Lemon Poppy Seed Icebox Pie

This lemon poppy seed icebox pie is the perfect way to celebrate the warmer weather we've been having down here in New Orleans. For some strange reason, I automatically associate warmer temperatures with creamy citrus pies. I've recently realized that my sugar addiction is now causing me to associate specific desserts with things totally unrelated to food. Is there therapy for this? SOS. 

Seriously though, this is some good stuff. Creamy lemon filling made with a whole can of the trashiest, yet most delicious liquid to grace the earth (condensed milk, if you weren't following) perched atop the most delicious half biscoff cookie, half graham cracker crust. Oh, and I even covered the whole crust with white chocolate for an extra burst of crunchy texture + creamy amazingness. So good that half of it was gone before I could even snap a picture of it. No regrets. 

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biscoff-graham crust 

• 8 biscoff cookies
• 5 graham crackers 
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted 

In a food processor or blender, pulse the graham crackers and cookies until fine. Combine 1-1/2 cup of crumbs with melted butter. Press mixture into 9-inch and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F. Once cool, spread the crust with melted white chocolate.

homemade whipped cream 

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together the cream and sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use. 

lemon poppy seed filling

• 1 14 oz. can condensed milk
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups prepared whipped cream
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

In a mixing bowl, whisk together condensed milk, lemon juice, zest, and extract until smooth. Fold in prepared whipped cream and poppy seeds. Spread over prepared crust and top with whipped cream. Set in fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.

Rosemary Lemon Bars

Today's recipe comes from my aforementioned baking marathon I had talked about in my most recent post. With my current schedule, I don't have much time to bake during the week; therefore, I usually destroy the kitchen on every Saturday morning and start stockpiling recipes for the week! 

I'm not sure if it was because I practically binged on chocolate every day over Christmas break, but my palette is yearning for light and fresh flavors. Case in point — Rosemary Lemon Bars. I'm pretty sure it's universally agreed upon that lemon bars are one of the greatest gifts to humanity. Though I usually bake these when the temperatures aren't dipping below freezing, my grandparents had a surplus of delicious, super-sweet meyer lemons. I just couldn't resist.

The result was absolutely delicious. These bars start out with a buttery crust, full of fresh rosemary. On top, the filling is crazy sweet, but with the perfect balance of tartness. A dusting of powdered sugar et voila! 

Rosemary Lemon Bars

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan.

For the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend together the flour, powdered sugar, butter, and rosemary until a dough forms. Press into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Let fully cool. 

For the filling: In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until combined. Pour mixture over the cooled crust and bake for 25-30 minutes, until filling is set.

Cool bars and dust with powdered sugar. Cut and serve.

Lemon Cookies and Cream Cookies

So it's official — I'm back to baking. I don't know if it was all of the cakes and cookies that I was assigned to bake for Christmas, but my body had been rejecting sugar for the latter part of my winter break. But don't fret! My sweet tooth has returned and I'm back to craving sugar 24/7. 

This weekend, I decided to take my new KitchenAid mixer out for a spin and oh my god.... I'm pretty sure this mixer is the best thing to happen to me — a milestone of sorts in my quest to obtain the title of Mr. Betty Crocker. No but really, the 7 quart bowl is SO big and I can finally make double batches of cookies without the dough spilling out over the sides. It's also so much quieter than my sad, broken mixer that sounded alarmingly similar to a jackhammer. 

The first thing I decided to bake with it? Lemon Cookies and Cream Cookies. These cookies were born out of my obsession with Pinkberry's lemon cookie crunch. (If any of you have ever had that, you know how good it is!) I found myself craving the flavor one day, so I decided to play around with one of my favorite recipes and create something amazing; and amazing it is. 

These cookies have a cream cheese base that gives the cookies an amazingly soft texture and are chock full of lemon sandwich cookies and lemon extract. After rolling the dough — which is out of this world good I must add; it's literally lethal — in sugar, I baked the mounds of deliciousness and added a square of white chocolate to each piece right after coming out of the oven. Perfect. 

Lemon Cookies and Cream Cookies 

(adapted from this)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups coarsely chopped lemon sandwich cookies
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• white chocolate squares (about 24)

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and egg, mixing for 3 minutes more. Mix in the vanilla. Add all of the dry ingredients and combines. Fold in the chopped cookies and white chocolate chips.

Roll the cookie dough into balls, then roll them in sugar, and place them on your prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, do not overbake. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, place a square of white chocolate onto each cookie.