Thank You Gift Of Lemon Bars - A Fast, Easy Recipe For Saying Thanks In A Hurry

This afternoon I found Governor Doyle's memo buried in my kindergartner's back pack. I read that the state of Wisconsin recognizes this week as Bus Driver Appreciation week. The governor directs all parents to say thank you to our children's bus drivers with a token thank you gift or card, - this week. And tomorrow is Friday.

I was expecting bus driver appreciation week, just not so soon. Prior to the governor's edict, our elementary school had observed bus driver appreciation week for years. But May, not February, has been the season when we shower our drivers with thank you gifts of baked goods, candy, flowers, and hand-made cards. My neighborhood shows exceptional enthusiasm during bus driver appreciation week because WE have THE BEST BUS DRIVER! Her name is Jean and we, meaning both parents AND kids, LOVE her. She is not only friendly and kind, but she keeps our children safe. Jean gently enforces safety and courtesy rules. My children often say how glad they are that she does and they complain about substitute drivers who don't. They say that kids act crazy on the bus when Jean is gone. And although my children won't admit it, I think that craziness on the bus makes them nervous.

So I am definitely on board when it comes to celebrating bus driver appreciation week. I want to give Jean just the right thank you gift. But it's 8:00 pm and I need the thank you gift in less than 12 hours. So to whom do I turn? - Grandma (Alice) Peterson, mother of Wanda Peterson Mango. Grandma (Alice) Peterson had twelve children, and she loved baking so much that she opened up a Swedish bakery in Door County, Wisconsin. So I figured that this woman not only had great dessert recipes, but with 12 kids, she could cook FAST! Wanda had collected her mother's and her grandmothers' recipes used in the bakery into a cookbook called, Grandma's Home Kitchen: Family Recipes and Traditions of Grandma's Swedish Bakery. This was the cookbook I used last night. I knew any recipe in the book would turn out well. My focused search was on recipes' prep times. That's why I chose to make lemon bars.

I'd never made lemon bars in my life. But Grandma's lemon bar recipe claimed the bars only required 15 minutes of prep time. And they did; I timed them. Of course, the baking time took longer, but that wasn't a worry. I was happy that the recipe made many bars that looked very pretty and tasted lemony sweet. Cutting them out in a shape of a large bus did not work so well, however. I recommend sticking to the traditional bar shape.

Click on "Continue reading ...for this fast, easy recipe for lemon bars."

Wanda Peterson Mango writes about her mother's Lemon Bars:

"A tart, refreshing dessert - great for luncheons or parties. This must have been one of my husband's favorite treats at my mom's kitchen table. It has a flaky crust, a creamy tart filling, and a thin crispy topping that forms as it bakes."

Prep: 15 minutes    Cook: 45 minutes    Stand: 1 hour    Total 2 hours

Crust:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup margarine
• 2 cups flour

Filling:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make crust, mix powdered sugar, margarine, and flour together. Spread on the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven.

Mix filling ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Pour onto baked crust and bake for 20-25 minutes more. Bake until bars just start to turn very light brown along edges and the center is set. Cool on rack, and when cool, cut into 24 squares. 

It's possible to get delicious food without any prep time. Receive gourmet desserts, meats, cheeses, and specialty foods created by Wisconsin's gourmet food artisans and delivered fast to your door by Wisconsinmade.com. Here are some samples of impressive thank you gifts:

 

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Comments

[jordan retro 5]

Some gifts we need to pick up,and some we need to pick off,many people take their own comments,and I saw they were also meaning.furthmore,it is a nice post,better,and greater in the future!come on!