It seems as though Spring might really be here! Easter weekend is upon us and we’ve already had some near 80-degree weather here in West Virginia! You can bet I bought a few bottles of cheap white wine and sat on my little deck soaking up the sun. That’s right, I have a little deck! For the first time in my life not only does my apartment come with a deck, but I actually had the funds to buy some furniture for the outdoor space. In Michigan, the apartments I lived in through college all had these awesome decks, but I could barely afford my boxed mac and cheese, there was no way I could furnish a patio! So, I’ve been taking advantage of this space. I actually have a post planned to show you what I’ve done with the space (for cheap!) and will share that soon.
So anyway, on to the important stuff. COOKIES!
I made these a couple weeks ago to bring to a friend’s house and they were probably the best cookies I’ve ever made. I love anything lemon and I think it goes without saying that I love cookies. These were a simple recipe and make for a nice little Easter treat!
Soft Lemon Cookies Recipe:
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs – room temperature
1 Tbsp. lemon extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Powdered sugar for coating
Pre-heat your oven to 350-degrees.
In one dish, whisk together your flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In your mixing bowl, add your butter, lemon zest and white sugar.
Mix the butter, zest and sugar until it’s light yellow and fluffy.
To the butter mixture, add your eggs one at a time. Mix until incorporated and then add your lemon extract.
Once the eggs and extract are mixed well, add your flour mixture about 1/3 at a time.
Continue adding the flour mixture and mixing until you have a thick dough.
Refrigerate your dough for 30 minutes before the next step. It’s easier to roll the cookies if they’re cold.
After 30 minutes, you can start rolling your cookies! Get a plate with about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar for rolling your cookies.
I make mine each with about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. It’s messy, but since the dough is so sticky it helps to kind of coat your hands with powdered sugar, then grab a chunk of dough and roll it lightly into a ball, then toss it into the powdered sugar to fully coat.
Place each round ball on an ungreased cookie sheet an inch apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. While they’re baking, the parts not covered in powdered sugar will look a little wet. When they look “dry” they’re done baking. You don’t want them to brown and you want them to stay soft, so just keep an eye on how wet or dry they look. It works!
What is your favorite Easter treat? My Grams used to make us Jell-O eggs every Easter and I miss them, but I don’t think my boyfriend and I can consume as much Jell-O as my brother and 3 cousins could. We’ll stick with cookies this year!
My favorite Easter treat came from your Grams also. She made angel food cake, then split into several layers, made fresh whipped cream, added fresh strawberries, frosted in layers, then froze. Home made ice cream & cake!!