Quick and easy baking day treats

Each year my family has an annual baking day with our friends Mike and Betsy Dumey and their children. This year, over the course of 10 hours, we made 16 different recipes of cookies and candy. Each year we fine tune our production of what needs to chill, how many pecans need to be chopped or what we can start with so the kids can start rolling cookies into balls or dropping no-bake items. We are becoming a well-oiled machine, and each year we seem to produce more and more in about the same time.

I decided to share just a couple of the recipes we made this year that were either really good or quick and easy, but still very tasty. Maybe there are others you might enjoy that I will pass along at another time.

Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars

This recipe combines two of my favorite things: shortbread and lemon. It is one of those "keepers," and we will be making it again next year. These delicate butter cookies are packed with lemon flavor. They are absolutely delicious, but you have to love lemon to love these, as they are a burst of sweet and tart lemon flavor.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup finely shredded lemon peel (6 to 7 lemons)
• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Lemony glaze (see below)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with heavy foil, extending foil 2 inches over each end of the pan. Lightly grease foil; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour and cornstarch. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon peel. Using your fingers or pressing against side of bowl with a wooden spoon, work lemon peel into powdered sugar until sugar is yellow and very fragrant. Rubbing the sugar and peel together allows the oils in the peel to be released. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine butter, lemon juice, salt and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Gradually beat in sugar mixture. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture. Continue beating or stirring until dough comes together. Gather dough into a ball. Press dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake on center rack of the oven 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately dollop glaze over top and gently spread to evenly distribute the glaze. Let cool completely. Using the edges of the foil, lift the uncut bars out of the pan. Cut into 24 squares. Cut each square in half, diagonally. Makes 48 bars.

Lemony glaze

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon light-color corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar, finely shredded lemon peel, lemon juice, light-color corn syrup and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

White Chocolate Shortbread Rounds

Prepare Lemony Glazed Shortbread Bars (above recipe) as directed up to step where it is removed from the oven. At this point, place baking pan on a wire rack. Let cool 10 minutes. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut into rounds. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Melt 8 ounces white baking chocolate over low heat in a small saucepan. Dip sides of rounds in melted white chocolate to coat. Roll sides of rounds in 2/3 cup finely chopped pistachio nuts to coat. Place on wire rack; lightly drizzle tops with remaining white chocolate. Let stand until white chocolate is set (about 1 hour). Omit lemony glaze. Makes about 36 cookies.

Graham Cracker Toffee Bars

Although this recipe is many years old, Betsy had never made it, so we did this year; she loved it so much she made another batch the next day. As simple as it is, it is not lacking in flavor. I made these many years ago and took them to the church cookie walk-bake sale, and my friend Rodney Bridges nearly made himself sick after eating an entire zip-top bag full.

• Graham crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put parchment paper on a 16x12-inch cookie sheet with edges, then place graham crackers so they cover the entire cookie sheet. In a saucepan, melt butter using medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar. Stir brown sugar into butter until melted. Bring to slight rolling boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the chopped pecans and vanilla. Pour mixture evenly over graham crackers, spreading out the mixture and pecans to completely cover as evenly as possible. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Cut while still warm, or cool slightly and then break apart. Store tightly covered.

As an added option, this may be very lightly sprinkled with sea salt or drizzled lightly with melted chocolate.

Jelly Jewel Cookies

Growing up, it just was not Christmas without my mom making jelly jewels. We always had an ample supply of pecans, and they made these cookies so good. It is a simple cookie, but sure brings back a lot of great memories for me. Betsy and I added these to our baking list this year, and my daughter Lexie sure was happy about it.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg (separated)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup pecans (finely chopped)
• 1 small jar seedless red raspberry jelly or jam

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add well-beaten egg yolk. Stir in flour.

Chill dough thoroughly. Pinch off small pieces and roll into 1-inch balls. Dip in slightly beaten egg white, then into chopped pecans. Place on cookie sheet and bake in 360-degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove. Make depression in center of each ball and return to oven for 5 minutes or until just set. Remove cookies from sheet to cool. When cooled, fill the depression in the cookie with jelly or jam.

The Best Ever Caramel Corn

This recipe for caramel corn was not part of the baking day, but it was so delicious I just had to share the recipe.

I have cousins living in Utah, and they are a very outdoors-loving family and are also beekeepers. For Christmas, Todd and Missy Whitton sent us a bag of caramel corn and a jar of honey. I waited until a couple days after Christmas to open the caramel corn and quickly found it was delicious. I immediately texted her to get the recipe, and here it is for you to enjoy.

• Nonstick spray coating
• 7 to 8 cups popped popcorn (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup unpopped)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons real butter (no substitutes)
• 3 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Spray an 18x12x2-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Remove unpopped kernels from popped corn. Place popcorn in pan; keep warm in a 300-degree oven.

Butter sides of heavy 1-1/2-quart or larger saucepan. Add brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, without stirring, for 5 minutes more. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla; pour over popcorn. Stir gently to coat. Bake in a 300-degree oven for 15 minutes. Stir mixture and bake 5 minutes more. Remove from oven; spread onto a large piece of buttered foil and cool completely. Break into clusters. Store tightly covered. Makes 7 to 8 cups.

Have a great week and, until next time, happy cooking.