Lemon Sugar Crinkles

These are total girl cookies. I mean, guys may like them (and this is totally acceptable), but for some reason I feel like anything lemony flavored instantly lends itself to being girly. Maybe I think this because whenever I make something with lemon flavoring my husband says, "This is girl food." Naturally. Other things that make the list of "girl food" include anything with basil (especially pesto) and cupcakes. What do you think? Are these actually girl foods? Or are they just delicious?

P.S. This is the second week in a row I have made a crinkle cookie. By way of information, crinkle means exactly what you think it means - small wrinkles or creases in the surface of something. I'm not sure why crinkles are on my mind/in my tummy so often lately. Maybe it is a subliminal attempt to transfer wrinkles to cookies instead of my almost-thirty-forehead.

Lemon Sugar Crinkles

1 cup shortening

1&1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. lemon extract

1 tsp. vanilla

2&1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Extra sugar for rolling - for variation, use colored sugar

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs, lemon and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Mix dry ingredients separately and then add to creamed mixture, mixing again thoroughly. Roll into 1-2" balls. Roll in sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

When the cookies are done baking, if they are still tall and look like little mounds (see below:), that is okay; they will still be delicious.

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However, if you want a more flat, crinkle like cookie, gently press them with a spatula to get the following effect:

Enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Sandwiches - 5 Ingredients

My sister recently reminded me of the joys of cookies made from a cake mix. My, my - what a pleasant reminder. Cake box cookies require virtually no work and yield chewy yummy goodness. I revisited them this summer with a little addition of my own to make a sugary sandwich where nothing is wrong, everything is right.

Here are your five ingredients:

Lemon cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Vanilla frosting

Blueberries (You could easily substitute any berry; everything goes with lemon)

Mix together cake mix, eggs and vegetable oil to form dough. Drop onto cookie sheet in spoonfuls and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Puree about 1 cup berries in blender. Fold puree into frosting. Spread onto cookies to make a little summer sandwich. 

Voila. 

Chewy Lemon Cookies

When I first tasted these cookies I was skeptical. They promised to be a lemon bar form of cookies so I think I was expected just that - a round lemon bar - of which they are not. They are, however, tasty little chewy lemon cookies. AND they have an extremely adventurous scientific step* in them where the combination of lemon juice and soda made for an exhilarating and foamy moment. They are worth a try! I took them to work and my coworkers loved them. So here are the lemon-chewy-please-your-coworkers cookies:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 stick butter
zest of 2 lemons
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon juice
powdered sugar, for coating

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together dry ingredients, set aside. Cream together butter, lemon zest, sugar and honey. Mix until very smooth. In a small cup, combine the lemon juice baking soda*. Add lemon juice mixture and dry ingredients to creamed ingredients with the mixer on low. Roll the dough into balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Don't over bake! (as always). Let coo for a few minutes on cookie sheet then sprinkle with powdered sugar to coat.

*If you're wondering about the wonders of science that just occurred when you mixed the lemon juice and baking soda, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgw0eVy4VUg. Now you have something to impress your fourth grade friends with, too!

-Recipe adapted from www.sophistimom.com