Weekend Cooking...When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Something Cooler Than Lemonade

---

This week, we have a guest post from the Niece! 

Now, I must say, the Niece is becoming quite a good cook and she is sharing a nice Spring Time recipe with us, one that is easy and fast, yet very tasty. And since she worked out that little bug...the bars were not too attractive on the first go-around...I think this recipe is a keeper!

---

Easter is tomorrow and I always find myself volunteering to make dessert. Of course, I am planning to make my traditional Easter dessert, carrot cake, but we are going to my (other) aunt’s for dinner and her kids don’t like cake (shocking, I know…). In an effort to please everyone, I decided to try out a recipe for Lemon Bars that has been sitting on a Pinterest Board for quite some time. My test run turned out delicious, but not very attractive. Luckily, I developed some pointers to make it better looking this time around!

Lemon Bars
1 package of Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie Mix
1 stick of cold butter
1 egg
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (please, please do not buy evaporated…)
2 lemons
Limoncello, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350* F. Using a fork, cut the cold butter into the cookie mix. Add egg and use hands to fully incorporate. (I find hands easier than a utensil).

2. Once mixed, score cookie dough down the middle to ensure an even split of dough for top and bottom layers.

3. Grease an 8 x 8 pan. Compact half of the cookie dough along the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

4. While the bottom is baking, add condensed milk to a large bowl. Zest both lemons, get every square millimeter of zest!!!! Add the juice of both lemons. Here is where I added the (optional) 2-3 tablespoons of limoncello. Because everything’s better with a splash of alcohol!!

5. When the crust is finished remove it from the oven and pour the lemon mixture over top.

6. Here is where it got ugly the last time. The original recipe calls for “crumbling” the remaining cookie dough on top. But using this method, it looked like a child made it. It cannot be compacted like the bottom layer since the filling is below it. Here is my solution: knead a roughly 8 x 8 square of remaining dough on a piece of parchment paper.

Then carefully remove the paper and lie it on top of the filling. This worked wonderfully except for the corners where I had to add a few extra pieces to cover.

7. With all layers assembled, bake for another 25 minutes. When they are finished, let cool on the counter for about 15 minutes. Then, let set in the fridge for about an hour before cutting.

 

Let me just step back in for a minute to tell you that it was very good. Personally, I loved the cookie crust. Hope you give it a try!

---

This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

---