Lemony Sugar Cookies w/ Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Do you ever dream in color? I don't recall doing it in the past, but lately, I've been dreaming in ............. green! A lovely, pale shade of green to be precise ............... sound strange? ..................
............. I think you might be doing something similar if you were in my shoes ................ what do I mean? Well, for the past month we've been doing work for the California Avocado Commission. I've had a great deal of fun doing a variety of food styling and recipe development projects and Scott has been right at my side taking photos of everything. We've gone through a zillion avocados in the process ........... and you know what? ........... when you go to bed and wake up with avocado recipe ideas and concoctions swirling in your brain, well it's no wonder that a soul might just dream in GREEN.

If you're a frequent flyer here at The Café, you'll know that we were already a huge fans of avocados, so we've been thrilled to be involved in creating these new, delicious ways to enjoy them. The recipes are still top secret, but you're going to flip when you see all the fabulous things that can be done with avocados. Needless to say, we've been busy as bees and I have the feeling that my husband might have squealed that I was up to my elbows in "green"..........

Why? Well, last week, I was delightfully surprised to get an email from my sweet daughter in London with ................. a recipe, photos and a blog post! Perfect timing .............. you might have gotten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the blog today, had it not been for her ................. thanks Cait!

It's amazing how different kids can be, I have four, and while my little guy hasn't declared much preference for anything other than milk as of yet, the rest most certainly have. 

When it comes to desserts, our #3 loves ANYTHING chocolate and can be spotted quite often with remnants sticking to the corners of her mouth.  #2 loves anything fruity- watermelon, strawberry, apple, she'll take it. 

And #1? Well, she goes for.....lemon, yes lemon, every time. It always cracks me up when we're standing in front of a case full of various enticing flavours of ice cream and she chooses the lemon sorbet- it just doesn't seem a very kid-ish choice! 

Well, I was thinking of my sophisticated #1 when I decided to make these cookies the other day, because they are VERY lemony. I found them on luluthebaker.com via Pinterest and they were just calling my name. My #1 was thrilled when she came home from school and I put a bit of the dough in her mouth. "Are those LEMON cookies?!??!", she said. 

I don't always agree with her taste palate, but these were pretty darn good.... and definitely "blog-worthy". Enjoy!   ~ Cait

Lemony Sugar Cookies w/ Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients for the cookies:
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2½ cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Ingredients for the frosting:
¼ cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ pound powdered sugar
pinch of salt
fresh lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, Crisco, and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, and lemon zest; mix. 

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to mixer and combine. Add milk and lemon juice, and stir until completely incorporated. 

4. Roll dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place on a greased baking sheet. 

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are just beginning to turn golden on the edges. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

6. To make the frosting, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and well mixed. Add vanilla. Add powdered sugar and salt. Stir. Mix in fresh lemon juice until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.

PRINTABLE RECIPE