Frosted Lemon Cookies

I love anything lemon and I love cookies. These cookies are made from my parents home grown lemons. yummy! I took these cookies to my parents house and they were devoured in no time. I do have 4 (BIG) little brothers. :) I love them dearly and they ♥ cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c. Butter
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 T. Grated lemon peel
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 t. Cream of Tartar
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 1/2 c. Flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine dry ingredients.
   
2. Cream butter, sugar and eggs.
3. Stir in all other ingredients until mixed.
   
4. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 400* for 6-8 minutes.
   
5. Drizzle with glaze while warm.
   

GLAZE: 2 1/2 c. Powdered sugar, 1/4 c. lemon juice and lemon zest (optional).

Recipe from Highland Hills Stake cookbook.

Sugar Cookies & Icing

This sugar cookie recipe is great!! Tasty and they hold their shape really well. The key is to chill the dough for at least an hour and to keep it chilled while cutting out shapes and baking. I like to make the dough the night before baking to chill it in the fridge over night.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 c. Butter
• 1 c. Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 t. Vanilla
• 2 1/2 c. Flour
• 1 t. Baking Powder
• 1/2 t. Salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream butter & sugar.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Combine flour, baking powder & salt. Stir into cream mixture until combined.
   
4. Chill in fridge.
   
5. Roll out and cut shapes. While keeping remaining dough in fridge.
6. Bake @ 400 for 6 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet.

*Watch cookies carefully while baking! They only take around 5-6 minutes until done.

Now for the icing.....

I got the recipe from Allrecipes website. I like it because you can't really mess it up. You just add more powder sugar or milk to get the consistency you like. It's perfect for a sugar cookie and so pretty!! I just use a spoon to pour it on and smooth it over. Pour some in a zip lock bag. Cut a small hole to drizzle and decorate your cookies!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• assorted food coloring

I made these once to hand out to neighbors and friends for Valentines Day. I put them on a cute plate with Oreo truffles and Pretzel Kisses!

Special Buttercream Frosting

The twins 4th birthday cake! The shark is made of rice crispy treat and the teeth is candy corn!

I love a whip cream frosting. It's light and not as sweet as the regular frosting.


INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 c. Shortening
• 1/4 c. Butter
• 4 c. Powder Sugar
• 1/4 t. Salt
• 1 t. Vanilla
• 3 oz. Heavy Cream
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream shortening, butter and powder sugar.
   
2. Stir in the salt and vanilla.
3. Blend in the heavy cream until moist and whip on high until fluffy.

Perfect!! I add close to a whole cup of heavy cream instead of the 3 oz. We like it extra fluffy and light.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

This is Mindy's Recipe. It is VERY rich, but so good!
I doubled the recipe to make a 9x13 dish.

INGREDIENTS:

Brownies:

• 1/2 cup Butter
• 4 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate
• 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup of Sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Salt

Mint Frosting:

• 1/4 cup Butter (softened)
• 2 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 1/2-3 Tbsp. Milk
• 1/2 tsp. Peppermint extract
• 2-3 drops of Green food coloring

Chocolate Topping:

• 3/4 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
• 3 Tbsp. Butter

DIRECTIONS:

Brownies:

1. Heat Butter and chocolate in microwave until melted, about 2 minutes. Stirring every 30 seconds.
2. Whisk sugar and eggs in mixing bowl.
3. Add the chocolate, butter and vanilla to the mix.
4. Then add in the flour and salt and mix well.
5. Bake in a 9" dish at 350 for 25 minutes or until done.

Frosting:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together.
2. Beat in 1 Tbsp. of milk at a time until spreadable consistency.
3. Stir in the peppermint extract and the coloring.
4. Spread on top of COOLED brownies. Chill for an hour.

Topping:

1. Microwave chocolate and butter for 1 1/2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
2. Spread Chocolate on top of the mint frosting layer.
3. Refrigerate for 45 min. or until the top layer is hard.