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.

Snickerdoodle Croissant Cookies and a Giveaway - CLOSED

I believe I've mentioned this before, but I love snickerdoodles.

There is just something about these cookies that really do it for me.

I think maybe it's the tang from the cream of tartar??

Or the sweet and spicy combo of the cinnamon and sugar.

Who knows, but every time I see a new snickerdoodle recipe, I have to try it.

I was shopping at a hardware store recently and I ran across this book:

Once I started flipping through it, I landed on these snickerdoodle croissant cookies. Then the next page had snickerdoodle sandwich cookies! WHAT??? Yes, please!!

So I threw the book in my cart (check out the bottom of this post to see what that means for you).

I made these cookies within days of bringing home this book and I am definitely not disappointed in my purchase.

Though these cookies don't have the traditional snickerdoodle taste, that's okay. Each cookie is it's own being so I need not judge this one based on a childhood favorite.

I need to allow this cookie to become a favorite too!

The cookie had a soft crumb with a lovely texture from the nuts. And of course, the cinnamon and sugar. But hey, we one upped that and threw in brown sugar! I love brown sugar.

Okay, okay. I'll stop talking about how good these cookies were and just let you make them yourself.

Let's go.

Cream together the cream cheese and butter.

Toss in the brown sugar and vanilla, mix that up.

Add the flour until well combined.

Separate the dough into 3 portions and flatten them into disks. Cover and chill for an hour.

While the dough is chilling, have an impromptu photo session with your sous chef.

Preheat your oven. Then on a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough, sprinkle on the filling, then cut into 12 triangles.

From the widest edge, roll the cookies and place them on the cookie sheet. Bake them up then let them cool. Top with powdered sugar immediately before serving.

Serve and enjoy!!


Snickerdoodle Croissant Cookies
Adapted from Very Merry Cookies

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 6 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 2/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• Fat free milk
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, on medium high speed, cream together the cream cheese and butter for 30 seconds.
2. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, the vanilla, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add the flour and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. Divide dough into thirds. Flatten each dough portion into disks. Place between pieces of parchment paper and place in a large plastic zipper bag. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. 
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. In a small mixing bowl, combine the 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, the cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each disk of dough into 9 inches circles. 
8. Lightly baste each dough circle with milk.
9. Evenly sprinkle the pecan mixture over each disk of dough, coming about 1/2 an inch to the edge.
10. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice each circle into 12 triangles.
11. Starting from the wide end, roll each triangle into a croissant shape. 
12. Place shaped dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart.
13. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom of the cookies.
14. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
15. Sift powdered sugar over the cookies immediately before serving (if desired).
16. Serve and enjoy!!

Now it's time for the giveaway!! You know you want to try these cookies. Well, I want you to try these cookies. So what did I do?? I grabbed a copy of the cookbook for you as well as me! Aren't I just the bee's knees??

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

How to enter:

(Leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Answer this question: What is your favorite holiday treat? Include an email address in this comment.

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

3. Like Jolts & Jollies on Facebook

4. Follow @mannadonn on twitter

5. Tweet about this giveaway (can be done once per day). Include: a link to this blog post and @mannadonn in the tweet.

6. Post on Facebook about this giveaway (can be done once per day). Include: a link to this blog post and @Jolts & Jollies in the post.

7. Head over to My Camo Colored Life and enter my giveaway there!

This giveaway will end Monday, November, 28th at midnight (CST) and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, November, 29th. Good luck!!

So there you have it SEVEN ways to enter to win this giveaway! 

And don't forget to head over to My Camo Colored Life and enter my other giveaway for this GIVEAWAY TUESDAY!!

THE WINNER OF THE GIVEAWAY ACCORDING TO RANDOM.ORG IS NUMBER 34, KATHIA!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR MAILING ADDRESS.

So Much Love to Go Around

So today I have a lot of stuff to share with you. Unfortunately, it's not going to be a recipe.

I have been amazingly lucky within the last couple of months and would like to share my bounty with you. I hope this doesn't seem like I'm showing off or anything, I just want you all to know about the amazing people who are out there and the wonderful gifts I've received from them!

First we are going to start with winnings.





Mrs. M over at In The Military and On the Move hosted a giveaway a while back. I honestly didn't think I had a chance of winning because I didn't have the answer to the question she asked. But, I replied and wished her other readers luck. Well, wouldn't you know that I won anyway! That was the first thing I had ever won on a giveaway like that and I was beyond thrilled. So this is what I got:

I got this bowl! It is Polish pottery and traveled all the way from Germany to reside in my home!

This is my first piece of Polish pottery. Isn't it lovely??

Next up!




Molly over at i dance. was hosting a giveaway for cookies from none other than the brilliant Bridget of Bake at 350. And guess who happened to win?!?!?!

Here's how this went...

I received this lovely box with a hand written note.

Then opened the box to the most gorgeous cookies I've ever seen!

I got half a dozen!

Little Butt liked them. She would eat the edges...

Not only were they gorgeous, they were also delicious.

And I should probably admit that I only really got two...someone else got the rest!

Now let's head over here..

Julie at Mommie Cooks hosted a giveaway while she was out of town. I honestly had forgotten about this one and was shocked when she announced I had won! She went on vacation and picked up a couple treats on her travels. This is what she sent me:

Maple apple pie sugar, a maple pepper grinder (yum!) and a Barnes & Noble gift card that I turned into this book.

And finally...






Kathia over at Pink Little Cake had a CSN Stores giveaway. I actually didn't win this one at first. Someone else did, but she couldn't get a hold of him and he never responded back to the winning post...so it ended up coming to me somehow! The gift card I got there I turned into this and this.

Are you getting tired yet? I know, I know. I'm sorry! I'm hurrying! But I can't possibly forget to mention one of the greatest gifts I have ever received in my life. This one was not a winning, unless you count the amazing friend I have won on the other end of this gift. See...I met this girl Sarah. She's from Life is Still Sweet. Well, she hosts this thing every month for people who have cooked anything from a magazine over the course of the month. Actually, it's going on right now so jump over there! Here's her button:




So far, I'm the only person who has linked up on this subscription justification game (hint, hint to all my lovely readers who will go show her some love!). To show her appreciation she sent me this:

Trivets!!! Customized!!!

Aren't they adorable??? How did she know?!?!?! Sarah is seriously amazing and if you haven't checked out her blog, you should.

Actually, every single blog I've mentioned here are absolutely amazing people. I'm so lucky to have been able to come to know them and to have been so blessed to have received so much love.

But you aren't off the hook just yet! Because Julie at Mommie Cooks decided to give me an award too!!! She gave me:

Which I would like to pass on to little Cat of Rate.Bake.Create. This girl is so cute. Her reviews are thorough and honest. I always smile whenever I get a comment from her or she posts on her blog.

And last but certainly not least, Memoria over at Mangio da Sola gave me an award too! I didn't even think she knew I existed but there it is. She gave me:

With this I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself but I think I've rattled your ears...eyes?? long enough don't you think?? But I would like to pass this one on to Renee over at Kudos Kitchen By Renee. This wonderful woman has just embarked on a brand new business. She makes hand painted, customized trivets! She's amazingly talented and has just started a brand new blog as well, but there's so much to it already! Oh! she's also hosting a giveaway of one of her trivets (she'll paint your button or blog header on a trivet if you win) so head over HERE. But hurry because the giveaway ends on July 24th!

So thank you so much to everyone who made it to the end of this post! Please go show each other some love because what good are we if we can't support one another???