Showing posts with label lime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lime. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Citrus Theme Bridal Shower

Welcome summer and my obsession with all things lemon! Like clockwork, the onset of warm weather and sunny afternoons makes me crave the sharp zing of citrus. This time of year I'll take my lemons as lemonade with a sprig of mint, squeezed over grilled fish or chicken, or baked into something sweet. I was fortunate enough to kick off my sweet and sour summer with a citrus themed bridal shower. Being the fanatical party food enthusiast that I am, I jumped at the challenge of figuring out a menu with citrus in every dish.

Immediately, my brain began to churn out citrus dessert ideas. However, out of respect to those who believe cupcakes and chocolate do not a meal make, I added some savory components. I even went as far as adding a salad to the menu.



Citrus Bridal Shower Menu

ourbestbites.com
  (bottom left) I served these in little plastic cups I bought at a restaurant supply store. Scoop a tablespoon of the dipping sauce into the bottom of the cup and stand the fries up in the sauce. This presentation turns fries and dipping sauce into finger food!  

Strawberry Citrus Spinach Salad
spinach, strawberries, mandarin oranges, candied almonds, poppy seed dressing. Simple!

Mixed Fruit with Citrus Yogurt Sauce
tasteofhome.com 

a bright Paula Deen chicken salad sandwiched into mini croissants

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
i added orange extract and zest to my favorite chocolate cupcake and cream cheese frosting recipes. Just make sure you add them little by little until you've achieved your desired citrus flavor level.
twopeasandthierpod.com 
the best lemon bar recipe EVER

Izze Sparkling Juice
we used the cans of clementine, lime, and grapefruit flavors. So cute!

True to form, I took too few pictures of the table. Also true to form, I took 2 closeups of my favorite part of every bridal shower....DESSERTS!



Don't those just scream summer? The best part of this menu was how much could be made in advance. The honey lime dipping sauce, chicken salad, and citrus yogurt sauce was made the night before so the flavors had plenty of time to blend and intensify. I baked the lemon bars and the cupcakes the night before, but saved the frosting for the day of the party. Remember, when planning a shower or dinner party, do as much in advance as possible. Your guests want to see YOU at the party as well as enjoy your culinary truimphs!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Lime Glazed Coconut Cookies

My mom is an amazing cook. She can bake anything, cook anything, and usually get it done without glancing at a recipe. When I try a new recipe and make a horrible mess of it, she can always swoop into the kitchen and rescue my ruined dish. Growing up, she made dinner every night and baked goodies on the weekend for us to snack on throughout the week. Because of all this culinary pampering during my youth, I am a bit of a food snob! I know every kid blames their parents for their problems, but this is definitely all her fault. And I love her for it:)

When it comes to cookies, my food snobbery prevents me from getting excited about these sweet treats if they're from a bag, box, wrapper, or from premade cookie dough. I love homemade cookies because that's what I grew up with. I think they taste a zillion times better than those bought from the store. Note: Oreos and Girl Scout Cookies are an exception here! There's just no improving on those cookies. Furthermore, I love the process of baking cookies from scratch. It's relaxing and fun for me and I especially love giving cookies I made to my friends and neighbors....and saving a few for myself!

These cookies remind me of Mother's Iced Oatmeal Cookies with a tropical twist. A bit of a stretch you say? Here's a visual aid...

+=

These are a fresh twist on a classic cookie and 100% homemade. Let these cookies transport you to the tropics!


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit and line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.


In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and extracts.


In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.


With the mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Add coconut and oats on low speed, mixing until the dough just comes together. Give the bowl a good scrape with a rubber spatula.


Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and evenly space onto your prepared cookie sheet. Chill excess dough between batches.


The cookies will flatten considerably while they bake.


Bake for 10 minutes until browned. Let cool 2 minutes on the hot cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat the rolling, baking process until all the cookies are baked and cooling.


While the cookies cool, prepare the lime glaze.


Zest and juice about 3 limes.


Whisk the lime zest, juice, and powdered sugar in a medium mixing bowl until smooth.


There you go! Easy glaze. 


When the cookies are completely cool, set them on top of the glaze face-down. You may need to gently press the cookie into the glaze to evenly coat top side of the cookie.


Return cookies to the cooling rack until the glaze sets, about 5 minutes.


Enjoy! Put the lime in the coconut cookie and eat them all up!

Lime-Glazed Coconut Cookies yields about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

Coconut Cookies: 
  
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup oats
1 cup shredded coconut

Lime Glaze

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp lime juice
3 tsp grated lime zest

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg until smooth, scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and beat in the extracts.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the stand mixer on low speed, incorporate the flour mixture, being careful not to overmix. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. Turn the stand mixer on to low speed again and add the oats and coconut until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place onto the lined baking sheet. (12-15 balls of dough will fit nicely onto one pan.) Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on hot pan, then place cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cookies are cooled completely, prepare the lime glaze. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk powdered sugar, lime juice, and lime zest until smooth. Dip the cookies into the glaze face-down to evenly coat the tops of the cookies. Return the cookies back to the wire cooling rack to allow the glaze to set.