Lemony Lemonies

Lemony Lemonies - made June 28, 2014 from Bakerella

I did a bunch of baking before I started my new job and I'm still catching up from those posts. This is one of them. I had a family barbecue to go to and (as always), lemons to use up so I went with this version of a lemon brownie. At least that's what they would seem like.

I actually would consider these more of a lemon cake, perhaps a bit more dense than a cake but "dense" is a strong word because they weren't really dense. They don't have much leavening in them either though so cakey also seems like a strong description. Let's just say they were somewhere in the middle.

But whatever you want to call them, I'd call them good. The texture was nicely chewy (yet cakey - and round and round I go on the descriptors) and the lemon flavor was perfect for a summer occasion. Lemons are most abundant in the winter but my lemon tree didn't get that memo and still keeps growing lemons so I keep doing lemon desserts in the summer. What made this cake/brownie particularly good was the lemon glaze. It was both sweet yet also had some tartness from the fresh lemon zest and lemon juice. Don't make the glaze too runny or it won't be thick enough and you want enough powdered sugar to let the icing set when it cools completely. Easy to make, slice and serve - enjoy.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3/4 cup unsalted butter, almost completely melted then cooled
2 eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square pan or line pan with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray to easily lift brownies out of pan.
2. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and zest together using a wire whisk.
3. Add melted butter, lemon juice, eggs and vanilla and stir until completely combined.
4. Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.
5. Remove from oven and cool.
6. For lemon icing, sift powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and zest and stir until completely combined and smooth. Pour over lemonies and let rest until icing sets. 
7. Cut into 16 or 25 small bars only right before serving.