Easy Lemon Cookies

The Workshop has maintained an Anti Rachel Ray stance for sometime. This cooker feels that she misrepresents her 30 minute meals and her $40 a day show is a detriment to servers and restaurants everywhere. Next time you watch $40 a day, look at how much free stuff she gets, how many "budget friendly" specials happen to be featured that day and she is the worst tipper ever. Stepping down from the soap box. Her magazine does have a good staff of writers and bakers it seems though. Mrs. Cooker found a simple lemon cookie recipe that is actually good. Clearly the Workshop has mixed emotions about the whole thing. However, with the exaltation of lemons in mind, the Lemon Cookie. This cookie is nicely crunchy with a pronounced lemon flavor and a nice sweetness to balance the acid of the lemon juice. The ingredient list is taken directly from the Rachel Ray website but the directions are pure Workshop.

Admit it, you have never seen baking goods look so ominous

Freshly "grated" lemon zest is crucial to the lemoniness of these cookies

The cookie dough in an arty shot

You might notice that these hands are far too delicate to be those of the Workshop Cooker. Those beautiful fingers belong to Mrs. Cooker, who made these cookies

Sugared and ready to go into the oven

Fresh out the oven and ready for consumption

General notes:
Prep Time: 25 min and 15 min baking time
Servings: 2 -3 dozen depending on how big you make them
General Notes:

Ingredients:
1 Stick Unsalted Butter, chilled
1 1/4 cups Sugar
Grated Zest of 2 lemons
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Large Egg
1 1/2 Cups AP Flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Equipment:
Mixing bowls
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Microplane grater or cheese grater
Measuring Cups
Cookie Sheets
Parchment paper or Pam, paper preferred
Oven set preheated to 350 degrees

Written Instructions:

• Preheat the oven, line the cookie sheets with parchment, put a quarter cup of the sugar into a small bowl, get your stuff together in general
  
• Combine 1 cup of the sugar, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice in the stand mixer bowl and beat until fluffy.
• Add the egg and mix until it is incorporated
• Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined.
• Spoon out about a tablespoon of the dough into your fingers and roll into a ball.
• Drop the ball into the bowl that has the remaining sugar and coat the ball with sugar
• Put the ball onto the cookie sheet, evenly spaced out
• Continue until you are out of dough or cookie sheet space
• Bake'um up for 12 to 15 minutes, they should have browned edges like cookies
• Remove from the oven and set aside to cool
• Remove from pan and cool somewhere
• Make it happen in your tum tum