The Dessert You Didn't Know You Needed - Lemon Brownies

My love of lemon is well documented on this blog (take a look here, here, and here) so it was only natural that in my quest for the perfect dessert fix, I stumbled on yet another lemon sweet to add to my repertoire. If you're like most people, you might find the idea of a Lemon Brownie quite out of the box. Nevertheless, these didn't seem all that odd to me, because years ago I had discovered and enjoyed a similar recipe - Paula Deen's unexpectedly delicious recipe for orange brownies. And by discovered I mean I shamelessly ate far more than my fair share when a coworker brought them to the office. While my opinion of Paula has seen better days, her brownies (they are tangy, chewy, and orangey-just like a brownie but without the chocolate), made me a believer. 

Lemon Brownies, Photo: Neurotic Kitchen 

So what makes today's recipe more Lemon Brownie than the ubiquitous lemon bar? It's all about the texture - these will not be cake-like. What emerges from your oven will be chewy and fudgey, which is, in fact, just the way I like my chocolate brownies. The result is a bitesized confection that is tart but sweet, and overall, a hugely satisfying little sunny bite. For me, the lemon brownie is the epitome of an easy and elegant handheld dessert. Rest assured, the kids will like them too! 

We'll get to the recipe soon, but first, some tips:

Bring butter fully to room temperature.
Do not overmix batter.
Do not overbake batter. It's done when you see just the slightest golden color at the very corners of the pan. Not more than 25 minutes in most ovens - you'll want to keep an eye on it. 

Lemon Brownies
Recipe very lightly adapted from Wicked Good Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine Sea Salt 
2/3 Cup Salted Butter (equal to 11 Tablespoons) + a bit extra for greasing the pan
2 Large Eggs + 1 Large Egg White
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Grated Lemon Zest 
2 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice

Glaze Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Sifted Confectioner's Sugar
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
2.5 teaspoons Lemon Zest
+ one drop of yellow food color (completely optional)
+ flakey Sea Salt (also optional)

Equipment:
Parchment Paper
Glass or metal pan (9x9)

Method:
Place rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. 
Grease the baking pan with butter and place parchment into the pan, leaving an overhang so you can easily lift the brownies out of the pan once they've cooled. 

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a whisk in a large bowl and mixing by hand), stir together flour, sugar, and salt until well incorporated. Add butter and mix until well combined. Do NOT beat at high speed or over mix. In a small bowl whisk the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice together. Scrape edges of the bowl and pour the contents into the flour batter bowl, stirring with a whisk (or electric mixer) until the batter well blended and smooth. Once again, do not over-beat (note: this is precisely why I like to make this recipe by hand, just be sure ingredients are well-incorporated). 

With a rubber spatula, scrape batter into the baking pan and smooth the top. Place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Do not overbake. You will see slightly golden edges beginning to appear. The middle will be semi-firm but not hard. 

Let the brownies fully cool and then gently lift them out of the pan by the parchment overhand, supporting the bottom as well. 

Make the glaze by combining the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest and whisk vigorously until smooth and glossy. You have two options with the glaze - you can either pour it onto the uncut brownies and cut them once it has hardened, or you can cut the brownies into small bitesized bars and separate them on a plate. Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze onto each until almost totally covered. This is my preference. In either scenario you can optionally sprinkle the tiniest bit of flakey sea salt on to of the icing as it hardens. If your lemon zest is not bright yellow, you can add a drop of yellow food color to the glaze before adding it.

These brownies can be stored up to five days in fridge if you place them in an airtight container. They also freeze nicely! 

Weeknight Indulgence - Roasted Chicken With Orange Tarragon Butter

Me and Chicken, we've got a complicated relationship going. Arguably America's favorite meat, Chicken has just never done it for me. I know, I know, you don't agree - I've heard it all before - but admit it: Chicken needs embellishment to be interesting. Sure, you can serve it slathered in barbecue sauce or bread and fry it, but no one, no one, is going bonkers for a plain old Chicken Breast. And please, don't even think about preparing it skinless (why!?). No matter how good a cook you are, you may as well ask me to gnaw on a piece of cardboard. Really, no thanks. 

In summary, my chief complaint about Chicken is this: on its own, it is just not a particularly flavorful meat. If you don't agree, compare Steak or Lamb, meats that require minimal enhancement to be interesting. Just a little Salt and Pepper and you're good to go. But not Chicken - Chicken needs a little more zhushing. But if there's a silver lining to Chicken's woeful blank slate status, it's that it does take flavor exceptionally well, and when seasoned nicely and prepared with care, it can really be something special. 

Roasted Chicken With Orange Tarragon Butter, Photo: NK 

Today's easy and surprisingly indulgent weeknight dinner is an excellent example of Chicken at its finest. Flavored with a bright, tangy Orange Juice and Zest combined herbaceous notes from the Tarragon ( a favorite herb of mine that has a twinge of Licorice in its scent) it's tasty but understated.

Roasted whole Chicken also incorporates my two other rules for great Chicken:  if you prepare it bone-in, it will always be juicier. The second rule is to leave the skin on, because, hello, that's the good stuff. Even if you take it off prior to eating (why?!!) cooking Chicken with the skin on will make for a moister, more delcious bird. 

Note: This dish has a longer prep time than our normal weeknight meals - it will take about 10 minutes to prepare and an hour and a half to cook, plus ten minutes to rest. You will, however, find that if you can start early enough, the recipe is practically effortless. Barely any prep time at all - maybe five minutes, tops! The Orange Tarragon Butter that makes this recipe so decadent could certainly be made ahead, providing you build in some time to bring it to room temperature. 


Easy Orange Tarragon Roasted Chicken
Serves 3-4 adults 

Orange Tarragon Butter, Photo; NK

Ingredients: 
One 4.5 to 6 Pound Roasted Chicken, giblets removed and brought to room temperature
3 Tablespoons Salted Butter, room temperature
1 small Yellow or White Onion, halved 
1 large Navel Orange, Zested and halved
1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Tarragon plus a few sprigs for garnish
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 with the rack in the middle.

Bring Chicken to room temperature by letting it sit out about a half an hour.

Mix the Butter and Tarragon together in a small bowl. Add all the Orange Zest and the juice of half the Orange. Mix again until well incorporated. It's ok if some of the Orange Juice remains separated.

Stuff the Chicken's cavity with the two Onion Halves and/or the other unjuiced half of the Orange. Place the bird in a roasting pan. 

Season the bird liberally with Kosher Salt and Black Pepper. Next, cut a hole into the skin just above the neck, so that you create a pocket between the skin and bird. Carefully pull the skin up from the body as you stuff it with some of the Orange Tarragon Butter, smooshing it around as best you can. 
Finish by coating the outside of the bird with all the remaining Flavored butter. 

Place in the oven on the middle rack and roast for about an hour and 20 minutes (for a 4.25 lb bird) to an hour and a half (for a large bird), basting several times with the pan juices. Place the Chicken on a platter and pour the pan juices over it. Serve with orange slices (from the second half of the Orange) and sprigs of fresh Tarragon. 

Enjoy!