Make It Monday!

Last week I was boring and looking through my Pinterest and I found a recipe for Lemon Curd Cookie bars! I had it pinned for awhile now but since I had been busy with school I didn't take the time to make them. Since I love me some lemon desserts and it was a gloomy day I decided to make them and I'm so glad I did! I had no idea how easy it was to make home made lemon curd! These cookies/tarts are amazing and super easy.

This recipe comes from Barbara Bakes and I'm totally going to be picking some more recipes from her site because if her other recipes are as good as this one everything I make will be amazing. I was a little bit worried about having to make the lemon curd myself but it is super easy. It is a little labour heavy but easy and in the end it is totally worth it. The cookie part is super easy too and totally melt  in your mouth fantastic. 

Lemon Bar Cookie Cups

Ingredients for Cookie Cups

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup lemon curd (recipe below)
• powdered sugar for decorating, optional

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Combine the flours, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil, egg and extracts. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and stir until combined.
• Drop one tablespoon dough (I used a #50 scoop) into each cup of a greased mini muffin tin. Bake for 8 minutes.
• Remove from oven and using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Fill with a teaspoon of lemon curd. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 4 minutes, or until cookies are firm and lightly browned on the sides. Remove to wire racks to cool.
• Sprinkle the edges to the cookies with powdered sugar.

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Instructions

• In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat for about 1 minute. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled but I promise it will smooth out when it is cooked (the butter just needs to melt).
• In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. Up the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. Watch it because this part could go faster. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.
• Remove the curd from the heat. Add in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The lemon curd will thicken more as it cools in the fridge. 

Make and Enjoy!

I wish we still had some but they went over the weekend!

Also, happy long weekend to my American friends! Happy Memorial Day!