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.

Bird's Eye Chef's Favorites Review

When I was little, I hated vegetables.

Oh, who am I kidding?? I still pretty much hate vegetables.

At least now though, I can force myself to eat them. But when I was little, man oh man!!

My mother and I used to get in the biggest struggles because of vegetables. She thought I should eat them, I thought otherwise. So I would sit at the dining room table for hours after everyone else was done because I refused to eat them.

Then, I got smart! I started finding ways to conceal the vegetables without having to eat them (sadly, we didn't have a dog). I used to put them back with the leftovers. Or I would wrap them in my napkin and throw them away. But I couldn't just toss them on the top of the trash can...my mom would check for that. So I wrapped them up and dug them down halfway into the bin. I think this was the most successful strategy.

Now that I'm an adult and I have a kiddo (OMG! I mean KiddoS!) of my own, I am facing the same struggles of trying to get her to eat vegetables.

So when Foodbuzz contacted me about trying these Bird's Eye Chef's Favorites Steamfresh veggies, I jumped at the chance. I keep trying different ways to get Little Butt (and myself) to eat veggies so I thought I would try these out.

I was sent four bags of veggies of three different types.

The first one we tried was the Roasted Red Potatoes & Green Beans in Parmesan Olive Oil Sauce. The Hubble tried it and ran far away. However, my Mother in Law, My Sister and My Self thought they were great! The potatoes were tender without falling apart. The green beans were still crunchy without being waxy. And the sauce was subtle and flavorful. I love Parmesan and the flavor was just right. The sauce wasn't heavy either. I expected a more creamy sauce, but it was nice and light. Loved this bag!

The second type we tried was the Creamed Spinach. Now...I love spinach. However, when I got pregnant with Baby N, I realized the one taste aversion I had was my beloved spinach. But I gave this a try anyway. I was not thrilled. I don't know if it's still leftover pregnancy taste buds or if I just didn't like it. My Mother in Law thought it was decent (though she said it needed a little salt). She ended up stirring hers into her spaghetti and she thought it was splendid that way. I wish I had done that because I love adding spinach to pasta dishes. Sadly, I was beige about this bag.

The final flavor I tried was the Mushroom & Green Bean Risotto. I had high hopes for this one because I love mushrooms and I love risotto. I'm glad to say that it didn't disappoint (though I didn't heat it enough). The only critique I have about this was that I felt like the green beans were throw aways. You couldn't even tell they were there. But maybe that's a good thing for veggie dislikers like me?? The taste was pretty heavy on the mushroom flavor so you would definitely need to be a mushroom lover to enjoy this side. But I ate it all by myself. I definitely loved this bag!

What I really enjoy about this product is that each bag heats in the microwave for about 5 minutes. It's incredibly quick and easy to get a healthy side dish on the table now that school has started. However, don't run out to buy these today...they don't come out until September! But when you see them, I think you should definitely give them a try...except maybe the spinach...but that's probably just me. LOL! I've read other reviews where it was really loved. So it probably really is just me.

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this review! Feel free to ask any questions you may have! I will answer what I can!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I was sent four free bags of Bird's Eye Chef's Favorites Steamfresh bags to try. The thoughts provided are my own.

The Panera Experience & A Giveaway

Today, we are going to step outside of my normal recipe sharing and instead, share with you some other type of delicious food.

I'm sure many of you have no idea about my complete and utter obsession fascination with Panera. When I lived in New York and was working at Barnes & Noble, there was a Panera across the street. I would go there almost every day (though we called it Pantera's). My favorite thing to get was the pick 2 with the Smoked Turkey Breast sandwich and the Greek Salad.

Over the years I have tried a variety of things off the Panera menu. The BBQ chopped chicken salad is amazing! The Tomato & Mozarella Panini is fantastic. And my Missouri favorite was the Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich with the Mac & Cheese. 

So when my Little Sister called and asked me if I would like to go with her to a VIP tasting of the new Summer menu items I literally jumped at the chance! (After all, her obsession love of Panera is because of me).

We arrived and were greeted by the lovely hosts at the door. They checked us in, gave us plates, napkins, utensils and cups. 

We entered into the dining room and were just in time for a presentation by the location manager, the district manager and the day baker.

Let the food commence!

There's my wonderful Little Sister who invited me to the testing! Say hi Little Sister!!

Can you tell she takes after me?? Especially with goofy faces and horrible picture being taken skills??

The food, the food!! I started my meal with this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. This soup may have been a bit hot for the 100 degree day we were having but I didn't care. Though it's a hot soup, the flavor is so light and refreshing that you won't even notice the sweat dripping down your face as you eat it! What I especially love about this soup is that it was served with lemon slices in it!

Next, I moved on to the Napa Chicken Salad Sandwich. This is not a new item, but it's perfect for summer. It's a traditional chicken salad, though chunky and light, with red onions and grapes tossed among the chicken. Not my favorite sandwich, but I didn't leave a bit of it on my plate either.

The star of this tasting, for me, was the new (to me) Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad. I may or may not have had a couple few of these bad boys. OH. EM. GEE was it good!!! Romaine lettuce tossed with walnuts, strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple slices and blueberries all topped with a poppyseed dressing. Be still my heart!!! Have I mentioned that this was freaking delicious???? I cannot wait to have more!

Next up, the Frozen Strawberry Lemonade. I don't tend to be a fan of smoothies because I think they are a bit too sweet. But this one was the perfect blend of sweet strawberry puree and tart lemon. My slurping every last drop out of the bottom of my cup with my straw was almost embarrassing...almost. My Little Sister ended up getting a large one of these to go! LOL!

And finally, the sweets. Though this isn't new to the menu, I had never tried it. This is the Cinnamon Crunch Bagel. Just look at those pockets of cinnamony goodness! And the crunchy topping sent me over the moon! I will admit, I bought one of these to go and enjoyed it toasted with butter the next morning. So good!

Now I have to tell you about the highlight of the entire experience for me! When the Day Baker made her presentation (which was pretty much an ode to the Frech baguette...my kinda girl) she also mentioned that she would take 5 people at a time back to help her bake the baguettes! Are you kidding me??? I barely let her say another word before I was volunteering for the first group of people! The poor girl seemed shocked and pleasantly surprised that I (or anyone for that matter) wanted to do this with her! So me, my Little Sister and one other awesome lady followed dear Haley the Day Baker to her tiny little corner in the back of the kitchen (I'm seriously not sure how we all fit back there).

Here's Haley showing us the measurements of the baguettes that they use. She gave us a great tip for baking bread as well, instead of dusting the bottom of your pan with regular flour, use rice flour. It's a more cornstarch consistency and works better than regular. Awesome!

Here's Haley showing us how to flip the dough onto the containers, onto the boards (me and my pregnant brain forgot what those boards are called). So you can see from the above picture that yes, my Little Sister takes after me. I can rarely get my picture taken without making some kind of stupid face and ruining the whole thing.

I loved Haley's presentation so much. I was so grateful to be able to see a bit more of the inner workings of Panera and how they bake their baguettes. Haley was so impressed and thankful that we wanted to have this experience with her that instead of giving us a half a baguette (which was promised to volunteers who went back to help) she brought each of us a whole baguette! And you better believe that sucker almost didn't make it home. How can I resist hot Panera baguette, fresh from the oven...pass the butter please!!

All in all the experience was fantastic! The food was amazing (though I didn't doubt that for a second) and the Panera location and employees were all amazingly friendly and accommodating. I'm so glad I went. And seriously...go get that salad!!! You won't regret it!!

And to help you on your way to enjoying the amazingness that is Panera...I'm going to give away a $15 gift card to Panera! You know you want this!

To enter to win this giveaway just answer this question:

What is your favorite thing to order at Panera?

For extra entries:

• Become a follower of Jolts & Jollies through Google Friend Connect or RSS Feed
• "Like" Jolts & Jollies on Facebook
• Follow me @mannadonn on Twitter
• Tweet about this giveaway (make sure @mannadonn and a direct link to this post are mentioned)

That's up to 5 entries! 

This giveaway will close on Monday, June 20th at 6pm Mountain Time. Winner will be announced on this post on Tuesday, June 21st. Good luck! This giveaway is now closed. The winner is #13 Elizabeth!! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Thanks to my Little Sister, Panera Bread and Haley for making my night so memorable!

The thoughts and pictures expressed and shared in this review are my own. No one paid me for this and I wasn't compensated in any way (unless you count the free tasting menu, but they didn't know about my blog/review).