Lemon is one of my very favorite ingredients in the kitchen, in vinaigrettes, marinades, pan sauces, and in baked goods and cocktails. So these crunchy lemon glazed cookies are right up my alley. They aren’t very sweet but they have a big punch of lemon flavor. These crumbly little biscuits remind me of Italian holiday cookies, but they are much simpler to make.

Glazed Lemon Cookies
from marthastewart.com
makes 24 cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tblsp finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
for the lemon glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tblsp finely grated lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture.

2. Drop dough in heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Meanwhile, whisk all the ingredients for the lemon glaze in a medium bowl until smooth. When cookies are cool, spread with lemon glaze, and let set, about 1 hour.

There was no doubt I was making this recipe. I’m a sucker for fruit cobblers. And I love baked goods with cornmeal and lemon zest in them. Again, this impeccable recipe comes from Cook’s Illustrated, where the editors tested and perfected this classic summer dessert. The fruit filling is delicately sweet and tart, and the bright blueberries look stunning next to the golden peaches. The drop biscuits on top have an airy, fluffy texture and a rustic appearance flecked with lemon zest. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Blueberry-Peach Cobbler w/ Lemon-Cornmeal Biscuit Topping
from The Best New Recipe
serves 6
*Notes: If your peaches are firm, you should be able to peel them with a sharp vegetable peeler. If they are too soft and ripe to withstand the pressure of a peeler, blanch and shock them before peeling. Do not prepare the biscuit dough any sooner than the recipe indicates; if the unbaked dough is left to stand too long, the leavener will expire and the biscuits will not rise properly in the oven. This recipe can be doubled for a crowd; use a 13×9 inch baking dish and increase the baking times in steps 2 and 4 by about 5 minutes.

Ingredients
For Filling:
2 pounds ripe but firm peaches (about 6 medium)
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and picked over
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tblsp juice from 1 lemon
pinch salt

For Biscuit Topping:
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tblsp stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 tsp lemon zest
3 tblsp plus 1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 tblsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/3 cup plain whole milk yogurt

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. For the filling: Peel the peaches then halve and pit each. Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out and discard the dark flesh from the pit area. Cut each half into four wedges. Gently toss the peaches and sugar together in a large bowl; let stand for 30 minutes, tossing several times. Drain the peaches in a colander set over a large bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup of the drained juice (discard remaining juice), the cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt together in a small bowl. Toss the peach juice mixture with the peach slices and blueberries and transfer to an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake until the fruit begins to bubble around the edges, about 10 minutes.

3. For the biscuit topping: While the fruit is baking, in a food processor pulse the flour, cornmeal, lemon zest, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl; add the yogurt and toss with a rubber spatula until a cohesive dough is formed. (Don’t over mix the dough, or the biscuits will be tough). Break the dough into 6 evenly sized but roughly shaped mounds and set aside.

4. To assemble and bake the cobbler: After the peaches and blueberries have baked 10 minutes, remove from the oven and place the dough mounds on top, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart (they should not touch). Sprinkle each mound with a portion of the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling, 16 to 18 minutes. Cool the cobbler on a wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes; serve.

This recipe is the definition of a flourless chocolate cake, containing only chocolate, butter and eggs. This “cake” has a sophisticated bittersweet flavor and silky texture that melts in your mouth. The editors at Cook’s Illustrated describe this cake as somewhere between an aerated chocolate mousse and a dense New-York-style cheesecake. It takes some finesse to achieve this texture. Luckily America’s Test Kitchen has fine-tuned this recipe to perfection.

I recommend adding the optional espresso to the batter; it really compliments the deep chocolate flavor. Be advised that the cake needs to sit in the fridge overnight. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or fruit.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
from The New Best Recipe: from the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated
serves 12 to 16

“Even though the cake may not look done, pull it from the oven when an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees. (Make sure not to let the tip of the thermometer hit the bottom of the pan.) It will continue to firm up as it cools. If you use a 9-inch springform pan instead of the preferred 8-inch, reduce the baking time to 18 to 20 minutes. We like the pure flavor of chocolate; however, coffee or liqueur (choose something that tastes like nuts, coffee, or oranges) can be added if desired.”

Ingredients
8 large eggs, cold
1 pound high-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped coarse
16 tblsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 cup strong black coffee or liqueur (optional)
confectioners’ sugar or unsweetened cocoa for dusting the cake (optional)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper or wax paper and grease the sides of the pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 sheets of heavy-duty foil and set it in a large roasting pan. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.

2. Beat the eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer at high speed until the volume doubles (to approximately 1 quart), about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and the butter (adding the coffee, if using) in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water until smooth and very warm (about 115 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), stirring once or twice. (To melt in the microwave, heat the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stir, add the butter and coffee, if using, and continue heating at 50 percent power, stirring every minute until the chocolate and butter have melted and are smooth, another 2 to 3 minutes total). Fold a third of the egg foam into the chocolate mixture using a large rubber spatula until only a few streaks of egg are visible; fold in half the remaining foam, then the last foam, until the mixture is totally homogeneous.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Set the roasting pan on the oven rack and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the cake has risen slightly, the edges are just beginning to set, a thin glazed crust (like a brownie) has formed on the surface, and an instant-read thermometer inserted halfway into the center reads 140 degrees, 22 to 25 minutes. Remove the cake pan from the hot water bath and set on a wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight to mellow. (The cake can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

5. About 30 minutes before serving, remove the sides of the pan, invert the cake onto a sheet of wax paper, peel off the parchment paper, and reinvert the cake onto a serving platter. Sieve a light sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar over the cake to decorate. To slice, use a sharp, tin-bladed knife, dipping the knife into a pitcher of hot water and wiping the blade before each cut.