When you think of the seasons, what is the first food the comes to your mind?
Summer gets fresh fruits and veggies in all their glory, ice cream on a hot night, and burgers on the grill.
Fall has the dueling mascots of apple and pumpkin spice.
Winter boasts warm spices, chocolate and the ever classic candy canes.
What about spring???
As the weather has started to tease us with warmer temps and the onset of green grass I am excited for the newness of spring. We have extra newness this year as we have moved into our new house we recently built.
While diving into my kitchen this week I wanted to make some items that felt new and fresh like spring. The last few years I have whipped up a homemade carrot cake for easter but that is not for a few more weeks.
So I created something new that fits somewhere after the chocolate of Valentines day but before the peaches and cream of July.
To start with, I made a basic sugar cookie recipe, but added some lemon zest. If you do not have a good recipe of your own, I posted mine below. I like my sugar cookies soft and gooey so I try to keep the extra flour amount limited. When rolling them out to cut the shape you need to flour the your surface, if your cookies are sticking, try freezing them for a short period of time instead of adding more flour. You can also make these ahead and chill the dough until you are ready to use it.
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 cups flour
Cream the first 6 ingredients together then add dry ingredients. Roll out on a floured surface and cut out any shape you want. I used a large cup to make the size that I needed.
To create my spring-flavored frosting I experimented with some simple but rich flavors. After making the frosting (see recipe below) I put it in a ziplock freezer bag and froze it overnight. When I was ready to frost the cookies I put the bag in warm water. You'll want to make sure it is zipped, and fully thawed, so the frosting is smooth without any chunks. Using your hands to smooth it out while the bag is zipped is less messy than trying to mix it inside the bag. When the frosting is smooth, clip the very tip of the bag corner and you are ready to frost fun designs on your cookies.
I added orange zest on top for color and an extra burst of flavor. Also these pair well with french press coffee, but then....doesn't every cookie?
