The last shipment of lemons… how about homemade lemon curd with shortbread this time?

My grandma sent up some more Meyer lemons… the last of the winter crop from her tree. I think everyone I know is getting a little lemoned-out, so I decided to make a cookie that I could fill with either lemon curd or jam. The cookies are something I have made before – Ina Garten’s Linzer Cookies – but filling them with lemon curd was something new. I don’t think anyone expected them to be this good. I know I didn’t. I think this is one of my favorite cookies. They are delicious in the morning with a cup of coffee, for a snack in the afternoon, or for dessert after dinner. When you start with delicious Meyer lemons and homemade buttery shortbread, it’s hard to mess that up.

I had made lemon curd once or twice before, but I wanted to try a new recipe. I know Ina Garten has a lot of lemon recipes, so I found a recipe for lime curd in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and read how she would adapt it for lemons. I gave it a try. Although I made a lot of dirty dishes (food processor, stand mixer, saucepan, strainer) making this recipe, it was worth it. The balance of the sweetness and tartness was perfect, and the lemon zest was pureed so that it really dispersed throughout the curd, giving it an amazing lemon flavor. It wasn’t just tart, it was very lemony, which is what I wanted.

The only thing I really changed from her recipe is that I strained it at the end. No matter how slow I cook lemon curd, I always end up with a few bits of cooked egg in it. Straining it solves that problem.

I made the lemon curd before making the cookies so that it would have time to cool completely before I spread it between the cookies.

For the cookies, I had bought some square cutters a few weeks ago becuase I'm tired of the same-old round cookies. They were acutally fondant cutters that came in 3 sizes. I used the middle size for the cookies, and the smallest size to cut out the opening for the top cookies. (A circle cutter and any small circle like a funnel would work well also.)

Meyer Lemon Curd (adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 1999)

Keeps for a week or two in the refrigerator.

3 lemons, Meyer preferred
½ cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 stick butter, room temperature
4 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt

Using a carrot peeler (or a microplane), remove the zest of 3 lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor with the sugar. Pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar, I actually left the machine on for about a minute, making sure the zest was completely the size of the sugar granules. (In the future, I plan to use this method to make lemon sugar cookies – first making lemon-sugar using the lemon zest, and then continuing with the sugar cookie recipe as usual).

Using a stand mixer, cream the butter with the lemon-sugar mixture until well-mixed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat, strain using a fine-mesh strainer, then cool and refrigerate.

Linzer Cookies (Adapted from recipe in Ina Garten’s The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, copyright 1999)

3 sticks butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Strawberry or raspberry preserves OR homemade lemon curd

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix butter and sugar using a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or electric hand mixer) until just combined. Add the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour and salt, then add them to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough ¼-inch thick and cut 2-3 inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. In half of the rounds, cut out a few circles with a smaller cutter.

Place all cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread jam or lemon curd on the flat side of each solid cookie. Press the flat size of the cut out cookie on top and, if desired, dust the sandwich with confectioners’ sugar.

  

Homemade Greek Yogurt

All you need is milk, a little yogurt, and a slow-cooker. In just 14 and a half hours, you have your own, freshly made yogurt. It sounds like a long time, but the hands-on time is probably 15 minutes total. With a little bit of planning, the process is very easy and extremely rewarding.

I got the idea to make my own yogurt on Pinterest, when I read about using a slow-cooker to make it. I had always wanted to make yogurt, but I knew it had to be kept at a constant, warm temperature in order to work. I didn't want to buy any special equipment, so the slow-cooker was a brilliant idea!

The basic process is this (full directions are below):

1.         Heat a half gallon of milk (anything but ultra-pasteurized) on low in a slow-cooker for 2 ½ hours.
2.        Turn off slow-cooker and let sit for 3 hours.
3.        Add ½ cup yogurt and mix well.
4.        Insulate slow-cooker with a heavy towel and let sit for 8 hours.
5.        Let yogurt sit over a cheesecloth or paper towel-lined sieve for at least 1 hour to drain.
6.        Transfer to plastic container and refrigerate!

I made this all in one day, starting when I woke up in the morning and finishing just before going to bed. You could also do the first part of the process (5 ½ hours) before bed, and let it sit for the 8 hours while you sleep, then strain it in the morning.

I have made plain yogurt and I just add flavorings such as honey, jam or fruit when I eat it. I’m not sure how adding flavors to the whole batch would work. It may change the texture.

I calculated that making my own yogurt saves money too. I have bought a half-gallon of milk for anywhere from $1.25 - $2.00, and the ½ cup of yogurt from my quart of Greek yogurt from Costo costs about $0.50, so overall, the cost ranges from $1.75 - $2.50 for a quart of yogurt. That’s a great price compared to a quart of store-bought Greek yogurt.

 Homemade Greek Yogurt (from Noel's Kitchen Tips) 

8 cups milk

½ cup store-bought natural plain yogurt (Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter)

Note: (whole, 1%, 2% or skim Pasteurized Milk, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized it won’t work.) You can also use 1 gallon of milk and 1 cup of yogurt, just heat the milk for 3 hours instead of 2 ½ on step 2. The rest of the steps are the same.

1. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor. (After the 5 ½ hour mark, you can go to bed.)

2. Plug in your slow-cooker and turn to low. Add a half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 ½ hours.

3. Unplug your slow-cooker. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.

4. When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in ½ cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crock pot. Wisk to combine.

5. Put the lid back on your slow-cooker. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation.

6. Go to bed or let it sit for 8 hours.

7. In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened to the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.

8. Place cheesecloth or paper towels into a fine-mesh sieve and ladle the yogurt into it, place the sieve into a big bowl or in the sink.

The whey that is strained out.

9. Let it sit for at least 1 hr until thick and creamy.

10. Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save ½ cup as a starter to make a new batch.

I save my old yogurt containers.

The finished product.