes.
• Bake rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set and edges are bright gold, 12-14 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks. Let cook completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Cookies can be stored for up to 3 days.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar, lemon zest and juice, honey, water, and pinch of salt in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cooked cookies. Let stand until glaze is set, at least 20 minutes. Glazed cookies can be stored overnight.