Remedy: Lemon Crinkle Cookies

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors,

 and furniture polish is made from real lemons."
Alfred Newman

Scary thought huh?  But unfortunately it's true.  Well, I'm going to use my super-baking powers to fight against the evil of artificial flavors.  Real and fresh is just the way it should be! And that's exactly how I bake.  Fresh and natural ingredients. Like...

...REAL LEMONS!

 

I'm always surprised when my students only know how to make Easy Mac, or believe that food can only be made from a box.  Yes, it does take more time to make from scratch, but the taste...there's no comparison.  I know that people are busy, but there is something relaxing about standing in the kitchen with fresh produce around you, that makes the troubles of the world drift away. 

 

The last couple weeks have been, well, challenging...physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Teaching has been secondary to reassuring my students that they are cared for...that these events are rare and that schools are one of the safest places for them to be.  Like I said...challenging, but so very important.

 

For me, the chaos of the world drifts to the back of my mind, at least for a little bit, as I zest and juice fresh lemons.  Yummmmm....the freshness sweeps the stress away and fills my house with hope.  Even if that hope is in the simple form of a crinkle cookie.

 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Adapted from Lauren Brennan

Makes 2-3 dozen

 

Ingredients:

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1.5 teaspoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cups powdered sugar

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. The dough should smell amazing at this point! Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a bowl. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

 

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look puffy.  Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

 Hmmm...these smell and taste so wonderful and definitely help ease the world away. 

 

And if you need a little extra joy, watch this video and try not to smile. 

Seriously, good luck trying not to smile with this joyous pup! 

I found a new video link, just for you mom!

I love, love, love this! My smile is super big now.