The Ninja Baker - #lemon

Lemon Yuzu Cookies, #SundaySupper

NinjaBaker — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 19:27:59 +0000

Once Upon A Time, in ancient Japan, an aromatic Asian citron named Yuzu-chan swayed in the breeze. Contemplating the sliver of crescent moon, the fruit thought of its Chinese ancestors. Many of Yuzu-chan’s family survived the trip via the Korean Peninsula. However, as in all journeys, there was great loss. Some seedlings did not survive. But as moonlight bounced on the tree branch where Yuzu-chan was nestled, he nearly burst with citrus pride. Thanks to those who’d survived the challenging journey, Japanese were now appreciating the wonders of yuzu. Condiments with yuzu zest and chili peppers provided fire on the tongue. Japanese confections were kissed by the presence of yuzu and brought many sighs of contentment.

The Ninja Baker's lemon yuzu cookies dance with effervescent citrus!

The gentle wind rocked Yuzu-chan, the crickets sang a sleepy-time lullaby. As the moon slid behind a cloud like a paper-thin Japanese sliding door; Yuzu-chan dreamed of the day he and his family would adventure abroad and share the wonders of yuzu.

Highly recommended: A lemon yuzu cookie in each hand.
How do you eat cookies?

Well, Yuzu-chan’s dream came true! Fans of the lemon-lime flavored Japanese yuzu citrus are increasing around the world. While the actual fruit is a rare find in the US, yuzu juice and now dried yuzu bits are available. (Those residing in the City of Angels can head to Marukai. All others can check out the online Amazon offerings. Or your local Asian market.)

Tart yuzu glaze hugs soft citrus cookies.

As soon as I saw dried yuzu bits, I nabbed two packages and set out to make cookies. I confess the yuzu flavor is a tad timid in the cookies. The yuzu taste, however, does sing a tart tune in the sugar glaze. (When baking the cookies next time, I’ll add more yuzu juice and play with coconut flour to compensate for the extra liquid.) With or without adjustments, the recipe for my lemon yuzu cookies is a keeper recipe. A glaze-coated crunchy exterior gives way to a soft citrus cookie. Lemon yuzu cookies are super simple to make. AND no refrigeration of dough is required! The Ninja Baker’s lemon yuzu cookies are for those who LOVE to save time but still savor scrumptious homemade treats!

Lemon Yuzu Cookies

The scent of baking cookies in the oven is a blessing in any home. My lemon yuzu cookies are no exception. What is exceptional, however, is the enhanced citrus aroma the day after baking. The soft citrus cookies with the perky glaze crunch remain heavenly on or after baking day!

This recipe yields 44 cookies. Best kept stored in a tightly closed tin or Tupperware. Lemon yuzu cookies are adapted from a recipe on the Duncan Hines cake mix site

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1 package lemon cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons (or more) of Japanese yuzu juice
Ninja Note: If you add more than 2 tablespoons, you’ll probably need to drop in a tablespoonful of coconut flour to compensate for the extra liquid.
1/3 cup dried yuzu fruit bits

For the glaze:

2½ cups powdered sugar
5 tablespoons yuzu juice

Optional garnish:
Yellow sanding sugar

Directions:

Vigorously stir together the cake mix, oil, eggs and yuzu juice. Squish as many lumps out as possible with a big mixing spoon or spatula.

With a handheld mixer, beat the ingredients until smooth.

Drop dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet using a mini ice cream scooper or a tablespoon-measuring spoon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies appear golden brown.

Whisk together the powdered sugar and yuzu juice until smooth. After the cookies have cooled for about 3 minutes, drizzle the glaze onto the cookies. Sprinkle with yellow sanding sugar if desired.

April 22nd is Earth Day and April 23rd is National Picnic Day. The Twitter chat tonight at the virtual #SundaySupper table is all about picnic-friendly food. This event is being hosted by T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley. Even if you don’t have gluten sensitivities T.R.’s site is chock full of yummy recipes. In addition to the Ninja Baker’s lemon yuzu cookies, I believe you’ll want to stuff your hamper with the heavenly picnic suggestions below.

Appetizers:

Caprese Skewers by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
Crisp Cucumber Salsa with Southwest Style Chips by Momma's Meals
French Onion Dip, with Greek Yogurt by Casa de Crews
Mediterranean Spiced Hummus by Take A Bite Out of Boca
Pepperoni Pinwheels by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Watermelon Salad by annaDishes

Beverages:

Blackberry Lemonade by The Redhead Baker
Blueberry Mojito Mocktails by NeighborFood
Grandma's Stuff by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
Minty Cardinal Punch by Food Lust People Love
Pineapple Ginger Lemonade Spiked with Turmeric by Sue's Nutrition Buzz
Sangria Punch by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Strawberry Pineapple Lemonade by Noshing With The Nolands

Main Dishes:

Avocado Sriracha Egg Salad by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
Barbecue Ranch Quinoa Chicken Salad by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Boneless Chicken Wings by Nosh My Way
Burger Ice Cream by Brunch with Joy
Chicken Salad Sliders by Life Tastes Good
Spanish tortilla by Caroline's Cooking

Sides:

Broccoli & Tomato Pasta Salad by Flour On My Face
Buffalo Macaroni Salad by Sew You Think You Can Cook
Couscous Veggie Salad with Pesto by Cooking Chat
Fully Loaded Baked Potato Salad by Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
Granola Salad by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
Greek Style Asparagus Salad by Curious Cuisiniere
No Mayo Slaw with Poppyseed Dressing by Palatable Pastime
Spiralized Beet and Goat Cheese Salad by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
Sweet and Tangy Brussels Coleslaw with Fennel, Chopped Apples and Golden Raisins by Simply Healthy Family

Soups and Salads:

Barley and Rice Salad by Family Foodie
Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Dried Cranberries by Food Done Light
Layered Mason Jar Pasta Salad for Two by The Weekend Gourmet
Smoked Turkey Salad by Our Good Life
Spinach Salad with Apples & Pecans in an Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette by Carrie's Experimental Kitchen
Nicoise Salad by The Petit Gourmet

Desserts:

Bacon-Bulleit Brownies by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Fudgey Coca Cola Cake by Recipes Food and Cooking
Earth Day Cupcakes by Savory Experiments
Gluten Free Cookie Bars by Gluten Free Crumbley
Lemon Lime Pound Cake by Vintage Kitchen
Lemon Yuzu Cookies by NinjaBaker.com
Mini Lemon Chess Pies by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
No-Bake Cookie Butter Chex Mix Bars by Wallflour Girl
Peanut Butter Bars by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Peanut Butter Carob Bars by Pies and Plots
Sourdough Chunk Cookies by What Smells So Good?

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Welcome home lemon yuzu cookies and milk.

Wishing you a soft, sweet place to land after a long journey.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

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Lemon Brasadella Italian Coffee Cake, #TwelveLoaves

NinjaBaker — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 09:00:00 +0000

When Life gives you lemons, make Sugar Free Lemon Brasadella Italian Coffee Cake! What is the sourest lemon sentence you can give a foodie? A doctor demanding a reduction in sugar, threatening diabetes gave this Ninja Baker a wake-up call. Good news is I lowered my numbers and am no longer on the diabetes precipice. I also learned to eat protein before diving into dessert. Previously I skipped the bacon and filled up a ginormous frozen yogurt cup.

Sugar-free, gluten-free lemon Brasadella Italian coffee cake goodness.

Adapting a gluten-free donut recipe from BabyCakes Covers the Classics by Erin McKenna (vegan and gluten-free guru to the stars, popular owner and cookbook author), I was inspired to experiment like Ms. Erin in the baby stages of BabyCakes. Plus I had great success baking a Paleo Pound Cake using stevia and erythritol (an aspartame-free sugar substitute)…Sooo I decided to put my many lemons, bottles of lemon extract and Penzeys Spices lemon peel into a sugar free, gluten-free Italian coffee cake.

Coffee cake with a lemon pucker Italian style.

Sugar-free, gluten-free Lemon Brasadella Italian Coffee Cake baking in the oven smells luscious. Lemon scents wafting through the apartment had me hopeful. Turning the lemon coffee cake out of the bundt pan proved promising, too. I drizzled a simple lemon glaze (made with organic lemon juice and real powdered sugar) over the coffee cake. I sliced a sliver of Lemon Brasadella; said a quick prayer and took a bite. The texture, the crumb of the moist lemon Italian coffee cake were splendid. A+. Lemon definitely said hello – which is a good thing if you like lemony baked goods. However, there was a slight stevia aftertaste. Next time, I’ll increase the erythritol and reduce the stevia measurements. (Both corrections are reflected in the recipe below. (Originally I used one cup of erythritol and a ½ tablespoon of stevia.) If you were born without a sweet tooth you might like to keep the erythritol to a cup. Plus, if you want to keep true to the tradition of the Italian Brasadella Cake, baking more lemon pucker and less sugar is right in line.

A drizzle of lemon glaze brightens Italian Brasadella coffee cake with a touch of true sweetness.

Love to hear how you’ve turned lemons into sweetness in your life!

Lemon Brasadella Italian Coffee Cake

Lemon fans will love the luscious lemon flavor and the calorie conscious can now allow themselves cake!

Ingredients:

Lemon Brasadella Italian Coffee Cake

2 cups rice flour blend
½ cup coconut flour
1¼ cup erythritol
¾ teaspoon liquid stevia
Rind of 1 lemon
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon (Penzeys Spices) powdered lemon peel
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons organic all vegetable butter flavor shortening
4 eggs, slightly beaten
8 teaspoons milk

Lemon Glaze

¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Lemon Brasadella Italian Coffee Cake

Fold all ingredients together by hand in a large bowl until well combined.

Ninja Note: The batter is more like bread dough and less like cake batter.

Spread the batter into a bundt pan well greased with coconut oil and floured with coconut flour.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Lemon Glaze

Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and runs smoothly with the help of Heather of girlichef, and the rest of our fabulous bakers. Our host this month is Rossella from Ma ch ti sei mangiato, and our theme is Italian Breads. For more bread recipes, visit the #TwelveLoaves Pinterest board, or check out last month's mouthwatering selection of #TwelveLoaves Olive Breads!

Calzone from A Baker's House
Ciabatta from Ma che ti sei mangiato
Italian Easter Cheese Bread from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
Lemon Brasadella Italian Coffee Cake from NinjaBaker.com
Pane Bianco Filled with Tomato, Basil, and Garlic from Never Enough Thyme
Pane di Genzano from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Pane di Pasqua (Italian Easter Bread) from Cake Duchess
Pane Toscano (Tuscan Bread) from girlichef
Parmesan Garlic Grissini from From My Sweet Heart
Rosemary Red Onion Beer Bread from Shockingly Delicious
Quick Focaccia Bread from Basic N Delicious

If you'd like to bake along with us this month, share your Italian bread using hashtag #TwelveLoaves!

Wishing you sour lemons which are easily transformed into sweet delights.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Follow Ninja Baker @NinjaBaking's board NinjaBaker.com Sweets on Pinterest.

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