Are you all tired of winter yet? I am. I tire of the cold pretty quickly these days. I love living in Illinois but I wish that the winters were not so freaking endless. I start to long for green leaves and warm nights right about mid-January and by Valentine’s Day I am downright done with winter. Well, I am right in the midst of that period and am looking forward to sunshine and 80 degrees. So, I thought that I would share a recipe today for a sweet treat that brings to mind summer days. You can certainly make it all year long like I do and maybe it will help to ease the depression of dull gray winter skies. 

This recipe is for lemon brownies. I know. I know. That does not sound right and you can just call these lemon bars if you wish. Brownies are supposed to be chocolate. I mean, they are typically literally brown. I don’t know but I suspect that the name is derived from their color. But, these lemon treats are called brownies and I respect that. It is kind of cool when you think about it. I have always liked things that are a bit different; that don’t conform to conventions. Lemon Brownies are moist, delicious, sweet and tart like a lemon bar but are also dense and chewy like a brownie. If you love lemon you will love this recipe. If you cannot tolerate calling them brownies, then don’t. Call them squares or bars or hedgehogs if that makes you happy, but make them and enjoy them.

This is a recipe that I found on Pinterest and tweaked a little to my liking.  The brownies are made from scratch but don’t let that frighten you. They are super easy. They are great for potlucks or taking to the office.

For the brownies, you will need 1 cup of softened unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 4 large eggs at room temperature, 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon baking powder for the brownies. For the glaze, you will need 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon extract or vanilla, and enough lemon juice to make your glaze the correct consistency (around 4 tablespoons). If you are using vanilla, you can use clear vanilla to make the glaze really white.

Let’s get this party started. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 X 13 baking pan with parchment paper.

Zest your lemons and squeeze out the juice, making sure to remove any seeds. I needed 2 lemons to get the right amount of zest and fresh juice because mine were smaller in size. Feel free to use bottled lemon juice to supplement if you don’t have enough for both the brownies and the glaze. Set aside both the zest and the juice in separate bowls or measuring cups.   

Whisk together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically. This will take several minutes. 

Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture gradually, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until just combined.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan evenly. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 28 minutes. Do not overbake. A toothpick inserted in the center should have some moist crumbs but no liquid batter. 

Cool the brownies on the counter. While the brownies are cooling you can mix up the glaze.

For the glaze, mix the powdered sugar, lemon extract or vanilla, and lemon juice in a large measuring cup or medium bowl with a whisk until smooth.  Start off with about half of the lemon juice and add more until you get the right consistency. You want a pourable glaze.

Once the brownies are cooled, pour the glaze over the top and spread to cover completely. Allow the glaze to harden and then cut the brownies.

These keep well in an air-tight container on the counter for a few days or you can keep them in the fridge for a little longer.  

I hope that this recipe brings a little sunshine into your day. Here’s to the prospect of sunny days, sandals, and warm breezes coming through open windows. Until next time, Lovies!

Print Recipe

Lemon Brownies

Lemon Brownies are moist, delicious, sweet and tart like a lemon bar but are also dense and chewy like a brownie. If you love lemon you will love this recipe.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Cooling time30 mins

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Author: Wench Sherry

Ingredients

Brownies

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp lemon extract or vanilla
• 4 Tbsp lemon juice approximately

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Zest your lemons and squeeze out the juice, making sure to remove any seeds.  I needed 2 lemons to get the right amount of zest and fresh juice because mine were smaller in size.  Feel free to use bottled lemon juice to supplement if you don’t have enough for both the brownies and the glaze. Set aside both the zest and the juice in separate bowls or measuring cups.
• Whisk together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
• Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically.
• Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
• Add the flour mixture gradually, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Mix until just combined. 
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan evenly.  Bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 28 minutes.  Do not overbake.  A toothpick inserted in the center should have some moist crumbs but no liquid batter.
• Cool the brownies on the counter.  While the brownies are cooling you can mix up the glaze.
• For the glaze, mix the powdered sugar, lemon extract or vanilla, and lemon juice in a large measuring cup or medium bowl with a whisk until smooth.  Start off with about half of the lemon juice and add more until you get the right consistency.  You want a pourable glaze.
• Once the brownies are cooled, pour the glaze over the top and spread to cover completely.  Allow the glaze to harden and then cut the brownies.

Hey hey, everyone!  Or should I say Ho Ho Ho?  It is getting to be that time of year.  But first we must get through Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving, although not as much as Christmas, because of the food, of course.  Not just the eating of the food but the cooking and baking as well.

We normally host the Thanksgiving feast for my family and will be doing so again this year.  I am not gonna tell a big whopping fib (Santa is watching you know) and say that I really enjoy hosting the big family meal.  I enjoy it once the food is all prepared and everyone is there having a good time.  But, the weeks leading up to the event are a royal pain in the butt.  I always over-prepare.  I stress about how clean the house is and worry too much about the tiniest details that no one notices anyway but that is how I roll.  I should be home right now doing some of that cobweb busting and carpet cleaning.  However, I am writing this while sitting in Union Station in Chicago waiting for our train to take us back home.  My husband had a school board conference in Chicago and asked me to come along.  I shouldn’t have because of all the work waiting for me at home but I decided to live a little.  So, I have been shopping and eating and walking my way up and down Michigan Avenue for 3 ½ days.  Oh my gosh, the walking. I kind of wish that I had a Fitbit so I could see how many millions of steps I have made this weekend.  I doubt that I lost any pounds because we have not dieted by any means but I probably came out about even.  I know that I burned some serious calories but I also indulged in some pretty good food.  Right now, I have a bag of “Nuts on Clark” caramel corn/popcorn mix and some fantastic Red Velvet Cherries to munch on while we wait.  Sooooo good.  I wasn’t going to buy anything to eat here at the station even though we are going to be here for about 3 hours waiting for our train but, dang, that popcorn place smelled too good to pass up.  And speaking of too good to pass up, I have a doozy of a dessert recipe to share with you today.  I am hoping to get this posted by Thanksgiving but no promises.

I want to share a recipe for Creme Brulee Caramel Pie.  My niece, Amber, has a serious addiction to Creme Brulee apparently.  She asked me last summer to bring Creme Brulee to some family gathering.  Well now, I have a large family and had to figure out a way to make a large batch rather than mess around with those little ramekins for everyone but I accomplished it.  My sons also love Creme Brulee but I don’t make it often, although I should.  They also love caramel pie.  So, when I saw a recipe for this pie, I had to try it. I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit my family’s tastes and this is the result.

This pie has a simple graham cracker crust.  Then comes a luscious layer of Dulce de Leche topped with a homemade cooked vanilla custard.  Add a bit of sugar to the top and burn it to a nice crispy and golden glorious finish.  Wow!  The velvety smooth texture between layers of buttery crunch and sugary crunch is unbelievable.  You are sure to impress with this pie and it is so very simple to make.

Hey Everyone!  Long time, no see!  I am back at it! Sharing recipes old and new!  Today we have a new one! It is actually new because I made it up…sort of.  I created a recipe that is very similar to one that I found online a while back.  It was really really good but, for whatever reason, I didn’t make it again. Then, recently, I was trying out another new recipe that was in the same genre and was reminded of it.  I decided to give it another try with some tweaks of my own. And so, I came up with Sherry’s Cinnamon Donut Pie. Yep, you read that right! Cinnamon. Donut. Pie. A pie made from donuts.  I know, insane. Insanely delicious that is.

I gotta admit that I am not a huge cake donut fan.  I mean, I like them and all, but I don’t crave them and can even pass them up pretty easily  However when I put those same donuts, or in this case, donut holes in a pie shell and add a delicious gooey vanilla filling, I can’t resist.  

The original recipe came from The Domestic Rebel.  I am a big fan of her website and her recipes. Her original pie called for plain donut holes.  I decided that I wanted to have some cinnamon flavor and would use cinnamon sugar donut holes. But, when I went to the store to purchase said holes, I discovered a package that had three flavors, plain and cinnamon and powdered sugar.  Jackpot! This combination is heavenly. You can use any flavor that you like. I would say the chocolate-glazed kind would probably not work well. That waxy glaze would not allow the filling to soak in and create a beautiful moist cakey consistency.  I believe that you could also use mini donuts just as easily if you can’t find the holes or the flavor you want. Oh hey, that just gave me a thought. One of the brands of mini donuts in my local stores has a multitude of flavors like red velvet and carrot cake.  That would be an interesting experiment. I guess I will be adding those to my shopping list this week.

I also tweaked the filling and I added more so that most of the holes were covered in the shell.  I like the look of the bumps of donut arranged in the shell like some delicious lumpy cloud, however, I also like to have filling in every bite.

This pie is super easy and would be a great dessert for those times when you are having company but don’t have a lot of time to invest.  It can be made ahead and served at room temperature or warmed briefly in the microwave. Sherry’s Cinnamon Donut Pie is part pie and part coffee cake.  It has a wonderful moist center with a delicious vanilla and cinnamon flavor. The addition of glaze to the top of the pie adds a touch of elegance and another level of yum.