My Recipe Reviews

Recipe Reviews, Recommendations, Tips and Musings. Thanks for visiting!

Esther Brody

Glazed Lemon Braid Cookies

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Spring and Glazed Lemon Braid Cookies make the warmer days a little brighter!

Lemon Braids on a White Plate with Lemon Slices.

Another winner recipe from Esther Brody’s 500 Best Cookies, Bars & Squares.  This is the tenth recipe I’ve tried from this baking cookbook.

There aren’t any photos in this cookbook, but it doesn’t matter.  Whichever  recipe I choose from this book has an outstanding result.

Some of the favorites that I’ve posted previous are Cinnamon Oatmeal Biscotti, Dreamy Krispie Toffee Squares, and Lemon Blueberry Crumble Bars.

Lemon Cookies in a Blue Cup.

These amazing lemon cookies are a little chewy, but a little crunchy around the edges.

The best part?  The smooth, creamy lemon glaze!  Who knew two ingredients –  powdered sugar and lemon juice – could be so fabulous mixed together and simply brushed over a delicious little braided cookie?

Glazed Lemon Braid Cookies are easy to put together with ingredients I’m sure you have in your pantry.  Butter, sugar, flour, egg, and a fresh lemon along with powdered sugar for the glaze.

The braiding sounds fancy, looks pretty and is easy to do.  You’re only using two strands of dough and they’re gently twisted around each other.  

You’ll want to lightly flour your hands when rolling out the dough strands or they’ll be a little unruly.  Unruly = slidey all over the place.  The flour hands help a little and they’re really quickly done.

Close up of Lemon Braid Cookies

 

Refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes, then put straight into the oven for 15 to 18 minutes until just browned around the edges.  They won’t get very browned, so don’t over bake them.

Brushing the glaze over the still-warm Lemon Braid Cookies makes this step a lot easier and less messy.  If you spoon or pour the glaze over them, you waste a lot of glaze and coverage isn’t as good.

For a final touch, I grated a little more lemon zest over the glazed cookies.  There’s also some zest in the cookie batter, but I don’t think you can ever overdo lemon flavor.  

These are delicious little lemony cookies that are great to eat for a grab-and-go snack or dunked in your afternoon hot tea.  I can’t wait to make them again.

Lemon Braids on a White Plate with Lemon Slices.

Glazed Lemon Braid Cookies

Yield: 16-18 cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes

Delicious vanilla-lemon cookies with a creamy lemon glaze.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1 C granulated sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • Zest of one medium lemon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • For the Glaze:
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

  1. In a stand mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until combined and crumbly. Add the egg, lemon zest, and salt, again beating until combined.
  2. Gradually add flour, 1/2 cup at a time and mix thoroughly between additions. The dough will be soft, but kind of thick.
  3. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper (or spray with cooking spray).
  4. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of dough and divide that into two pieces. Lightly flour your hands and on a dry counter or baking marble, roll each piece into about an 8-inch rope.
  5. Twist the two strands together, gently but as tightly as you can without smushing the braid. Cut the braid in half (about 4" pieces) and place on the prepared pan.
  6. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Refrigerate braids for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° while the dough is chilling.
  7. Place one of the cookie sheets on the middle rack of your oven, and the other sheet on a rack just below the middle. Bake for 15-18 minutes, just until the edges begin browning. Swap the baking sheets onto different racks half way through baking.
  8. Immediately remove the cookies to a cooling rack. While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze.
  9. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until the glaze is creamy and smooth.
  10. Place a big piece of waxed paper under your rack to catch the glaze dripping. While the cookies are still a bit warm, brush the glaze over the cookies with a pastry brush, covering the cookies completely. Let set for about 20 minutes.
  11. Store the cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to three days.

Notes

Don't be tempted to roll the dough ropes between your palms - they'll fall apart. Just roll it gently on a counter or marble and it will go quickly.

I finished my glazed cookies with a little more lemon zest, but that's optional.

Don't over bake the cookies - they'll still be fairly blonde when they're done.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 144Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 52mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Esther Brody
Category: Cookies

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

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Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

I can’t go very long without making a goodie from Esther Brody’s 500 Best Cookies, Bars, and Squares. You can do a search on my site for her name and you’ll see a ton of terrific recipes I’ve made from this book.

These Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars (she calls them Squares) are no exception. Terrific!

These bars are basically a thick cookie dough base that’s generously sprinkled with chocolate chips, then finished with a crispy, chewy, brown sugar meringue.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

You probably have all of the ingredients on hand for these bars. They’re very basic and the meringue on top really makes them a different treat.

Take these with you to a party, family gathering or potluck. They’re unique and quite tasty. I love the crispy, chewy meringue on top.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

I halved the recipe for these Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars because we really don’t need a 13×9 inch pan full of them waiting for us to sneak one every time we walk into the kitchen.

Just a tip: Be sure and get the piece right in the middle of the pan – it’s the perfect combination of all of the ingredients!

And no, my husband doesn’t appreciate me cutting the middle piece out of bars and sheet cakes. Life’s short…

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

Yield: 12 bars
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 28 minutes
Total Time: 48 minutes

Thick chocolate chip cookie-like base sprinkled generously with chocolate chips, finished off with a crispy chewy brown sugar meringue.

Ingredients

  • 1 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 C butter
  • 1/4 C granulated sugar
  • 3/4 C packed brown sugar, divided into 1/2 C and 1/4 C
  • 1 egg, separated
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tbsp water
  • 3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly spray an 8" square pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and pinch of salt.
  3. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar together until smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg yolk, scraping down the sides of the pan as needed. Add the vanilla and mix. Gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated.
  4. Spread the thick dough into the prepared pan, smoothing down with the back of a large spoon. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the dough, pressing down lightly into the dough.
  5. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
  6. Spread the meringue evenly over the dough to the edges. Bake for 26-28 minutes, until the meringue is set and golden brown. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely. Store leftover bars in an airtight container.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

I halved the original recipe, so if you want to you can double this recipe and bake in a 13x9" pan.

Make sure and press the chocolate chips down into the dough so that when you spread the meringue over the top, the chips don't move around.

Don't worry if you don't exactly get stiff peaks on the egg white/brown sugar mixture.  Beat it for several minutes until it's very thick.

Mine were done in 28 minutes - don't overbake them.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 bar
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 102mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Esther Brody (500 Best Cookies, Bars & Squares)
Category: Bars

Dreamy Krispie Toffee Squares

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Krispie Toffee Squares

These Dreamy Krispie Toffee Squares are from one of my favorite sweets cookbooks of all time – ‘500 Best Cookies, Bars & Squares’ by Esther Brody.

I think I paid five dollars at a used book store a long time ago and it’s been one of the best cookbooks in my collection. Everything I’ve made from it has been great and that’s hard to find in a cookbook!

Dreamy Krispie Toffee Squares (originally named Krispie Toffee Triangles) are no exception to the successes.

These dessert bars have three scrumptious layers, starting with a buttery brown sugar krispies crust. The middle layer is luscious creamy caramely-toffee (courtesy of the sweetened condensed milk) and the final layer is simply chocolate-covered krispies.

Krispie Toffee Squares

Pretty, simple, right? Well, yes it it simple. You bake the crust for 10-12 minutes, pour the filling over the top of the crust, and top it with the two-ingredient crunchy chocolate topping.

It does take time to firm up (about 3 hours in the refrigerator after put together), but the final result is absolutely, decadently eye-rolling.

Just an aside: I used chocolate sweetened condensed milk because that’s what I had in my cabinet. If you can get your hands on that flavor in your area, I highly recommend it!

Krispie Toffee Squares

I want to mention some of the other recipes from the cookbook that are posted in my blog, too. The Soft Cinnamon Roll Cookies are one of my most popular recipes (over 500,000 hits).

Also from this cookbook are the Cinnamon Honey Oatmeal Biscotti (one of my favorites) and the snickerdoodle-textured Soft Sugared Maple Cookies.

I’m definitely going to be choosing a couple of new holiday-oriented cookies for Thanksgiving and Christmas get togethers this year. It’s nice to be so confident in a cookbook that I can browse through it, point, and make a recipe that sounds good to me and comes out great!

Krispie Toffee Squares

I hope you’ll make these Dreamy Krispie Toffee Squares – I think you’ll love them. Just remember to cut them fairly small (about 1″ squares) because they’re veeeeerrrrry rich!

Krispie Toffee Squares

Dreamy Krispie Toffee Squares

Yield: 32 1-inch squares
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes

Outstanding, sweet, rich, crispy, chocolately, creamy - perfect! 

Ingredients

  • Base
  • 1/2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/3 C butter, melted
  • 1/3 C packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 C crispy rice cereal
  • Filling
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1 can (about 1 1/4 C) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 C packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Topping
  • 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/4 C crispy rice cereal
  • 1/8 tsp kosher salt (not table salt)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil (longer at two ends to lift out after done) and lightly spray the bottom and sides.
  2. For the Base:  Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  Make a well in the center and add the melted butter, brown sugar, and rice cereal.  Stir together until well combined.  Press into the prepared pan and bake for 10-11 minutes until very lightly browned.  Set pan on a rack to cool slightly while you're making the filling.
  3. For the Filling:  In a non-stick saucepan over low heat, stir together the butter, condensed milk and brown sugar until sugar feels dissolved. 
  4. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Pour the filling over the crust and let sit for 20-30 minutes on the rack until the filling firms up a bit.
  5. For the Topping:  In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips.  Stir in the cereal and stir together until well combined.  Spread evenly over the filling and slightly press with your fingertips to help adhere a little to the filling. 
  6. Sprinkle the kosher salt over the topping.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, cut into 32, 1-inch squares.  
  7. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days if needed.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

I used chocolate sweetened condensed milk (which was awesome, by the way), but regular will be just as good.  That's what I had in the cabinet!

The last sprinkle of kosher salt (not regular table salt, please) is optional, but cuts the sweetness a little and gives the bars a little of that sweet-salty thing.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 32 Serving Size: 1 bar
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 91Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 73mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 1g
© Esther Brody
Category: Candy