Lemon Crinkle Cookies

When life hands you lemons, I say "Make lemon cookies!"  --No offense to you lemonade lovers out there as I do enjoy a refreshing glass now and then, but who can say no to cookies?  These Lemon Crinkle Cookies are everything a cookie should be!  Slightly crunchy outside while moist, chewy and fluffy inside!  The lemon isn't too tart and the added sugar isn't too sweet.  I think I've found a new reason to load up on lemons...

We had a bit of a "Free Farmer's Market" at work today.  Those with green thumbs and generous spirits brought a load of goodies to share with us!

Okay, so aside from the zucchini the size of a wiffle bat, the lemons caught my eye, so I brought a couple home to grill up lemon pepper steaks for dinner.

I didn't want to waste the extra lemons I had since I only needed a few tablespoons for my steak marinade, so I began perusing around for something fun and different.

That's when I came across this "Lemon Crinkle Cookie Recipe."  It was award winning and looked simple enough, so I decided to give it a go.  And I figured since I was going through the trouble, I may as well double the recipe and bring some back to work for Friday. 

I don't have pictures of the actual mixing process, as I also had my hands full playing tea party with my 2 year old, but the process was pretty simple.

After the dough was mixed, in the refrigerator it went.  The recipe doesn't say to do this, but it was bath time and I didn't want to leave the dough sitting out on the counter.  Actually, I think it made rolling out the dough into little balls much easier!

Now for the sticky part... Get ready to get your hands a bit dirty...

Roll the dough balls in powdered sugar and place on a cookie sheet.  I lined mine with Reynold's No Stick Foil--this stuff is awesome--nothing sticks!  I also pressed mine down a bit to make them more flat for baking.

 

Into the oven at 350 degrees for about 13 to 15 minutes until bottoms are just golden brown and a crinkle texture appears on top.  I know the recipe says 9 to 11 minutes, but since mine were cold from the refrigerator they needed a bit of extra time.

Fresh out of the oven and by now my kitchen is filled with a sweet, lemon aroma!

Here is the original recipe:

LDS Living Lemon Cookie Recipe

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ 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. 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 large plate. 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 matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.