St. Patty's Day Cookies

Nice and lemon-y for spring! I actually just added the lemon and vanilla flavourings to taste, so the measurements are approximate. If you use food colour, just add a bit and mix well, adding more as you need to. It's easier to fix a colour that's too light than one that's too dark! For an extra "oomf", take some granulated sugar, add a few drops of lemon flavouring and food colour, and combine well, using your fingers. It will take patience, and you will have to stir it every so often as it dries.

Cookies:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract or flavoring
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or flavoring
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups flour

Cream the butter and sugar together
Add the salt, extracts, and yolk, and combine well
Slowly add the flour, combining well
If desired, colour the dough
Roll into 1/2 inch balls, and place on a greased and floured cookie sheet
Bake at 325 degrees 7 minutes or till done


Frosting

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 tb Cognac (or Whiskey!)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar

In a pan, combine the sugar and flour thoroughly (this is pretty important)
Then whisk in the milk (gradually) and Cognac
Heat over medium heat until boiling
Boil for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly
It will get really thick, and sort of weird looking
Remove from the heat and allow to cool (at least an hour)
Once the mixture is at least room temperature (or a bit below), beat the butter until light
Add the flour mixture, and combine well, scraping down the sides of the bowl every so often
Add the extracts (I really think I used more lemon extract than what I listed in the recipe; just do it "to taste")
Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time, again to taste

If you put this in the fridge, it will get fairly firm. If you want to use it after refrigeration, just pull it out about an hour before you wish to use it :)


This is the flour/sugar mixture. Right here, it smells REALLY sort of strange, and I was worried that my addition of Cognac was a mistake. Thankfully the Cognac just completed the frosting nicely!


This is after I coloured the frosting, and left it in the fridge overnight. That knife is not moving.