Lemon Slice Cookies

It's freezing rain outside, Kansas is supposed to really get walloped by the weather tonight and tomorrow. And clearly, we aren't alone. All of the States, it seems, are getting battered by the chilly weather. And thus my inspiration: how about a batch of sunny little cookies to help brighten up these frigid winter days?

This recipe is from a REALLY old copy of Good Housekeeping. A little more time-consuming than your usual cookie, but oh so worth it! I love the lemony flavor (in fact, a secret: I usually juice my zested lemon into the dough as well, for an extra lemony punch). This time I didn't have any yellow sparkling sugar and was too lazy to make some, so I used the pink sugar in my cabinet. Think of them as pink lemon(ade) cookies.

Thoughts and prayers to all my fellow winter warriors! Hang in there.

Lemon Slice Cookies

Ingredients:

3 c. All-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. Powdered sugar

1 1/4 c. Butter, softened

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 Large egg

2 tsp. Lemon extract

1 tsp. Lemon zest

Yellow food coloring

Egg white

Yellow sparkling sugar

In a large bowl, mix together flour, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg. Reserve 1/4 of dough (cover and refrigerate).

Knead lemon extract and zest as well as yellow food coloring into dough. Roll dough into a thick (4-in. long) log. Roll out reserved dough so that it is long enough to wrap around log. Wrap rectangle around log. Wash outside with egg white, then roll in sparkling sugar. Wrap tightly in Saran Wrap and chill at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

To bake: cut log in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/8-in. thick slices. Place cookie slices on greased cookie sheets (or sheets lined with parchment paper), then with a butter knife add 5"spokes" to each slice. Bake about 6 minutes and cool on racks.