Key Lime Bars

Last night I had a run in with a trampoline and the trampoline won.  Today has been spent "icing and elevating" my very swollen ankle (I think I'd much rather be icing cupcakes).  I'm very thankful to my husband and in-laws who are taking care of things with my two small rug rats.  I'm also thankful that I have several recipes already in the wings to share because I'm not sure when I'll be getting downstairs to the kitchen again...

As we are approaching Memorial Day Weekend (thank you so much to the brave men and women who have served us!), my mind thinks on BBQ.  Obviously, BBQ-ing can mean very different things to different people depending on where in the country you hail from, but one thing is certain.  The accompaniments to a cook out are equally important.  These key lime bars are tart and refreshing, a perfect ending to a backyard bonanza. 

Note: the recipe calls for key lime juice.  Key limes are very small, yellow-green limes that make the pie famous.  If you can't find key limes, by all means, substitute the more common, larger and greener Persian Lime (the one that we all know and love).  You can also swap in lemon juice to make lemon bars if those are more your thing...

Key Lime Bars
Crust:
1 stick (4 oz, 8 tablespoons) butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Filling:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest
powdered sugar for garnishing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.  In a medium mixing bowl, with electric mixer, blend together butter and powdered sugar.  Once thoroughly mixed, add flour and salt, mixing until a stiff dough is formed.  Press into prepared pan and bake, until crust is lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare filling.  Beat together eggs and sugar until smooth and lemon-colored.  Mix in flour and beat until smooth.  Whisk in lime juice and zest.  Pour into baked crust and return to oven, baking for an additional 25 minutes or until filling is set.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.  Dust with powdered sugar for garnish and top with tiny lime slices, if desired. 

Recipe closely adapted from Pat and Gina Neely's Key Lime Bars

Grapefruit Drop Scones

A couple weeks ago, I thought myself very lucky to have been gifted a very giant bag of citrus fruit fresh from Arizona.  Does it strike anyone else as ironic that there are a ton of grapefruit grown in a state where there is a large, ahem, "mature" population who uses medication prone to dangerous reactions with grapefruit?  Apparently, there are RV parks down there where people can not even give  grapefruit away.  So many grapefruit left uneaten...so sad...

Anyway, now that a couple of weeks have passed, we ran out of steam using the grapefruit and until this morning, a couple were still languishing in my fruit bowl.  I am such a hypocrite.  Determined to use them and needing to bake up something for my Bible study this morning, I came across a recipe for Grapefruit Scones and was intrigued.  They ended up light and tender, and had just a hint of grapefruit flavor hidden in their flakey, biscuit-y goodness.  I made drop scones (instead of the recognizable triangular shape) because the dough ended up pretty sticky, and what can I say, I'm lazy like that.

Grapefruit Drop Scones
2 small-ish grapefruit or 1 large beast of a grapefruit
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove zest from grapefruit and place in a small bowl.  Add sugar and stir together to make really lovely, fragrant grapefruit sugar.  Set aside.  Cut the remaining peel off of the grapefruit and lop off the top and bottom to show a nice, naked grapefruit.  Using a small paring knife, cut out segments by running your knife along the lines of the membrane out of the grapefruit.  It's okay if some of them fall apart.  Sometimes grapefruit are even so cooperative that you can just peel the membrane off with your fingers.  However you do it, just remove the flesh of the grapefruit and set it aside as well.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and half of grapefruit sugar mixture.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives (or your fingers if you work fast and not too much) until flour mixture is crumbly and there are still tiny chunks of butter (about the size of small peas) in your flour mixture.  Fold in honey, yogurt and grapefruit segments just until the mixture is combined and comes together.  Drop by large tablespoonfuls a couple inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet (or if you want pretty, shaped scones, you can turn dough onto a floured surface, pat it out into a dish and cut wedges a la a pizza pie, then place evenly spaced apart onto greased cookie sheet).  Sprinkle remaining grapefruit sugar evenly on top of scones, pressing lightly if needed.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on baking sheet. 

Recipe adapted from: Grapefruit, Honey and Yogurt Scones by Joy the Baker