Lovely Lemons: 12 Wonderfully Zesty Recipes Slideshow

Summer is here! What better ingredient to highlight than lemons? Tart and refreshing, lemony recipes always feel light and wonderful in the warmer weather. From the fragrant zest to the sharp juice, lemons have so much to offer in the kitchen, in both sweet and savory dishes.

We reached out to our Culinary Content Network of food bloggers to see which lemon recipes they love to make. From muffins and lemon bars to hummus and waffles, lemons can really be used anywhere. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, lemons are never out of place.

Let's kick this list off with a classic and oh-so-delicious recipe from Of Batter and Dough. These lemon bars have everything you need — a buttery shortbread crust and a silky filling that is bursting with a lovely lemony flavor and just firm enough to hold its shape. For that extra melt-in-your-mouth texture, the crust uses powdered rather than granulated sugar and replaces some of the all-purpose flour with cornstarch.

For the The Best Melt-In-Your-Mouth Lemon Bars recipe, click here.

These muffins are a great breakfast treat. Moist and fluffy due to the addition of yogurt, this recipe from No Spoon Necessary loads these muffins with great lemon flavor and tops them with a sweet streusel and a sticky lemon glaze.

For the Glazed Jumbo Crumb Muffins recipe, click here.

Meet the snickerdoodle's cousin, a perfect warm weather cookie! This cookie from The Red Head Baker is filled with lemon zest and then rolled in sugar (instead of cinnamon sugar) resulting in a cookie that is soft in the middle with delightfully crisp edges. Be careful not to overbake these doodles — they should be a little underdone when you take them out of the oven.

For the Lemon Doodles recipe, click here.

If you prefer something savory, then this easy grilled chicken recipe from Two Healthy Kitchens is a great recipe to use. Lemon and garlic go so well together, and cumin makes it even better. You can even make the marinade ahead of

If you like a good loaf cake, then you'll love this recipe from Platter Talk. This cake has a lovely moist crumb, and uses both lemon juice and zest for maximum lemon factor. The icing on the cake (literally) is a fresh rosemary-infused lemon glaze. How can one possibly resist?

For the Lemon Loaf Cake With Rosemary Infused Lemon Icing recipe, click here.

These baked doughnuts from My Suburban Kitchen combine sweet raspberries with tart lemon for a lovely fresh and light flavor. The simple glaze made from lemon juice and powdered sugar finishes these doughnuts beautifully for an elegant treat that's utterly delicious.

For the Lemon Raspberry Doughnuts recipe, click here.

Lemon grilled cheese?? What could that possibly be? Well, let me tell you all about it. This sweet grilled cheese from The Hungary Buddha uses pound cake in place of bread. These are filled with thin slices of brie and then toasted in the oven until melted and delicious. This grilled cheese is then topped with a spoonful of lemon curd, raspberry jam and finally a dollop of whipped cream for a totally decadent dessert.

For the Lemon Raspberry Grilled Cheese recipe, click here.

These little French cakes from Mon Petit Four are light, buttery, sweet, and filled with lemon curd. Homemade madeleines are far superior to the dense store-bought versions, so definitely give these lemony bites a try!

For the Madeleines With Lemon Curd recipe, click here.

Meyer lemons are smaller and rounder than regular lemons, and their skin is much thinner and more fragrant and deep yellow or orange in color. Their flavor is also sweeter and less acidic. These waffles from Cherry on My Sundae are a fun way to start the day and use Meyer lemon juice and zest to jazz things up.

For the Meyer Lemon Waffles recipe, click here.

This homemade hummus recipe from Mid Life Croissant is creamy, savory, and satisfying. Preserved lemons are tart and intensely lemony and go well with creamy hummus. If you need an appetizer that's a little bit different or you just want a snack that's delicious, give this recipe a go.

For the Preserved Lemon Hummus recipe, click here.

This pull-apart loaf from The Primlani Kithchen is highly addictive. It is moist and tart with a lemon filling between the layers that is just sweet enough and oh-so-creamy. Make this for a special breakfast or brunch and watch it disappear!

For the Lemon Kissed Pulled Apart Loaf recipe, click here.

For a thirst-quenching summer cocktail, try this drink from 2 Cooking Mamas. This drink is the perfect grownup lemonade, with strawberries and strawberry vodka adding sweetness and just the right amount of alcohol. Sip this refreshing drink and you'll swear you are on holiday.

For the Strawberry Lemonade Cocktail recipe, click here.