Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

We’re into summer now but I’m still enjoying this spring treat. And really, who says we can’t eat Lemon Poppy Seed Cake all year anyway?

Of course, I’m a sucker for lemon flavored desserts (hehehe, but no seriously, I am).

That’s why I’ve made things like:

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

and even Lemon Scented Play Dough

However, I recently realized that I’d never actually made my own lemon poppy seed bread or muffins. So I went on a search.

Often I like to play around with food and develop my own recipes, but in this case I found one that I really loved, so the only actual change I made was doubling (okay, maybe it was double-and-a-halving) the icing.

I know the photos look all crumbly, moist, and delicious but, oh my, I wish you could smell it! Yum.

Look at all those incredible ingredients coming together.

*drool commencing*

And then you pull this gorgeous creation out of the oven…

I actually had some waxed paper under that while I drizzled the icing allllll over it. (Just a tip. Much easier to clean.)

Gorgeous, no? Yes.

The recipe is Lemon Poppy Seed Bread from Sally’s Baking Addiction. If you’re a fan of lemon breads and desserts like me, I recommend checking it out!

Okay, can’t stop looking at the pretty bread. One more pic…

If you have any other lemon treats you enjoy and recommend, I’d love to hear about it!

Happy Baking!

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

At first, I wasn’t really sure how these Lemon Oatmeal Cookies were going to turn out, but – on the heels of my Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies – I was still on a lemon kick and wanted to try something a little different.

Luckily, these were a hit.

They’re a bit thick, but soft and deliciously lemony.

You also only really need one lemon to make them, but I threw a few more into the photos since I had them on hand.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

If you like lemon and oatmeal, these are a must.

Plus, if you don’t really like icing {I could practically live off of icing} you could still eat them without it.  I like how the icing adds a tart sweetness to an otherwise mellow cookie.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

The icing can be stirred together in two minutes while the cookies are cooling.

Just don’t put those lemon seeds into the icing. :)

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

You could flatten the cookies more, I suppose, but I liked the thickness of them.

It makes them softer.

And the powdered sugar on the bottom of the glass that you use to flatten the dough adds a nice, subtle sweetness.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Again, if you didn’t want the extra lemon flavor in the icing, you could just top the cookies with a sprinkle of powdered sugar right before serving.

I like the icing, though, for a few reasons.  Aside from the nice flavor, it also make the cookies ready-to-eat right out of the bag or tub that you keep them in.

Which is especially nice if you’re bringing them to a pot luck or something similar.

And, really, they’d be wonderful at a brunch event.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup powdered sugar (for dusting)

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3 to 5 teaspoons water

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the flour, oats, egg, lemon zest, and vanilla and mix well. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Put the 1/8 cup powdered sugar in a small dish.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies by dipping the bottom of a drinking glass in the powdered sugar and pressing the glass down on the dough.

Bake cookies for 11 to 13 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.

Cool for one minute on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of water in a small bowl. Stir with a fork, adding a half-teaspoon of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency. It should drip slowly but smoothly from the fork.

Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies and allow it to set. Store covered. Makes about 2 dozen.

**********

Click to print the free PDF version of the recipe:

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

And if you like lemon, be sure to check out these recipes and crafts:

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies   Lemon Cheesecake Bars Lemon Scented Play Dough

Happy Baking!

Roaming Rosie Signature

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

These Lemon Cake Mix Cookies are super, super amazing!

Seriously delicious.

It has something to do with the softness you already get from the using the cake mix to make the cookies, PLUS it’s even more amazing when you use cake mix that has pudding in the mix.

Dude.

You gotta try these.  Even if you only kinda, sorta like lemon at all.  If you love lemon – well – these will blow you away!  {Trust me:  my coworkers didn’t leave a crumb behind!}

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

These are also an easy dessert that you can throw together at the last minute when guests show up for a surprise visit, or you’re just suddenly craving something sweet and lemony.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Stir together the cake mix and a bit of sugar, then stir in some eggs and oil.

Easy peasy.  And smells amazing!

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

I used teaspoonfuls to make mine.

You could make them a little bigger if you wanted, but I find this to be a perfect size.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

And the icing is another easy step.

Just mix it all up in a little bowl or cup and drizzle it over the cookies.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

It only takes a minute to mix the icing and another minute or two to drizzle it over the cookies with a fork.

Totally worth it.

It really makes the cookies extra special.

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Doesn’t that gooey-ness look ah-mazing??

I love these things!

Please share your own pics when you make them here or on my Facebook page!!

{Scroll down to print the recipe.}

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box (15 oz.) lemon cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Icing:
1 cup confectionery sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vegetable oil until fully combined and smooth.

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the cookies are set on top and just barely starting to brown around the edges.

Cool on baking pans for two minutes, then transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

Using a fork, mix all ingredients for icing in a small bowl or measuring cup, starting with 1 tablespoon of water, and adding about a 1/4 tablespoon of water at a time until you reach the desired consistency. It should still be a little thick, but drip easily from your fork.

Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies, making sure your working space beneath the cookies is lined with waxed or parchment paper for easy cleanup.

Allow icing to set. Store covered. Makes 3 dozen.

**********

Print the free PDF copy of the recipe:  Easy Iced Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Enjoy!

Roaming Rosie Signature

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Lemon Scented Play Dough

I came up with this recipe because my 4yo was asking to make play dough and I’d just found an extra lemon hanging out in our kitchen.

So:  lemon scented play dough.

Because scented sensory play is fun for everyone, including moms.

Seriously.  I love playing with this stuff.

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Anyway, the ingredients are pretty basic.

And it’s easy to put together – you just throw everything in a pot:

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Then you keep stirring it over medium heat until it looks like this:

Lemon Scented Play Dough

And then you knead it to make it smooth.

As you can see in the blurry photo below, my daughter was already grabbing pieces of it to play with before I had a chance to knead it.  :)

Just be careful, because it will be hot.  I kinda like digging my hands into the warm dough, tho.

Lemon Scented Play Dough

My girls like to roll it out and cut out shapes with cookie cutters, or cut it using a small angled spatula.

Here are a few pics of them playing with the deliciously scented dough:

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Oh – and playing with it on their easy-to-clean Jake placemats, of course!

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Ingredients:

1 cup lemon juice (or water added to squeezed lemon juice to equal 1 cup)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
Zest from one lemon
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. lemon extract
Yellow food coloring

Begin by zesting and juicing one lemon.

Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a glass measuring cup. If it is less than one cup, add water until it reaches the 1 cup line.

Mix all ingredients in a medium sauce pan, adding enough food coloring to reach your desired color.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes together into a ball.

Remove from heat and knead until smooth.

Store covered.  Will keep for about two weeks.

[Note: even though all of the ingredients are technically edible, please don’t let your kids ingest this. Also, if your child is going to help with the kneading, please remember that the dough will still be hot when you first remove it from the pan. If stored in a sealed container, this will last many months.]

********

To print the free PDF of this recipe, click here:

Lemon Scented Play Dough

Happy Crafting!

Roaming Rosie Signature

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

It’s been awhile since I’ve made these, so I had to come up with an excuse for needing them again.

Luckily, there was a potluck party this weekend.

I used that.

But these crumb cake-like, cream cheesy bars don’t really demand an excuse.  They work great even for a random weeknight dessert.

Especially since they’re so easy to make.

{If you keep up with my blog, you know easy=awesome in my book.}

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Anyway, these bars start with a cake mix.

And you could probably use real lemon juice/zest, but I’ve only tried it with the extract.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Once you make the cake mix batter that serves as both the crust of the bars and as the crumb topping, you’ll need to set aside a cup of it.

That cup of crumbs will go on top.

What you’re left with won’t look like enough to cover the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish – but it will.

It rises as it bakes, so it’s okay that it’s really thin.

Just go ahead and press it out to cover the entire bottom.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Here it is with the yummy cream cheese mixture spread over the cake crust.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

And here it is with the cake-ish crumbs sprinkled over the top, just before baking.

Be careful not to let the edges brown too much.  The finished bars should still look a little moist in the center.

But even if the edges cook a little too much, you can always slice them off when cutting the bars to serve.  And, you know, throw them in a bowl and devour them by the forkful when your kids aren’t watching.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

1 box (18 oz.) yellow cake mix
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, one egg, and the oil until it reaches a crumbly consistency.

In a medium bowl, use a mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the remaining egg, sugar, and lemon extract and continue beating until fully incorporated.

Reserve one cup of the cake mix batter, and press the remaining batter into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. It will be thin.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake mix batter.

Sprinkle the reserved cake mix batter over the cream cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges are just golden brown.

Cool completely before cutting.

************

To PRINT your free PDF of this recipe click here:  Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Enjoy!

Roaming Rosie Signature