By Stephanie Williams Dean

No season adores the citrus flavor of lemons as much as spring. And we southerners love any recipes kissed with a squeeze of this tart fruit’s juice. Lemons are good company for cooks as they pack a flavorful punch to just about any dish. With a plethora of great lemon recipes, here are just a few of which I’m most fond. Give it a squeeze.

LEMON

SHORTBREAD BARS

Shortbread Crust

2 cups flour

1 cup salted butter

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

Mix until a dough consistency. Spread over entire bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9 x 12 greased (with butter) pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Don’t let it overbrown on top.

Lemon Filling

4 beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

4 Tbsp. lemon juice

4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 grated rind of a lemon

   (optional)

¼ cup of confectioner’s

   sugar

In a mixer, mix eggs, sugar, and lemon juice. Add flour and baking powder and mix well. Add lemon rind. Pour over hot crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool. Sift sugar on top to dust. Cut into bars.

PINK LEMONADE CAKE

3 large beaten eggs

1 cup whole milk

8 Tbsp. melted butter (1 stick)

1 box plain white cake mix

1 3oz. box of lemon gelatin

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon extract

Drops of soft gel paste food color (pink or red)

In a mixer, mix eggs, milk, and butter. Then add cake mix and gelatin. Mix in extracts. Mix drops of food color to the desired shade of pink.

Grease (solid shortening) and flour two round cake pans. Pour equal amounts of batter in each pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. Don’t overbake.

PINK LEMONADE ICING

1 ¼ cup solid shortening

2 lbs. 10X confectioner’s sugar (1 bag)

½ tsp. salt

milk (a little at a time)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Soft gel paste food color

In a mixer, mix shortening, sugar, and salt, Add milk,  extract and lemon juice (to taste) alternately until creamy and spreadable. Mix drops of food color to the desired shade of pink.

LEMON CHESS PIE

½ cup melted salted butter (1 stick)

2 cups sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

4 eggs

2 lemons, juiced

1 grated lemon rind

1 9 in. unbaked, pie shell

In mixer, cream butter. Add sugar and cornstarch. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.  Add lemon juice and rind. Pour in pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until firm.

LUSCIOUS LEMON POUND CAKE

½ cup solid shortening

2 sticks salted butter

2 ½ cups sugar

5 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. lemon juice

In a mixer, cream shortening and butter, then slowly add sugar. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.   Add flour and baking powder, alternating with milk. Mix well until smooth. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 ½ hours. Remove from pan.

Lemon Glaze

½ stick salted butter

½ box confectioner’s sugar

1 lemon, juiced

1 lemon rind

In a mixer, mix butter and sugar. Add lemon juice and rind. Pour over hot cake.

Tips: A major error in baking is not mixing ingredients well. A good quality, electric stand mixer is worth the investment. For better taste, use a premium shortening such as Crisco and a quality butter such as Land of Lakes. Lemon flavorings that can be interchanged are lemon extract, concentrated lemonade, bottled lemon juice or real lemons. Taste as you go. When I use a mix, I prefer Duncan Hines, and their French Vanilla is my favorite white cake flavor.

Have an old family recipe you’d like to share? Email it to www.blessyourspoon@gmail.com.