Leaning Libra

Life is a Lemon Drop Cookie.  Stop rolling your eyes and hear me out. 

Everyone knows the reference to bitter/sweet.  It’s used during those times that have elements of both happiness and sadness.  But I’m talking about something a little different, sweet and sour.  No bitter here.  I’m not talking about a sad element to a happy occasion or a happy element to a sad occasion.  Sweet and sour are both good, just in different ways.  How many sweet and sour candies are sold every day?  All those people can’t be wrong.

Now there are many sweet elements to having teenagers.  I can’t think of any right now but there are.  There’s plenty of sour too.  Not the bitter or unpleasant moments, I’m just referring to pucker-able moments.  When you find yourself in one of those situations that are both sweet and sour, you are at the core of what I’m getting it.  These are your Lemon Drop Cookie moments.

For instance when the School Principal calls and says he wants to talk to me about a fight that occurred after school.  Breathe in ... breathe out … Do.  Not.  Cry … breathe in ... breathe out … He wants to see the video he heard my son took of the fight.  Huh?  My kid wasn’t in a fight (he claims it was actually staged for taping), but he did use poor judgement.  A really good teaching moment (once my heart slowed down a bit).  Sweet and sour.

Or the very first time your other child takes the car. He leaves right after dinner to go to an AP review class at school. School is 1/2 a mile up, literally at the top of your street but you’re sitting at the window at 8:00 pm watching for him to come home anyway.  It's dark out and you almost miss him until he's actually pulling into your driveway… without his lights on. He’s safe, everyone else is safe, but maybe we better have a little reminder discussion.  Sweet and sour.

Lemon Drop Cookies

Sour is a great taste.  We may pucker, but we smile when we do it.  It serves its purpose, to get our attention.  And sweet, well I bet there isn’t a person alive I have to sell that taste to.  But a Lemon Drop Cookie, that’s sweet and sour all at once.  The buttery sweet of the cookie, the hint of lemon in the dough and then the surprise… the crunch of a little piece of the candy.  But here’s what makes it so great.  No even split here.  It’s a UNeven balancing act. You have the power and the responsibility.  You MUST tip the scales.  There’s got to be more sweet than sour.  Always.  Because this is war and sweet MUST win.  And if I have anything to say about it, in life and in cookies, it will.

Lemon Drop Cookie

                                         ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened                                    3/4 tsp salt

1 stick margarine, softened                              2 2/3 cups flour

1 1/3 cups sugar                                            1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs                                                           1tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla                                                   6oz box of LemonHead candies, crushed

1 tsp lemon extract

Topping:  1 1/3 cups powdered sugar mixed with 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
*Cream butter, margarine, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon extract.

*Stir in the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powderuntil mixed.  Stir in the candy pieces. 

*Refrigerate one hour.

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cover cookie sheets with parchment.

*Roll dough into balls (makes about 50 so half of them per cookie sheet).  Place on cookie sheets and gently flatten slightly with your palm.

*Bake for approx. 11 minutes.  Cool on parchment for 2 mins before moving off cookie sheet.

*Cool cookies and brush with topping.

Adapted from cjaneinthekitchen.blogspot.com

(adapted from the cookbook “5 Star Recipes from Well-Known Latter-Day Saints”)