7 Ways to Enjoy Lemons This Summer

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I love lemons, lemon decor, and Meyer lemon recipes. So today I am sharing seven ways to enjoy lemons this summer.

Until this year I have not used much lemon decor in my home. As I love it. I think you might like these fun ideas that celebrate one of my favorite fruits of all time, lemons!

Lemon Decor for Your Table

Lemon Decor and Entertaining

Lemon Decor for Your Table

It is so much fun to add lemon decor accents to your home. I have no idea why it took me so long to use lemon as a zest of color in our home.

I think my favorite place to add lemons is on a table setting. When I set this table I quickly realized how beautiful lemon decor can be when entertaining

Lemon Decor for Your Table

Lemon Decor for Your Table

Wow. When I envisioned this table I had no idea that it would look so incredible. This table has a lot of colors – blue, green, yellow, and purple – and I love it.

Lemon Decor for Your Table

To see how I put this table together, head to my blog post, Lemon Decor for Your Table.

On this blog, I may sometimes use affiliate links, which means a small commission is earned if you purchase via the link. The price will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link.

How to Make Your Own Lemon Plates

Lemon Plates with a Lemon Slice

While I was putting together my lemon-themed table, I looked for lemon plates. Since I couldn’t find any plates that I liked that were in my price range, I made my own.

With paper napkins.

These plates were not difficult to make and I loved how they turned out. To learn how to make these, head to How to Make Your Own Lemon Plates.

Meyer Lemon Recipes

Meyer Lemons for Pie

I love any recipe that calls for a Meyer lemon. The sweet taste of a Meyer lemon is so good that many people (including me) bite straight into a Meyer lemon slice and enjoy the juice straight from the lemon.

I have two Meyer lemon trees that supply us with lemons all year round. My favorite use for a meter lemon? In a vodka tonic. Of course.

Meyer Lemon Cream Pie with a Twist

Meyer Lemon Cream Pie with a Twist

Meyer Lemon Cream Pie

Meyer Lemon Cream Pie with a Twist

This Meyer lemon pie is the perfect amount of sweet and tart with a yummy graham cracker crust. IT has a lemony whipped cream and candied lemon peel garnish. Bookmark this recipe, it is a crowd-pleaser!

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • Crust:
  • 2 Cups of Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 6 TBL Melted Butter
  • Filling:
  • 1 Cup Meyer Lemon Juice
  • 2 14 oz cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 3 Egg Yolks
  • 1/4 Tsp salt
  • Whipped Topping (for decoration)
  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 4 TBL Whipped Cream Cheese
  • 2-1/2 TBL Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Tsp Meyer Lemon Juice
  • Candied Meyer Lemon Peels
  • 1 Meyer Lemon
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1/4 Cup Sugar
  • Another 1/2 Cup of Sugar to spinkle on peels for crystalization

Instructions

Once the pie is made and baked, it needs to refrigerate overnight, so make sure you allow the proper amount of time.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter together. Mix well until completed combined.

2. Spray pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Add crust mixture to the pie pan, pressing into the pan and up the sides of the pan.

4. Bake crust for 8 minutes.

While the crust is baking, make your filling:

1. Add lemon juice, both cans of sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and salt to bowl, mix together until well combined.

2. Once the crust is out of the oven, fill the crust with the filling mixture. Fill all the way to the top, the filling will not expand or overflow while cooking.

3. Bake filled crust for 17 minutes, until small bubbles begin to form in the filling. When there are about 20 bubbles on the top of the pie, it is done.

4. Once the pie is baked, let cool for at least 30 minutes before refrigerating.

5. Refrigerate the pie for at least one hour, overnight if possible.

Whipped Topping:

Combine heavy whipping cream, whipped cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice. I like to use an immersion blender to make whipped topping, you can use an hand mixer also. Beat until the topping is thick enough to pipe into a design.

Candied Meyer Lemon Peels:

1. Wash the lemon.

2. Cut off the ends of the lemon

3. Cut lemon in half and remove seeds

4. Slice the rind of the lemon half and cut away the pulp so that you are left with a long piece of lemon rind.

5. Roll the rind into a tight pinweel and cut thin slices of the rind (about a 1/4" wide). Hold the pinwheel tightly while slicing.

5. Combine the water and 1/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved and has created a simple syrup (don't boil to avoid scorching).

6. Add the thin slices of lemon rind to the simple syrup and cook over low heat for about 30-40 minutes until peels have absorbed most of the syrup.

7. Carefully remove the peels from the syrup with a slotted spoon and place on parchment paper to drain. They will be goopy from the syrup.

8. Once the peels have cooled enough to handle, twist them around a dowel or straw to create the twists. (I used the dowels from my pasta drying rack)

9. Spinkle with the additional sugar to coat the peels.

10. These will keep in airtight container for about a week.

Once the pie has been refrigerated for at least an hour, ideally, overnight, pipe the whipped cream onto the top of the pie in any design you like. You can also serve the whipped cream topping on the side if you prefer. If you serve the whipped cream on the side, I recommend doubling the recipe, it's that good!

Add the candied lemon peels on top of the whipped cream or if you are serving the whipped cream on the side, simply pop the peels onto the top of the pie as a garnish.

Keep pie refrigerated when not serving.

The Best Lemon Breakfast Bread

Lemon Bread with Raspberry Swirl
Yield: one loaf - 12 pieces

The Best Lemon Breakfast Bread

Lemon Bread Recipe

This Lemon Breakfast Bread is gluten-free and dairy-free.

The raspberry swirl is such a nice surprise to this wonderful lemon bread.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 TBL Meyer lemon zest
  • 2 ¼ cups Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour 
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 ¼ cup organic turbinado sugar 
  • ¾ cup or stick and a half of Plant-Based Butter (softened)
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ cup almond milk (or any milk alternative)
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • Raspberry Swirl
  • 1/4 cup raspberries
  • 1 TBL organic turbinado sugar
  • Glaze (optional, omit if you don’t want the extra sugar)
  • 6 TBL Meyer lemon juice
  • 6 TBL powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and softened butter. I used a wooden spoon and pastry blender for this, you can also use a hand mixer or stand mixer.
  3. In a separate small bowl, beat eggs lightly with fork. Add milk and whisk until combined.
  4. Pour egg and milk mixture into the larger bowl with flour mixture and mix until combined. Once combined, add the lemon juice to the mixture.
  5. Pour the combined mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
  6. While the bread is baking, in a small saucepan, mix together, over low heat the raspberries and sugar. Mix over heat until sugar melts. Using a wooden spoon, smash the raspberries. Mix together until the mixture is combined and syrupy.
  7. Take bread out of oven at the 20 minute mark. Using a knife, carefully carve an S into the loaf, pushing the knife about ¾ way through the batter. Follow with a spoon, spooning the raspberry mixture into the S carved the loaf. The batter will still be very soft inside and will envelope the raspberry mixture as it continues to cook. The reason you do this at the 20 minute mark is because you want the batter to set up a little bit so that the raspberry swirl is distinct in the bread.
  8. Continue baking the loaf for another 40 minutes or so, until a toothpick comes out clean. I used the convection feature on my oven, so your timing may be different.
  9. Once the loaf is fully baked and toothpick comes out clean, remove from oven and move to wire rack to cool. 
  10. While the loaf is cooling, in a small saucepan, over low heat, mix together the lemon juice and sugar to make the glaze. Mix over heat until the mixture is syrup consistency, adding more sugar if necessary.
  11. Once cooled, carefully remove the loaf from the pan.
  12. Drizzle the loaf with the lemon juice glaze.
  13. Cut loaf into approximately 1” wide pieces and serve with coffee, tea, juice or simply pop into your mouth as you stand in your kitchen, the calories don’t count this way!

Notes

If you don't want the dairy-free and gluten-free version, just replace the gluten free items and plant butter with the ingredients you want. Just use the same amounts as listed in the recipe. Also, you can use regular lemons if you don't have Meyer lemons.

Lemon Blueberry Gluten-Free Muffins

Blueberry Gluten-Free Muffins
Yield: 12 - 15 muffins

Lemon Blueberry Gluten Free Muffins

Lemon Blueberry Gluten Free Muffins

These Lemon Blueberry Gluten-Free muffins. They are so flavorful and yummy, you won’t miss the gluten!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Better Batter Cup for Cup All Purpose Flour (gluten-free with xanthan gum)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened (I used non-dairy Country Crock Plant Based butter)
  • 3 TBL agave syrup (or honey)
  • ½ cup mashed ripe banana
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup almond milk
  • 1 large lemon zested and juiced
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries (if canned, be sure to drain)

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Fill 12 - 15 muffin cups with muffin liners and spray
      with cooking spray.
    2. Blend the flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
    3. In a mixer bowl, combine butter, agave syrup, mashed banana, and vanilla. Mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add the eggs and beat until fully.
    4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until thick. Add the almond milk and lemon zest and juice and mix in by hand.
    5. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the blueberries.
    6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans about 2/3 full.
    7. Bake until a wooden skewer into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 35 - 40 minutes.
    8. Allow muffins to cool. If you didn’t use muffin liners, transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.



Notes

For dairy-free muffins, use plant-based butter.

For non-gluten-free muffins, use all-purpose flour.

My Favorite Lemon Vodka Drinks

My Favorite Lemon Vodka Drinks Final

Lemon Drop

Vodka Lemon Drop

Just the right amount of sweet and tart. Lemon Drops are one of my favorite cocktails, especially in warm weather.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Vodka
  • 1 oz Contreau or TripleSec
  • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 1 oz lemon simple syrup
  • Lemon Simple Syrup
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Lemon-Sugar for Rim
  • 1/2 cup ultra fine sugar
  • zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Make lemon simple syrup first so that it is completely cooled

  1. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to a small saucepan
  2. Over medium heat, stir until sugar is melted, about 10 minutes
  3. Turn heat off and add lemon juice.
  4. Stir to combine and let cool completely
  5. Lemon simple syrup will last 1-2 weeks if refrigerated

Next, combine ultra fine sugar and zest of one lemon and set aside

For the cocktail, use a cocktail shaker so that your cocktail is super cold

  1. Add ice to the cocktail shaker
  2. Add 2 oz vodka (I used the lemon vodka I had made)
  3. Add 1 oz Contreau
  4. Add 1 oz fresh lemon juice
  5. Add 1 oz lemon simple syrup
  6. Shake vigorously

To assemble the Lemon Drop

  1. Dip the rim of your martini glass into a plate of water (this will make the yummy lemon-sugar stick to the rim)
  2. Dip the wettened rim of the martini glass into the prepared lemon sugar
  3. Strain the contents of the cocktail shaker into the martini glass

Lemon Vodka Tonic with Raspberry Simple Syrup

My Favorite Lemon Vodka Drinks
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 oz vodka (I used the lemon vodka I made)
  • 1 oz raspberry simple syrup
  • Tonic water
  • Ice

Instructions

Make raspberry simple syrup first so that it is completely cooled

  1. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to small saucepan
  2. Over medium heat, stir until sugar is melted, about 10 minutes
  3. Turn heat off and add 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
  4. You can muddle (fancy would for smush up or leave raspberries whole, your preference)
  5. Stir to combine and let cool completely
  6. You can strain the raspberries out, if you like, I leave mine in
  7. Raspberry simple syrup will last 1-2 weeks if refrigerated

To assemble the cocktail

  1. Fill a tall glass with ice
  2. Add 2 oz vodka (I used the lemon vodka I made)
  3. Add 1 oz raspberry simple syrup
  4. Top off glass with tonic water

More Lemon Decor Ideas

Do you love lemon decor items as much as I do? Below are some of my favorites for you to check out!

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A Meyer Lemon Cream Pie and 7 ways to enjoy lemons this summer.

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9 Comments

  1. Leslie, I did not get your blog for today May 25). What do I need to do? I looked at one of your blogs on Instagram. Do you think ir might have gone there?

  2. That’s my mixer. I’ve had it for 24 years and still going strong. The yellow makes me smile. My sister has a very productive Meyer lemon tree so I’ll be trying these recipes. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Leslie, the lemon recipes, especially the bread, look so good. Years ago, I used napkins to personalize plates, you have re-awakened my thoughts of trying it again. Just wanted to let you know, a couple weeks ago, I purchased and received your book. I love it, and it’s out and displayed, so I can look at it whenever I have a minute. Thank you for your posts, I really enjoy them😀

    1. Oh I love reading this! Thank you so much for sharing this with me and for being here- makes me so happy to hear you’re enjoying the book 🥰

  4. Another huge lemon-lover here, and we’re lucky to have lemon trees all over here in SoCal!🍋💛

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