Revisit, remake, improve: rhubarb lemon squares

This one is for Ms. Sue S, and Mr Jeremy W, both inveterate bakers, and afficiandos of what we in the kitchen world call, ahem "the bar cookie." DO NOT confuse those with the cute whatever sitting at the stool, probably drinking a brandy alexander, or, Buddha help us all, a cosmo.

Lemon squares. You know them. Of course you do. They are a feature of bake sales, school fundraisers, and one of the featured treats in one of Annalena's favorite books, "Patty Jean's House of Curl." Hmmm. In fact, Annalena COULD see both Ms. Sue and Mr. J as characters in that book. Anyway, maybe you've even made them. Annalena has. She's made them often. But not for awhile. Having made these yesterday, she now knows why.

It is kind of ironic to post a recipe like this after posting one for healthier pizza, because there is NOTHING healthier about this recipe. The stats , should you want to know, are that if you cut these into 35 pieces, they have 150 calories. EACH. And 7 grams of fat. EACH. Trust Annalena, ragazzi, it will NOT feel that way when they are going down. But such is cookies. Enjoy them, and if , like Annalena, you are looking for ways to reduce the number of bags of frozen "stuff" in your freezer, this is a good one. And, Ms. Danielle P, this is one that nascent bakers can make. It is very, VERY easy.

Let us begin. Now, ideally, you will have a jelly roll pan for making these. That is a 10x15 inch baking sheet. If you do not have one, get one, as fast as you can. Annalena was skeptical of "yet another baking pan," but these are just the right size for many things. If you do not have one, a 9x13 inch baking pan will do fine, but it will be more challenging to remove the squares when they are done, since there will be sides on the pan, and you will have difficulties. One way to address this is to line your pan with parchment paper, such that you put sheets at a 90 degree angle, and when the pan of goodies is nice and firm, you can lift it out and then cut it. Of course, this means delayed gratification.

Annalena's baking clan will probably be able to recite the recipe for crust, from memory: a stick of unsalted buttter, .25 cup sugar, a bit of salt, 2.5 cups of all purpose flower, and 2, large eggs. Put all the dry stuff together, and then cut up the butter, and work it into the dough. A food processor or mixer will work super fine here, but if you have neither, use your finger tips. Just keep on mixing it up until you have something that looks a bit like rough oatmeal. Then stir in the eggs.

You have a very rough looking dough, but that's ok. Who doesn't like their sweets a little rough? After all, it's like kissing a man without stubble....

Ok, enough of that. Now, get your pan, and either rub the butter left over from the paper all over it, or spray some non stick, or put down that parchment paper. Dump in your dough, and with dry hands, press it as evenly as possible , trying to fill in every nook and cranny. Please do not get OCD on this, because it is a home dessert, and it need not be perfect. Indeed, people will look at you funny if they are (they may do that anyway, but who cares?).

Now, pop the pan into the oven, which has been pre-set to 350 , and bake it for 8 minutes. This is more than enough time for you to make the filling, which involves a stick of melted butter, the juice of meyer lemons to make half a cup, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of cornmeal, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and a pinch of salt. Just dump it all together, and stir to a uniform moosh.

Of the lemons: Annalena had tons of meyers on hand, so used them. As these are sweeter than regular lemons, she cut back sugar, and added the grated rind of one of the lemons. If you are using regular lemons, up the sugar to 1.25 cups, and use the rind as well. If you are not in the habit of grating rind into your citrus dishes, start now. You will thank Annalena whenever you say your prayers.

Ok, so you take that sheet out of the oven, making sure you've protected your hands. Pour the glop over the dough, move the pan around to distribute it evenly, and get it back in the oven. This will now bake, for about 25 minutes, maybe a few minutes longer in the 9x13 pan. You want the custard to firm up.

Now, let's push this. While the squares are baking, we're going to make what Annalena is calling "red glaze." It was, originally, strawberry rhubarb glaze, but Annalena had no strawberries, and used frozen raspberries from last summer instead. You can use whatever you like, as long as you have 1.5 pounds of it. And, rather than use those frightening creatures called "berries from Chile," buy frozen stuff if you don't have it on hand. If you are using rhubarb, you want half a pound, as compared to a pound of the other fruit. Put this all in a pot with a half cup of sugar, and then put your heat to low, and stir, stir, stir. When you have a boil, add another half cup of sugar and a quarter cup of water into which you have dissolved 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Keep stirring, and watch as the mixture changes color, and thickness. When you have a boil that is somewhat scary (you know what Annalena means: the bubbles are such that you're wondering if your face is going to get burned), get it off the heat.

When the pan of lemon squares comes out of the oven, pour the goop over it, and spread it out. Let it all firm up nicely. Refrigeration helps, but is not necessary. Then, get a knife, and cut away.

Of course, the bakers in the bunch will know that these are just fine without the glaze. Annalena recently found a product which is an ingenious bit of marketing: someone has taken citrus flavored fruit slices, and cut them in quarters, selling them as "citrus bits." If you have such, you can decorate each square with one of them, and people may faint over the cuteness of such.

These are GOOD. Perhaps too good. Which may explain why they haven't come out of the kitchen lately. Eat one, eat ten, "all in moderation," but sometimes, not.