Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

It's Easter Sunday! He is risen! Spring is here! The flowers are in bloom!

Now where is the chocolate?!

I ask, because, well...there was a teensy bit of Easter drama in our house this year. See, every year since the sis and I have moved to the big city, Mama B the Easter Bunny has sent us an Easter basket in the mail.

This year, however, one particular sister of mine hinted that Beck and I didn't want said Easter basket. She hinted that we were too old for an Easter basket, or that - contrary to the number of sweets we bake - we are actually eating pretty healthy these days and wouldn't want all the Easter candy to go to waste.

I guess that sis was right - it's true that a giant basket of candy in our house will not get fully eaten, and nobody likes to waste food.

But in that moment when I thought about Easter morning arriving and there being no chocolate duck (Katie = chocolate duck; Becky = chocolate bunny) to munch on before church...well, that just didn't feel right. The whole chocolate duck/bunny thing is one Easter tradition we are definitely not too old for.


And I knew that Mama B the Easter Bunny didn't feel right about it either, because I happen to know that Mama B the Easter Bunny rather enjoys her outing to Cost Plus World Market and Schurra's Candy Shop the Magical Easter Meadow to fill that Easter basket with said chocolate duck and bunny.


So I made a phone call and set the story straight with Mama B the Easter Bunny. Easter morning came and so did an Easter basket. Not a big one, mind you - just one small chocolate duck and one small chocolate bunny and a few other tiny things. There was enough that the tradition was maintained, but not so much that anything will go to waste.


As we change, so do our traditions.

This Easter is also significant to Becky and me because it is the first Easter since we were ten years old that we haven't danced at church. It was a difficult Triduum for this reason, but also a life-giving one - a chance to let new joys take the place of old ones, for old traditions to be augmented by new ones.


Our dear friend we usually dance with has a tradition of making giant sugar cookies on Easter. While we couldn't share Easter joy with her through dancing this year, we thought the least we could do was share some Easter sugar.


These are for you, dear friend. May your Easter be filled with the energy of new life, or in the very least, the energy of a sugar high :-)


Easter blessings to all,


- Katie & Becky

Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

Recipe from friend M

Makes 12 4-inch sugar cookies

Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon extract or lemon oil (or almond extract)

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Icing

Powdered sugar

Juice of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and extracts and mix well.


3. Add flour and baking powder and mix until well blended.


4. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and place cutouts on baking sheets.


5. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, until edges of cookies are just starting to brown and centers are no longer shiny. Slide parchment off baking sheets onto cooling racks.


6. To make icing, squeeze lemon juice into bowl and add powdered sugar a little at a time, whisking, until desired consistency is reached. Frosting should be thin enough to paint onto cookies, but not so thin that it spreads and drips off sides of cookies. Divide frosting into several small bowls or glasses and add food coloring as desired.


7. Use a small paintbrush to paint designs on cookies, decorating with sprinkles as desired.