AMAZING Lemon Cloud Cookies

Did I mention these are amazing? The only dessert I love more is tiramisu. I try not to make these often because I WILL eat them all. I will eat them for breakfast and lunch.. and every time I walk through the kitchen. they are bite sized , which makes it even easier to indulge.Very bad for the waistline.

They are similar to wedding cookies, but delightfully lemony. The tart factor can be easily adjusted to taste (there goes my favorite cooking phrase again!) These cookies are super easy to make, but don't let that fool you.

Nothing worse than getting half way through a recipe and realizing you don't have a key ingredient. (well, okay, you got me, a lot of things are worse, but it IS very inconvenient to need to make a store run mid bake). These cookies use only a few ingredients:

For the cookie:

1 cup unsalted butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

1 tsp lemon extract

2 tsp lemon zest

2 cups flour

For the coating:

1c powdered sugar

6-10 packets 'True Lemon'*(crystallized lemon)

* My local *insert huge grocery store chain name here* sells this in boxes of 32 packets , if its unavailable where you are, I imagine you could substitute lemon powder.

I love this little zest tool (which I had for ages without knowing what it was for!) if you dont have a zester, don't fret, you can use a fine grater, just take care to avoid the pith (white part) as it is very bitter. Don't have a fine grater? veggie peeler and a knife would also do the trick. You want the zest small.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add the butter and salt and beat until fluffy ( this is much easier with a mixer, but I have done it by hand plenty of times in my past)

Add the powdered sugar(1/2 cup, the rest is for the coating!)lemon extract, and lemon zest and beat until fluffy again.

Add the flour and hand mix until well incorporated.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper (probably not necessary, but I have never tried them just on a cookie sheet)

Form the dough into 1" balls (I am guessing this is about 1 tsp each,if you have a cookie scoop feel free to use it). I get exactly 50 little balls of yum out of this recipe.

These cookies do not spread much, as shown in the picture so you dont need to leave a lot of space between them. Bake them until they are set on top, and golden brown on the bottom. (10-12 minutes is perfect for my oven + altitude)

Now Is the perfect time to make the coating, because you want to roll your cookies in it when they are warm out of the oven. I do coat both sides of the cookie, even if that is not apparent from my pictures.

For the coating mix together your powdered sugar and true lemon to taste. I make mine to pack a punch if I don't plan on sharing, but I tone them down if I do. I love the momentary mouth pucker before the sweet of the sugar rushes in to save the day.

Let the cookies cool for just a minute then roll them in the coating, the warmth of the cookies makes the sugar adhere and become a little like a glaze as they cool.

Cool these on a wire rack before eating * . I set my rack in a cookie sheet to make for easier cleanup.

You could give these cookies to a friend you love with a printed recipe, Or to someone you don't love without a recipe.And since they kind of look like little snowballs, they could easily be packaged in a christmas-y way!

*disclaimer: I will not be held responsible if these become your new addiction too!