Chewy Lemon Cookies

I love lemons and lemon flavor. Just about anything lemon--lemon pound cake, lemon squares, lemon cookies, lemonade. You name it--if it's lemon, I probably love it. So I was looking for a lemon cookie to make and this recipe popped up. I've made a few changes, most notably the name. Yes, they are zesty, but the thing I love most about these cookies is that they are chewy! And very sweet and tart and lemony all at once. Like a little drink of lemonade in a cookie. Or a drink of sunshine. I absolutely love this cookie and if you like sweet and dainty lemon cookies, you will too.

Chewy Lemon Cookies
adapted from Zesty Lemon Cookies by Lesli Neilson of the Salt Lake Tribune via Real Mom Kitchen
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• The zest of one fresh lemon (~1 teaspoon but more is good)
• The juice of one fresh lemon (~1/4 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Cream butter and sugar with your mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well on low speed after each. Add in lemon juice and zest and blend again. Add baking powder and flour and mix well. Set dough in the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until edges are firm with no color, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.

Yields about 3 dozen standard-size cookies, but I made about six dozen silver dollar size cookies.

Tips:
• Zest your lemon before you juice it.
• If you want perfectly round cookies, chill your dough well so that you can shape your dough into balls. Use a melon baller if you have one.
• You don't have to line your baking sheets, but the bottoms will be much prettier and they're a lot easier to remove!
• I have a lovely German teaspoon (for loose tea) that I used to dust the cookies, but you can use a sifter or a fine strainer. Be sure the cookies have cooled or the powdered sugar will melt.