I want to thank Teresa Clifton for her kindness and for inspiring today’s post. She is one of the many positive people who have come into my life thanks to Southern Plate.
You know the expression, when life gives you lemons make lemonade?
Well, we all do that, every day. Each day we’re handed a basket of lemons and each day we go to our little lemonade stands and set up shop. Folks come by our stands throughout the day and you’re serving up your own special recipe whether you realize it to not. The cashier at the grocery store, waitress at a restaurant, your kids at the breakfast table, friends who call, people who read your facebook status. You serve them your lemonade all day long.
So it is very important to me to pay careful attention to the recipe I’m using and make sure it is a good one. The easiest thing to do, of course, is take the lemons I’m handed and just serve them up straight, but the end result would be sourness and leave folks shuddering after an encounter with me. Instead, I take care to add sweetness to them, bringing out the wonderful flavors of the lemons. Isn’t it amazing how something so sour can taste just like sunshine if you prepare it right?
We’re all guilty of serving up our bad moods, negative attitudes, and disgruntled thoughts straight from time to time, but I try to keep in mind that other folks are drinking that in. I wouldn’t serve my kids straight, acidic lemon juice so I certainly don’t want to go splashing it about willy nilly with no thoughts as to what I’m putting out there that others can’t help ingest.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I fully realize and know for a fact that attitudes really are contagious, and I would much rather spread sunshine than the plague.
I haven’t always been like this though. I used to not realize the effect my mood and attitude had on others. But you know, a strange thing happens when you start to sweeten your lemonade. Not only does it taste better to others, but it tastes an awful lot better to you, too.
Here is another great thing you can do with those lemons life hands you, make my Mama’s Lemon Blossoms. With spring on it’s way, these cookies are the perfect way to have a taste of sunshine!
If you want my recipe for lemonade, it is in the Southern Plate Cookbook on page 38.
You’ll need: Lemon juice, Sugar, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Flour, and butter or margarine.
I have no idea where my butter ran off to when I was taking this photo but obviously it objected to being photographed for some reason or another and we gotta respect that. After all, it was it’s last wish and all because we’re fixin’ to send it to a better place 🙂
Place your softened butter or margarine in a mixing bowl with your sugar. Mix well.
Yes, I’m using real butter today. I bought a pound of it for this recipe and one more that I made so the next two posts y’all will see the real thing!
WOW, how Christy finally come around?? Has she seen the light!!?? Will she now convert to only using real butter in her recipes???
Pfft. I’ll convert when real butter costs 75 cents a box like margarine does.
Until then, y’all are just gonna have to love me as I am, glaring character flaws and all 🙂
In this low lighted bowl, place your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Stirry stirry.
Oh look, our butter and sugar have made friends!
And formed a centrifuge of sorts around the outer sides of the bowl…
Now pour in your lemon juice.
And ever so gradually and delicately add your flour mixture.
JUST KIDDING!
Thats what the original recipe said, or something to that effect. Here at Bountiful, we just dump it on in all at once!
Live dangerously with me.
Now mix that up until it is all doughified and such.
Then get it out of your bowl and moosh it into a ball and put it in a plastic bag or some other covered container to place in the fridge for an hour.
(Again, the recipe said refrigerator for an hour. I just stuck it in the freezer for about ten minutes)
~giggle~
When I make cookies I like to line my counter with waxed paper.
Sprinkle flour all over the top of that and have a little more in case you need it to keep dough from sticking.
Roll out your dough to about 1/4 inch thick, or just until you get tired of rolling it out.
Then cut out with a small cookie cutter.
I am using a 1-1/2 inch circle one and it will easily yield about three dozen cookies.
You can use a larger one if you prefer though.
No one is the boss of you in your own kitchen 🙂
Place on ungreased cookie sheets about an inch or so apart.
Bake those at 400 for about eight minutes.
I really should have taken a photo of the cookies by themselves when they got done but I forgot so close your left eye and just look at those cookies on the right side of this photo for effect.
Now, lets make us some icing for these puppies.
First of all let me tell you that Mama’s recipe said this is enough glaze for the cookies but I’m much more generous with my glaze and ended up making double. I’m going to start you out with Mama’s quantity though because it is so easy to make more if you need it.
In a bowl place a cup and a half of confectioner’s sugar.
Add three tablespoons of lemon juice. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring if you like. Stir until smooth and creamy.
Like this.
I added a little yellow food coloring (a little too much!)
Now just spoon a little glaze into the center of each cookie and smear it arund a bit.
Here they are all done. I like to leave a few with no glaze for folks who don’t want the added sweetness.
I added a lot less food coloring to my second batch of glaze 🙂
Let those dry for an hour or so and then you can stack them.
During that time you can enjoy this photo of the beautiful flowers I got for my birthday.
I didn’t even have to get married or have a baby to get them, either!
Here are our beautiful lemon blossoms, served up on an Anchor Hocking Old Colony Lace plate!
Ingredients
- 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Butter or margarine softened
- 1/3 Cup fresh or bottled lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Glaze
- 1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- few drops yellow food coloring optional
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl combine butter and sugar. Mix well until creamy and combined. In separate bowl stir together with a spoon flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. To the butter mixture add lemon juice and dump in flour mixture. Mix well until dough forms. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
- Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on floured surface. Cut with small circle cutter (I used 1-1/2 inch). Place on ungreased baking sheets and bake at 400 for about 8 minutes. Remove to cool.
- Combine glaze ingredients and stir with a spoon until lumps disappear. Spoon a little bit into center of each cookie and spread around with the back of a spoon. Make more glaze if needed. Allow to dry for an hour or so and then stack cookies and store in cookie jar.
If you or someone you know is an engineer (or some other form of overly-analytical, mathematical type),
you might enjoy clicking here to see what my husband did last night.
The simple truth is that we are all motivational speakers.
It is just that some of us are motivating folks to jump off a cliff.
~Sayeth Me, Christy Jordan 🙂
Yum 
I just have to say this might be your best story/tangent/soap box yet. Just what I needed to read this morning. Thanks for that!!
Thank you for saying that, that is so sweet of you.
Oh YUM! Dd and I love anything lemon, especially desserts! Thanks for sharing!
We are having Fiesta Chicken for lunch…..and the bbq joint stew tomorrow….and um…..more from your cookbook!
I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying the cookbook Sharon, thank you so much!!
I put waxed paper on my counters before rolling out cookies, too.
Little hint: wipe down your counter with a barely damp paper towel and the waxed paper will grab onto the counter. Makes rolling out not so slip-slidey!
Also, stray flour will cling to the counter and is easier to corral when you are using that same damp paper towel to clean it up.
These look so yummy-happy! Thanks, Christy!
Thanks for sharing the great tips Roben!
Hi Christy, my husband is recovering from a heart attack and we need to cut out the saturated fats. Do you know if or when I can substitute oil for the hard margarine or butter in cookie recipes?
HEY TERRY – @ WEIGHT WATCHERS LOTS OF PEOPLE SUBSTITUTE APPLE SAUCE FOR BUTTER IN BAKING. IM NOT SURE OF THE RATION, BUT U COULD PROBABLY DO A GOOGLE SEARCH FIND IT.
Yum! They look like sunshine and spring on a plate. 🙂
That is what I thought too Brandy!
Christy,
I enjoyed reading your story, too. Thank you so much!!
I hope you don’t mind, but I want to share it on my facebook wall….I know other people that need to read it 🙂
Thanks for the cookie recipe, too….gotta make those soon!!
Have a very blessed day!!
Thank you so much Rose, I would love for you to share it.
These look great! I am going to try using lime juice and green colored frosting for Christmas. Wonder how cherry juice & red coloring would work? Even sprinkles? Crazy or what! Who says we can’t create! As you said, it is my kitchen……
Great ideas Sandra!! Let me know how they turn out!!
goodness gracious alive! Christy these look insanely yummy!!! lemon is my favorite!!! generally i mkae lemon bars…but next time it’ll be these!!!
I hope you like them!!
It’s so much easier to be happy than sad. Love your
Attitude!! I also live that you use cheap margarine as opposed to butter
And you are a dumper instead of a gentle adder kinda gal 🙂
Thank you so much Michelle!! That is so sweet of you!
Lemon is just a great flavor for these dreary February days…reminds you that spring really IS on the way!
I AGREE!!!
Do you think this dough would work in a cookie press? These would be adorable pressed out into flowers or even that fancy ribbon shape.
Hey Lori,
I think it would totally work in a cookie press! I think that is a great idea and think they would turn out so pretty!
Great idea! You might want to chill the dough for a few minutes first though.
Gratefully,
Christy
I love anything made with lemon!!! My favorite, I’m making these as soon as I get done writing!!! Thank you “gracious lady” for yeat another wonderful recipe!!!
“Smile and the whole world smiles with you”!!!
I meant YET instead of yeat!!!!
These cookies just look happy! I think they would be lovely for Easter and use my egg shape cutter.
I don’t like rolling out cookies It’s messy and takes to much time. I just roll the dough into a log, refridgerate till chilled and slice.
A book I read many years ago contained some words of wisdom – the mother sets the mood of the house. It is the same even if there are no children in the house. As the other saying goes – if mamma ain’t happy nobody’s happy!
I love your views on life and in the kitchen. I have been using a lot of your recipes, they turn out perfect every time…thanks to your explanations and direction =) You are one fantastic lady. Happy Cooking!
Christy, these look so yummy and make me think of the lemon cookies that my sister in law makes that are so yummy. Here it is. Really easy.
Lemon Pudding Cookies
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
1 package lemon instant pudding mix, dry, about 4 oz. each
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp. lemon zest, grated
¼ cup granulated sugar
Preheat oven to temperature 350°F.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl, then add lemon zest. Mix until dough forms a ball. Shape into 1 inch balls.
Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Flatten each to ¼ inch thickness with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.
Bake about 8 minutes, until edges are light brown. Cool on wire racks.
Lemon Butter Frosting
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ lemon zest
1 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. yellow food coloring (optional)
Combine powdered sugar and butter in a bowl. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and food color (optional). Beat until frosting is of spreading consistency.
Use to frost the cooled cookies.
Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
Linda from PA
Yum! I love anything lemon. I, too, make a dessert called Lemon Blossoms, but they are a mini lemon cupcake dipped in a lemon glaze. So light and refreshing. I’ll send you the recipe as soon as I get a chance to dig it out!
These look delicious! I love lemons. And they look just beautiful on that lace plate. I’m going to have to invest in more pretty dishes lol.
I’m all out of all purpose flour, do you think I could use self rising and leave out the baking powder and salt?
Would it be OK to use self-rising flour instead of the flour, baking soda, powder, salt?
And as I hate the messiness of flouring and rolling out dough, I put the dough in a roll in the plastic in the fridge and just slice and bake. Saves time and cleanup.
And I love the analogy of your story – especially good!
If you were to do that, Ugaolrmissmom, you’d be using 4 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp.salt and no soda…they won’t turn out the same…not saying they would be BAD…just not the same. If you like to experiment.(like I do) go ahead…but maybe cut the recipe in half…I try to make new recipes ‘straight’ the first time and then ‘play with my food’ the next. If you are brave enough to try the self-rising flour, please let us know how they turn out!! Good luck!
I love these cookies! Mmmmm…… Lemon anything is GOOD!!!
Christy,
Great, Great post!! As I have heard and said, “You can catch more flies with honey.” Just be nice and have a positive attitude. It’s better to see the glass half full instead of half empty. You should be sure to include this “story” in your next cookbook, because it’s one of your best ones!! Oh, and the cookies look great too. Love ya, Your “adopted cousin” that’s waiting to go out to eat when you get a chance!
Thank you dear Christy for the sunshine you bring to us in each recipe and post! These are gorgeous cookies! ~hugs~
Bountiful Blessings!
Can’t wait to make these! I’m gonna split up the glaze/icing and make some other pastel colors like lavender, sky blue, pink maybe even a light green (along with yellow of course) and have these at Easter. I may even do a bake sale too to raise $ for our mission trip to Haiti.
Thanks for another great recipe Christy!
I made a special trip to the store to get the lemon juice needed for these, and am just finishing uP a batch. They are AWESOME!! I think I could eat a bowl of the glaze all by itself!! Thanks Christy!
ohhhh I LOVE lemon!!! Cn’t wait to try these!
This family LOVES all things lemon! Thanks for the great recipe! Looks super easy and delish. I will definitely be making these this weekend.
Ohhhh. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I love anything with lemon! These look like Spring!
My Daddy is almost 83 years old and he lost my mother in April. She always made sure he had lemon cookies in the house because he LOVES lemon. He now lives with me and my husband, so I will have to make these for him. He will LOVE them! Thanks!