Zesty Lemon Bars - Martha Stewart Recipe Tried and Tested

While this one is not an original recipe of mine, I wanted to make these because they just sounded amazing. I also love eating citrus flavored anything during winter because it is such a simple and effective way of lifting your spirits when the weather is bringing you down. I got the recipe for these Zesty Lemon Bars for the Martha Stewart website, and my verdict is that they are delicious and very much worth every second you spend making them. The crust provides a delectable, buttery, flavorful vessel for the lemon topping which is sweet and tart at the same time. These will go well at tea time or ...... oh who am I kidding, they are a good any time treat. Check out the recipe and enjoy them if you decide to make them.

Carrot & Ginger Scones

Yeah I have been on a scone kick lately. This is a bit of a variation on my cranberry date scones, posted about three days ago. This recipe uses a little more flour to offset the moistness added by the carrots. Anywhoo here is the recipe:

Carrot & Ginger Scones  (Yields about 12-14)

For the chunky ginger simple syrup:

1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of water
2 TBSP Ginger (diced into little tiny pieces)

Put the water in a small sauce pan and heat it to a boil. Take off burner and add the sugar to make simple syrup. Add the ginger and put your sauce pan back on the burner this time at a low heat for about 20 minutes, allowing the ginger to infuse the simple syrup. Stir frequently. Raise the heat slightly so that the syrup bubbles a bit stirring frequently so that the sugar will not caramelize, until the syrup reduces by about 1/4. The goal is to make a thick clear ginger syrup with ginger bits to add to the scone mix. 


For the scones:

12 TBSP Butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 1/2 Cups of flour

1 TBSP Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
Chunky ginger simple syrup
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/2 Grated Carrots

Preheat your oven to 400 Fahrenheit. In a bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside. Put your butter in a mixer and beat until softened and creamy. Start adding in half of the flour mixture a little at a time to allow the flour to incorporate into the butter. Add the ginger simple syrup. Add the remaining half of the flour mixture adding little by little alternating with the milk and the eggs. Add the grated carrots. 


Scoop the dough into baking cups either closely clustered together on a baking dish (if you want to give them a rustic look) or in a cupcake pan (if you like your baked goods to look perfect). Fill the baking cups half way to allow room for the scone to rise. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the outside of the scones is a golden brown checking with a toothpick to make sure the inside is cooked through.

Serve drizzled with honey or with your favorite jams, butter or whipped cream and a nice cup of coffee or tea. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did making and eating them.