When Neighbors Give You Lemons.

Here at Ft. Meade we have the most amazing neighbors. They moved in just after we did and they are wonderful! This week, they went on vacation to upstate New York, up to the finger lakes, and I miss them dearly. However, before leaving the wife came over with two or three bags of groceries that won't last till they get back in a week. This included 6 lemons that have been staring at me for DAYS, I knew I'd have to do something with them, or they'd go bad. So today, I was feeling up to the challenge. So far I've made lemon curd which I didn't scorch this time. (Because really... how could you go wrong with that? And B asked for it.), I also made.

I also made Lemon Buttermilk Popsicles from Whipped the blog (they're also called easy-dreamy-lemon popsicles) They're in the freezer as we speak/as I type.

Finally, I made Lemon Sweet Rolls adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe's Orange Rolls. Or rather, I've made the dough, it is supposed to raise for 2-2 1/2 hours. I'm thinking we'll probably get it 1 1/2 and then I'll need to keep my momentum going!

Lemon Sweet Rolls

from melskitchencafe.com (Adapted)

*Makes 12-14 rolls/twists

Dough:

¾ cup buttermilk, warm (I pour the buttermilk in a glass liquid measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute on 50% power)

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 large eggs

4 ¼ cups (21 ¼ ounces) flour

¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar

2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

Orange Filling:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Grated orange rind/zest from two large lemons (reserving 1/2 teaspoon grated rind for the glaze below)

Orange Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice from about 1  large lemon

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind/zest reserved from the filling above

For the dough, whisk the warmed buttermilk and butter together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook (or you can use a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or electric handheld mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and eggs and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (knead for 15-18 minutes by hand). If after 5 minutes of kneading, the dough is still overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but has a slight tacky feel when pressed between your fingertips. (See this tutorial for a visual.)

Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover the top tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, around 2 to 2 ½ hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

For the filling, combine all the filling ingredients (reserving 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest for the glaze) in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter (I use my trusty roul’pat for this step) and press it into about a 16 by 12-inch rectangle (if you have doubled the recipe, split the dough in half and roll out one half at a time). Gently brush the filling mixture over the rectangle, using an offset spatula or rubber spatula.

Lift the longest edge closest to you and begin rolling the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed and roll the log so it is seam side down. Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 12 evenly sized rolls,more or less. You can slice them thinner or thicker as you like. For a traditional cinnamon-roll-look, arrange the rolls cut side down on a lined or lightly greased baking pan. If you want to try the twist method, one at a time grab each sliced roll and holding on to either end simultaneously pull and twist the roll into a figure eight and place it on the prepared pan. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden on top and cooked through. While the rolls are baking, mix together the glaze ingredients. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls.

As most of my creations are still in process, You'll just have to wait for the pictures :)