BEHIND THE BOOK

The Recipes of an American Au Pair
created by Marjorie Leet Ford

Mrs. West's Lemon Bars

"I have to describe those lemon bars. Shortbread crust, all buttery. It's a mystery how the crumbs can be so crisp, and so soft-satin rich at the same time, and so breakable that some lingers on the hand you're using, some on your lips, to lick off. On top of the crust, this thick, puddingish goo of bright yellow — another mystery, how the sourness of the lemon and the bitterness of the rind, plus a hint of sweetness, can all be together in one creamy taste. The dusting of powdered sugar also comes off on your hand and your lips, giving you more to lick." (The Diary of an American Au Pair, p. 74)

Amazingly, these are almost as easy to make as they are hard to resist.

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter

Topping:
4 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons
Grated rind of 2 lemons
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

More powdered sugar, for dusting

Steps:
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix the crust ingredients, press into a 9" x 13" baking pan.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Beat topping ingredients together and spread over crust.
Bake 30 minutes at 350.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Cut into serving-sized squares.

Makes: About 40 squares

Granny Aitchee's Shortbread

"I feel like swooping down, my large presence, and hugging Granny Aitchee's tiny presence, clothed in plaid.... Every day she wears her family's tartan, the MacLaren plaid.... [She's] completely Scottish. In her dining room she arranges flowers reciting Robert Burns: "My love is like a red red rose." Her favorite book is Ivanhoe. She makes delicious scones, and shortbread that tastes ninety percent butter." (The Diary of an American Au Pair, p. 82)

At the touch of your teeth, these shortbread cookies crumble and melt in your mouth.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar (can be granulated or powdered or half and half)
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Steps:
Beat the butter and sugar till creamy.
Beat in the vanilla.

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together and beat them into the butter-sugar.

Form the dough into 2 or 3 logs, each about 1-1/2" in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic or waxed paper and chill 1/2 hour or more.

Preheat oven to 375.

Slice logs into 1/4" rounds.
Lay rounds out on cookie sheet, leaving 1" between each.
Bake about 12 minutes, until brown around the edges, still pale gold on top.

Makes:
About 40 1-1/2" crispy, buttery shortbread rounds

Note:
It's easy to over-bake these. They should look under-done. They crisp as they cool.

Mrs. West Ginger Biscuits

"[Old Nanny] leaned forward, pushing the plate of biscuits toward me again. 'And Mrs. Haig-Ereildoun? Do you find her kind? Does she care about people's feelings?' Oh, God. I had another biscuit.... The shine in Nanny's eyes was almost lascivious." (The Diary of an American Au Pair, p. 72)

Nanny and the Chipchase family loved ginger biscuits. They're like what we call ginger snaps—but snappier with spice. Mrs. West, the cook, had a secret ingredient: little pieces of crystallized ginger, mixed into the batter. If you can get this candied ginger at a specialty store, try it. You bite into little texture surprises—and you taste the meaning of the word "gingerly."

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional, but terrific)

Steps:
Preheat oven to 350.
Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the eggs and molasses.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices and beat into the batter.
Stir in the chopped, crystallized ginger.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, leaving 2" space between biscuits.
Bake about 10 minutes.
Cool.

Makes:
About 8 dozen ginger biscuits.

© Copyright 2003 by Marjorie Leet Ford. Reprinted with permission by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. 

Excerpted from The Diary of an American Au Pair © Copyright 2012 by Marjorie Leet Ford. Reprinted with permission by Anchor Books. All rights reserved.