3 Sep 2015

Lemon Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen | 0

Lemon Cardamom Shortbread

Cardamom is definitely my favorite go-to spice with anything berries or citrus.  It just lends that special “oomph” and “hmmm, wonder what is in there” to any recipe.  I have made some cardamom sugar with the pods and always have ground cardamom in my spice “basket” (a wine box I found at Goodwill which I love and am always in search of another one for cheap).

Anyway, I had to share this recipe tonight!  Just in case you have tons of lemons and you just have to have cookies with your decaf tonight!

This recipe is a shout out to Cheryl Day who owns Back in the Day Bakery – my fave cafe in my favorite city in Georgia, Savannah.  I tweaked her recipe and oh by golly is it good (and her’s is stellar too by the way).

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Lemon Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
Author: 
Recipe type: Cookies
Cuisine: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3 dozen
 
Perfect chewy shortbread for that cup of coffee!
Ingredients
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1½ tsp lemon extract (I love opening the bottle of this, smells amazing)
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1¼ cup 10x sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • zest of two lemons
  • ⅛-1/4 cup cardamom sugar (for sprinkling on top before baking)
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350.
  2. Spray sheet pans with baking spray.
  3. Cream butter. Add in salt and lemon. Combine sugar and zest. Then add in all purpose flour. Shape into balls with your hands and gently press them down (I'd love to find a pretty cookie press for this one, a simple, antique one would be great).
  4. Let chill in fridge for 2 hours.
  5. Sprinkle cardamom sugar on top of each cookie.
  6. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.
  7. Cool a little - then devour them warm, or wait until morning.
 

 

18 Aug 2014

Blueberry Italian Cheese Tart

by | posted in: food, The Charming South Kitchen, Uncategorized | 2

Blueberry Italian Cheese Tart

The longer you are married to your spouse, the more you begin to think like him (or her) and what the other person likes or dislikes becomes you.  That is probably how the old adage got started by saying the longer a couple is married they look more and more like each other.

My Mister and I have only been married for (almost) 3 years.  One of the blessings of those three years is having someone to cook (and bake) for all the time.  Some women find that daunting.  I find it challenging in a good way – but I also need to eat out sometimes, even if it is Chick-fil-A.

Blueberries and Crystal

One of the things that my Mister loves is fruit desserts.  So, I wanted to create a sweet fruit recipe that he could enjoy.  Two of the unmistakable tastes of summer to me are lemons and bluberries.  I remember picking buckets of blueberries at Huber’s Family Farm up in southern Indiana when I lived in Louisville.  I could eat a lot just standing there picking in – never filling up my bucket.  (To anyone from Huber’s reading this – I really didn’t, I may have snuck one or two (berries, not buckets).

Blueberry Tart

So, with Italian cheeses on hand and some blueberries and lemons, I set out to create this tart.  Enjoy the final days of summer!

Blueberry Tart

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Blueberry Italian Cheese Tart
Author: 
Recipe type: dessert
Cuisine: Tart/Fruit
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10
 
A creamy, cheesy sweet tart with blueberries and lemon
Ingredients
  • For the crust:
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • ¾ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ⅛ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 stick butter, unsalted, melted
  • 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • For the filling:
  • 8 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 8 oz mascarpone cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ⅓ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp real maple syrup
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • For the fruit topping:
  • Whole blueberries
  • zest of one lemon
Instructions
  1. For the crust:
  2. Mix everything together and press into a removable bottom 9.5 inch tart pan. Put in freezer for about 20 minutes. Poke holes with a fork in bottom of crust. Bake covered with foil for 15 minutes (at 350). Remove foil and bake for another 15. Let cool to room temperature.
  3. For the filling:
  4. Mix everything and combine until no more lumps. Pour filling into cooled crust and bake at 350 for another 40-45 minutes or until filling is set. Let cool slightly
  5. For the topping:
  6. Mix the blueberries with the lemon zest. Scatter on top of tart.
  7. Set in fridge until cold. Serve with cool whip or homemade whipped cream and a sprig of mint - and preferably some decaf!