My daughter made her first trip away for a few days of crafting with friends. I cannot blame her. She just wants to be out of the house. They have all been trying to do what they can to stay safe and she is EXTRA cautious because she understands what the possibilities are if I get sick. She has been going to Kalamazoo about once a week to her dance studio to practice when no one else is there because we just don’t have the space or flooring for her to dance full out. But, she is still alone. She needs to see people and doing a few days of crafting will hopefully be mentally and emotionally restorive.

How does this tie to cookies? It doesn’t although eating has been my salve sadly. The longer we stay in the more I seem to eat. I love lemon cookies and was craving them so we made some bars as they are simple and make a huge pan!

Verdict: I love these cookies. They are my favorite to have for all the holidays. I love changing the colors of the icing, the extract to vanilla, or almond. Yummy! I add more lemon than is called for because we like them really lemony. It is up to you how much to add.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons+ lemon extract
• 5 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16 oz) bag powdered sugar
• 2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• food coloring of your choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare an 11″ x 14″ rimmed baking sheet by covering with parchment paper.
2. Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in lemon and eggs until well combined. If you wish a more intense lemon flavor add a bit more lemon.
3. Add dry ingredients and blend until well mixed. Dough will be stiff but use your hands if needed to mix at the end, make sure it is well blended.
4. Pat dough into baking sheet. It will fill the entire sheet.
5. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake or cookies will be crunchy on the outside and dry. They will be slightly golden on top but set in the center.
6. Once cookie has completely cooled make frosting by beating butter, lemon and sugar together. Add cream as needed to thin mixture. Add food coloring as you wish and frost.