Lemon Butter Cookies

Well, the holidays are officially over. And I’m pretty upset about it. We didn’t get a white Christmas (yet drove 6 hours through the snow…), I had to defrost my car from freezing rain yesterday, and to make matters worse? No more holiday Starbucks cups.

The one bright spot that came this weekend was some fresh home-grown lemons from my boyfriend’s parent’s house in California. I haven’t seen the sun in days, but these sunny yellow lemons had me instantly thinking of summer.

He brought back so many lemons I just knew we needed to bake with them, but I’m also kind of all sugared out from the holidays. I decided to go with a lemon butter cookie recipe from A Teaspoon of Happiness for that reason. I find that butter cookies are the perfect mix between a shortbread and a sugar cookie; they’re sweet enough to still feel like dessert but not overwhelmingly sugary.

Now normally I don’t love shortbread and butter cookies for that reason, because they’re not sweet enough for my massive sweet tooth. But that’s where the lemon comes in. The tartness blends perfectly with butter and you’re left with a refreshing lemony tang.

If you need a bright burst of sunshine to get rid of the winter blues, you should whip up a batch of these lemon butter cookies. And then eat five in one sitting. Because that’s what I did.

~Stephanie

Lemon Butter Cookies (adapted from A Teaspoon of Happiness)

• 2 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 c granulated sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

1. In medium bowl combine flour, salt and soda. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg.
3. Stir in lemon zest and juice.
4. Gradually add in dry ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Roll into teaspoon sized balls, then flatten with tines of a fork.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees, removing when just beginning to brown.
7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm, then transfer to wire rack to cool.