Lemon Zesting Nightmare

I cannot zest. I just can't.  I thought I could. But I can't.  I used the small "hard cheese" side of my cheese grater, and it resulted in Lemon Rind mashed on that side.  Here is what I have.  See that large size with the little prongy looking stick-y outie thingies? Yeah, that part totally hoarded my lovely zest.  It was a mess. (As an aside to this story, I had to use my toothbrush to loosen up the zest to get it off the grater and into my cookie dough.  Don't judge.  I don't think I mentioned that to my family though, so now that the cookies have been devoured, I guess I could mention that little part about my toothbrush.  Okay back to Zesting... )

What was I doing?  Making my own Lemon Cookies.  You see, my oldest daughter likes Savannah Smiles cookies.  Girl Scouts? You know, $3.50 for 25 cookies? Yes, those.  So I made my own.  They were deee-lish.  

Recipe is from the internet somewhere.... I think Pinterest might be to blame.  I am avidly looking for the recipe now.  Bear with me? NO.  Bare with me? Well just wait a second. Or two.  

Okay, here's the credit where credit's due: Lemon Crinkle Cookies Original Recipe

Lemon Crinkle Cookies (My edits and comments are in blue)

Makes 2-3 dozen (makes 2 dozen REAL cookies) 

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest (this is like the whole lemon- which held firm to my grater like a magnet) 
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (If you like lemon flavor, double this amount.  Else it's just a hint.)
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar (Start off with 1/4 and then add more if you need it.  I threw away about half.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. (I used parchment paper and didn't grease at all.)

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. MAKE SURE YOU DO LET IT COOL ON THE PAN FOR 3 MINUTES. IT NEEDS TIME TO COOL AND COME TOGETHER. 

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.