Lemon Cookies

The kids are supposed to take healthy lunches to school with the exception of one small treat every day. As per school rules, they can have something ‘fun sized’. For me, I think a slightly bigger, homemade cookie works well. I know exactly what went into the cookies and they are made with so much love! In my opinion, I would rather they had 2 homemade cookies, than a prepackaged snack. And these lemon cookies are on the top of their request list. They are so lemony, sweet and soft. Can’t get better than that.

Preparation Time 10 minutes plus 1 hour chill time

Cook Time 12 minutes

Yields 24x 2 inch cookies (12 large cookies)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter- softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg- room temperature

Zest of 1 medium lemon

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

2-3 drops of yellow food colour

Instructions

1. Beat the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and mix it well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the zest, juice, extract and colour. Mix well.

4. Add the dry ingredients and switch to a spatula. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet with the spatula. Be careful not to over mix the batter, otherwise you may end up with tough cookies.

5. Chill the dough for 30 minutes- 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 170c. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

7. Scoop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto the parchment lined baking sheets, leaving a 2 inch space between each.

8. Bake at 170 c for 10 minutes. Remove the sheets from the oven and set them aside for 10 minutes, before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.