Lemon Blueberry Biscuits

We’ve been really slow at work this week. Slow as in the week’s to-do list was done on Tuesday and there will be nothing else to pick up until next week. Even the extra projects we’ve been given recently don’t take as much time as I’m putting into  them, working at a snail’s pace and nit-picking over everything, trying to keep boredom at bay.  I finally decided to take two half days so I could at least be productive at home.

Today I didn’t go to work until noon, so I had all morning to do whatever I wanted. I slept in two hours and made lemon blueberry biscuits while watching Mind Of A Chef. That is what I wanted to do.

My mom made these biscuits when I was growing up. I don’t know where she got the recipe, but they’re easy and yummy. Easy in that they’re drop biscuits, so no rolling and cutting, and yummy because they’re chock full of juicy blueberries and topped with a simple lemon glaze.

I was excited that I actually had all the ingredients on hand because I don’t always have yogurt (or sour cream as substitute) in my fridge. I used to never have lemon peel too, but Pinterest taught me that after you squeeze a lemon you can freeze the rind and store it in the freezer indefinitely, thus always having a supply of fresh lemon zest. Zesting frozen peel is actually easier too! So after the few times a year I actually have a real lemon, I always save the peel and freeze it. If this is the first you’ve heard of this awesome trick and you don’t have fresh lemon peel on hand, you can also substitute with lemon extract or juice. The extra teaspoon of liquid doesn’t seem to affect the biscuits.

By the way, I am in no way a food photographer, especially when I’m too lazy to get my real camera and use the one on my very outdated phone instead.

Lemon Blueberry Biscuits

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 carton (8 oz.) lemon yogurt (Can substitute sour cream, plain, or vanilla yogurt. All have worked for me. And 8 oz. is 1 liquid cup if your yogurt is in a bigger container and you need to measure.)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (or 1 teaspoon lemon extract or juice)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen, I usually have frozen)

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, egg, butter, and lemon peel; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in blueberries.

Drop by tablespoons onto  greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown.

Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cooling biscuits.

Enjoy and let me know if you try these!

 

 

If Lemon Bars and Brownies Had A Baby . . .

If you like lemon bars and brownies, you’ll love lemon brownies. Derek and I sure did! I thought these were just going to be typical lemon bars with a unique name, but nope, they’re legitimately brownie in texture but lemon in flavor and easier than lemon bars since they don’t have a crust. And don’t worry, there’s no chocolate in them.

The original recipe calls for lemon zest, but I never have real lemons in the house when I decide to make a dessert, so I left that out and these still came out lemonly delicious! Here’s the recipe:

Lemon Brownies
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon Glaze
1 rounded cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons lemon juice
*I added a drop or two of yellow food coloring for fun

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/spray an 8″ x 8″ baking dish with butter/cooking spray and set aside
In a large bowl, beat flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Pour batter into baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely before glazing, other wise the glaze won’t set up at all.
When brownies are completely cooled, make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. If the consistency seems to thin to set up, add sugar until it seems right. Pour glaze over brownies and let set. It will remain soft but you don’t want it drippy.
Cut into bars and try not to eat the entire pan at once!