summertime here we come!

The past couple of days have been weird. Pouring rain and grey skies in the morning and then hot sun and clear blue skies to follow for the afternoon. Yesterday I puttered about getting some work done, making it to the gym to re-acquaint myself with the elliptical trainer, running errands in Chinatown and then biking over to meet up with friends for Lebanese food. It made me excited for summer with picnics, container gardening, and beach bike rides to look forward to. When I got home, the sun was setting and the magic of golden hour was taking place and before it got too dark I wanted to keep that wonderful bit of summer sky going. My solution? Bake up some lemon cookies! I saw this recipe posted the other day at Shelterrific and bookmarked it immediately. So as the sun was setting behind the skyline, I had a batch of these cookies in the oven.

These cookies are perfection. Lemony, buttery and perfectly crispy on the outside while remaining chewy on the inside. A nice little snack to remind myself that summer is on the way.

lemon cookies
(recipe from Rachel Ray)
1/2 c butter, slightly chilled (I used Earth Balance margerine)
1 c sugar (plus another 1/4 c for rolling)
zest of 2 lemons, plus 1 T lemon juice
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a mixer, blend butter and sugar until combined. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice and egg and mix until fluffy. Dump in flour, baking soda and salt and combine.

2. Prepare cookie sheet with silpat or parchment paper. On a small plate, roll teaspoons of dough into balls and then roll in the remaining sugar. Add to cookie sheet. Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Remove from sheet and cool on racks. Makes 3 dozen.