Lemon Pie Bars, a Review, and a Giveaway {CLOSED}

Note: The giveaway is at the end of this post. {GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED}

Have you ever heard that some people are really good at one or two things and some other people are pretty good at a number of things?

Well...I'm the latter type. I have many, many different interests. Mostly, my interests reside on the creative side of things. I like drawing and doing makeup. I've taught myself to knit. I've made wreaths. I've toyed with the idea of writing but figure I'll leave that to people who enjoy it. I've considered interior design. I have a degree in Psychology.

Okay. That last one isn't so much creative. But is it not? I wanted to be a therapist for a very long time. Now I don't think it's for me.

The one thing I haven't swayed on is baking. I love to bake. Baking is in my soul, it's in my blood. It's my history, my heritage, my inheritance.

As a young child, I would sit at my grandma's aged, formica topped table and watch her roll pie crust and form apricot fried hand pies. I remember the smells, the tastes, everything. Thinking of that wonderful, simple time brings me a sense of joy that not much else can.

When I picked up a copy of The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook I thought that it looked like a cute cookbook for which I could do a review and a giveaway. I had no idea what was really in store for me.

This cookbook brings back the thoughts of love and warmth that I used to feel at my grandma's kitchen table. The book provides a sense of love, family, community. I found myself on the verge of tears during the introduction.

This book pulls you in and makes you feel like you are home. At the beginning of each recipe are a few words by Cheryl about why the dish is special enough to be in the cookbook. There are stories of celebration and community hidden among the pages. Introductions to each section take you back into the childhood memories of Cheryl and Griff and make you nostalgic. There's even a poem written by a customer about a favorite cookie they sell in their shop.

The book is full of stunning, vintage like photos. The recipes are simple and easy to understand. There are no big words, the recipes are written as if you were explaining to a friend how to make a beloved recipe.

The book is broken down into 9 chapters:

1. Breakfast
2. Coffee Cakes, Quick Breads, and Sweet Yeast Breads
3. Cupcakes and Cakes
4. Pies, Cobblers, Crisps, and Tarts
5. Puddings and Custards
6. Cookies
7. Brownies and Bars
8. Confections
9. Savories

I have so many recipes on my to make list from this book. Seriously. It's bad. I want to make just about everything in this book.

I will admit. I have tried a number of these recipes. So far I've tried the snickerdoodles, cinnamon biscones with vanilla glaze drizzle, the hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting, and of course, these lemon pie bars. Not one thing on this list has disappointed. 

My dear friend Monica came over the day that I made these lemon pie bars. She decided to make the Drunk Blondies and we ended up trading bars with one another (so I've tried these too. That's 5 recipes so far!). I won't spend a lot of time on these bars because she is blogging about them today. After you are done here, you should pop over and read about these bars as well!!

These lemon pie bars were absolutely amazing. The perfect amount of tang and sweet. The crust was buttery and felt like it melted in your mouth as it gently crumbled upon each bite. The first [few] bars I ate were just the bars by themselves. However, I made some whipped cream for the pictures and fell even more in love with the bars than when they were naked! And I don't even like whipped cream!! But the sweetness and cloud like texture of the whipped cream just enhanced the lemon pie bars and made them extra special.

So without further ado, let's bake!

First, mix together some graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar.

Press the mixture into a pan and bake it up. Take it out to cool.

While the crust is cooling, whip up the filling. Toss together some cream, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sweetened condensed milk and whisk it until thoroughly combined.

Pour the filling over the cooled crust.

Place in a water bath and bake it until it no longer jiggles. After it has baked, remove the bars from the water bath and let cool to room temperature. Place the pan in the fridge and allow to get really cold.

Slice into bars and top with whipped cream if you are into that kind of thing.

Serve and enjoy!!


Lemon Pie Bars
Adapted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

For the Crust

• 3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 24 crackers)
• 12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons sugar

For the Filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
• 6 large egg yolks

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan and line with parchment, allowing the ends of the paper to hang over two opposite sides of the pan.
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar with a fork until evenly moistened. 
3. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan until level.
4. Bake the crust for 8 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool while preparing the filling.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
6. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks until well combined.
7. Pour filling over the cooled crust and level with a plastic spatula.
8. Place the baking dish into a larger pan and pour water into the larger pan until the water reaches about halfway up the sides of the smaller pan.
9. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes or until the center no longer jiggles and the edges are puffed.
10. Remove pan from water bath and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate until cold.
11. Cut bars into squares, top with whipped cream if desired.
12. Serve and enjoy!

And what good is a cookbook review without a giveaway?? I loved this cookbook SO much that I want to share it with the world. Unfortunately, I can't afford that, so I'm giving one lucky person a copy of this wonderful cookbook. Here are the rules:

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

To enter this giveaway you MUST answer THIS question in the comments:

1. What is your favorite food/baking memory from back in the day?

For additional entries please leave a comment for each entry:

2. Follow Jolts & Jollies through Google Friend Connect or RSS feed

3. "Like" Jolts & Jollies on Facebook

4. Leave a comment on Monica's drunk blondies saying I sent you (If you are here from Monica's blog, leave an extra comment saying so)

This giveaway is open to US residents only (sorry) and will close at 11:59pm CDT on Tuesday, July 31st.

The thoughts and opinions given in this review are strictly my own. I have not been compensated in any way for this review and am paying for the giveaway copy myself.

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Cake

I don't know about you...but I have this little love affair going on with S'mores.

S'mores are pure magic.

They are ooey gooey, melty, sticky and just oh so delicious.

When I was younger, we would either make S'mores in the microwave or, if we were lucky enough to be renting a house with a gas stovetop, we would hold the marshmallows over the fire from the gas burner and char our marshmallows that way.

I thought they were one of the most amazing treats ever!

I especially loved watching the marshmallows puff up really huge in the microwave.

When I was about 26, my entire S'mores world came crashing down all around me.

I had been doing it....wrong!

All these years and no one had thought to show me the way.

Until a dear friend of mine asked me "you've never had S'mores over a real fire??"

NO!

This friend quickly set up a night where I could come over to her house so we could light a fire in their fire pit and enjoy S'mores the way they were meant to be eaten.

I had one bite and my life was forever changed.

The Hubble was in Afghanistan at the time so naturally, when he got home, we set up another S'mores making night.

Now, I just can't go back to the microwaved or gas stove burner way of making S'mores.

It's no longer natural to me. It doesn't hold the same appeal it did in my younger days.

When my Cake Slice Bakers group chose this graham cracker chocolate chip cake for January, I was super excited.

This looked like S'mores in cake form! Can you get any better than that???

This cake was light and crumbly. The chocolate chips offer little hints of sweetness. And the frosting gives you a subtle marshmallowy flavor.

This cake was good. But sadly, it will never replace my beloved S'mores. (I think if I had an 8 inch cake pan instead of a 9 inch I would have been more excited about this cake)

Nothing can replace that first bite of a S'more where the melted chocolate threatens to drip onto your lap and the hot marshmallow stretches beyond the point where you thought possible.

But this cake does offer a lovely alternative if you just aren't feeling the mess that S'mores are known for.

If you would like to see how the other Cake Slice Bakers enjoyed this cake, check out the blogroll.

Let's get baking!

Ingredients: unbleached all purpose flour, graham cracker crumbs, milk, sugar, salt, baking powder, pure vanilla extract, unsalted butter, egg, egg yolk and semi sweet chocolate chips.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and graham cracker crumbs.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.

Now we are going to add the flour mixture in milk in an alternating fashion. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture.

Then add half of the milk. Stir to combine and scrap down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk, ending with the final 1/3 of the flour mixture.

Now stir in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into a prepared 8 inch pan (I only had a 9 inch pan so that works too).

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (about 30 minutes for a 9 inch pan or 35 minutes for an 8 inch pan). Let cake cool in pan for about 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Now for the frosting! Grab your ingredients: unsalted butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar and Marshmallow Fluff.

Place your softened butter in a medium mixing bowl and beat until creamy and smooth.

Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar.

Stir in the vanilla and Marshmallow Fluff, then beat until smooth.

Cut the cake into squares, top with a dollop of the frosting, serve and enjoy!!

And if you need to know what to do with the leftover Marshmallow Fluff...easy! Just make peanut butter and Fluff sammiches! Yum!!!


Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Cake
Adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 scant cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup Marshmallow Fluff

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8 or 9 inch square cake pan with grease and flour or baking spray.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy (about 3 minutes).
4. With mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla; beat until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
5. With the mixer still on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the milk, stirring until combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, ending with the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top with rubber spatula.
8. Bake about 30 minutes for a 9 inch pan or 35 minutes for an 8 inch pan, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. Let cool in pan about 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Make the frosting: Place butter in medium mixing bowl and beat until creamy. With mixer on low, slowly add sugar, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Stir in vanilla and Marshmallow Fluff and beat until smooth. Use immediately or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
11. Cut cake into squares. 
12. Serve each square with a dollop of frosting on top (bring to room temperature if needed.
13. Enjoy!!