Lemon drop cookies

(Picture courtesy of missycorley’s photostream on flickr.com.)

Now that it’s hot, and some places breaking heat records, it is not a great time for baking.   There are a few things that are best in hot weather, though, and many of them are made with citrus.   These won’t actually cool you down unless you freeze them, which is possible, and nice to try.

Lemonade is a good drink now, and so are lemon drop cookies.

Cookie:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Icing:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

For cookies, cream together sugar and shortening.

Add eggs and lemon extract and beat well.

Add flour, baking powder and salt; Mix well.

The dough should be soft and sticky.

With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a slightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone, spacing them about 2-inches apart.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until firm and lightly brown.

Remove cookies from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

For frosting, combine confectioners’ sugar, water and lemon extract and mix until smooth.

Frost the tops of each cookie with a metal spatula.

Allow cookies to dry before stacking.

Store in an airtight container.

If you can bake in the late evening, or early morning, it’s going to avoid the heat effect that a hot oven can have to some degree.   Enjoy, in any case.