When life gives you lemons . . . make a lemon (or lime, or orange, or grapefruit) dessert! Sweet and Tart brings a spritz of sunshine to the table with 70 totally tempting, accessible recipes. From irresistibly tangy-sweet Heavenly Lemon Squares to the unexpected Cream Cheese Muffins with Spinach and Lemon, these treats span sweet and savory, with recipes for frozen desserts, cakes, pies, breads, and favorite citrusy accents such as marmalade and curd.

The cookbook comes as a hardcover, with 176 pages with color photos.

Meyer Lemon Drop Cookies – Sneak Peek of What’s Inside! 

Makes about 60 cookies

Start to finish: 1 hour
Hands-on time: 20 minutes

Sometimes a soft, pillowy cookie is just the ticket to happiness. Especially a lemon bomb like these Meyer lemon–infused cookies. It’s a treat that every kid (and adult) would love to find in their lunchbox.

3 cups [360 g] unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup [170 g] unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups [300 g] granulated sugar
Zest of 3 Meyer lemons; plus 1/4 cup [60 ml] fresh Meyer lemon juice, plus 3 Tbsp
1 tsp lemon extract
3 large eggs
2 cups [240 g] powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°F [190°C]. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Set aside.

Beat the butter, granulated sugar, and two-thirds of the lemon zest in a mixer bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the 1⁄4 cup [60 ml] lemon juice and the lemon extract and then the eggs, one at a time. Turn the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in three additions just until combined.

Drop the dough by tablespoons or use a 1-Tbsp scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 in [5 cm] apart. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until just firm to the touch, rotating the baking sheets 180 degrees about halfway through the baking time.

Let cool on the baking sheets on wire racks for 10 minutes, then lift the cookies from the parchment with a spatula and let cool completely on the racks. Repeat to bake the remaining dough on the same sheets.

Combine the powdered sugar, 3 Tbsp lemon juice, and remaining lemon zest in a small bowl and blend with a fork to make a glaze. (If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add a few drops of lemon juice or water.)

Set the wire racks over a baking sheet and drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies with a fork. (The sheet will catch the drips, which can be scraped up and reused if you run short of glaze.) Let set for 20 minutes. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 6 weeks.

Photos and recipe from www.chroniclebooks.com/blog.