All-Butter Pie Crust

Some people maybe intimidated by making pie crusts or just pie baking in general. Pie crusts are super easy to make and you don't need any fancy stand mixers or anything.

I prefer the all-butter crust over the butter-crisco kind.  You can make this crust the day before and have it ready for when you start making your pies. It will also freeze for up to 2 weeks.





Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup ice water

1. In a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together.

2. Add the butter to the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter (or your hands) to incorporate the butter. Mix until the batter looks like pea-sized butter chunks. The dough should be coarse; don't over work it.

3. Add the ice water a little at a time until until the dough comes together. Form into two equal sized balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and let chill for at least an hour before using. This will help keep the butter solid, so your dough will be nice and flaky. When you're ready to make your pie, let the dough rest at room temp for about 10 minutes and then roll out on a lightly floured surface.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together. 

Add the butter to the dry mixture.

Use a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter.

Mix till its in pea sized form.

Add the water a little at a time.

Mix till the dough is coarse.

Form the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Happy Friday everyone! I decided to celebrate with making Lemon Ricotta Cookies. I discovered these cookies while I was working in El Segundo, Calif and I had a coworker bring in bags of lemons from his lemon tree at home. Now that I live in Washington, I do miss all of the citrus trees from Southern California.

Ingredients:

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 15-ounce container of whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Ingredients :)

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. I recommend using white all purpose flour. I have used whole wheat flour before and the wheat tends to overpower the lemon in the cookies. 

 Next combine the sugar and soften butter in a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer and beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 

Sugar and butter all fluffy!

Add the eggs one at a time and beat in between each egg addition.

Nice and creamy after the eggs are all beaten with the sugar and butter. 

Next add the lemon zest, lemon juice and ricotta. Using whole milk ricotta is important, using skim milk ricotta won't make the cookies as fluffy. Also 3 tbsp of lemon juice is about 1/2 of a lemon. 

After the ricotta, lemon juice and lemon zest is well combined, add the flour mixture.

Batter all done!

Place the cookie dough on non sticking cookie sheets or parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for about 21 minutes. 

After cookies are slightly browned on the sides, remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 20 minutes. 

After the cookies have cooled place on wax paper.

Place the powder sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small bowl. 

Mix everything till its nice and smooth. 

Spread the frosting on each of the cookies. 

Yum!! 

Let the frosting set for about 2 hours and then place the cookies in an airtight container.