Lemon Tea Cookies for Homemaking Linkup Weekend

I'm so happy you're here visiting as I've got a very yummy recipe for you to try out!  Do you love lemon?  I do!  Lemon cake, lemon tea, lemon chicken...it's one of my favorite flavors.  Today I'm showing off a recipe for Lemon Tea Cookies.  Unlike any other recipe I've found, these ones are definitely full of tart lemon flavor.

Lemon Tea Cookies
2 c. flour
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. cornstarch
1 c. butter, softened
1 egg yolk
juice and zest of 1 lemon

Combine flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl and mix with a wire whisk.  (I often use this method when a recipe calls for the ingredients to be sifted).

Mix softened butter in with a spoon or spatula.  I'm usually tempted to use the electric mixer because it goes quicker but, if you want the old-fashioned melt-in-your-mouth feel then you need to stir this one.

Use a microplane grater or hand zester to scrape the zest from the lemon.  You can use a cheese grater or chop with a knife if you're careful not to get the white pith in there too.  (By the way, I'm loving my cute little pink vintage Pyrex ingredient bowls.  I'd love to have a whole set of pink vintage Pyrex, wouldn't you?)

I like to use a lemon juicer but you can squeeze the juice out by hand just as well!  Then stir in the zest, juice and yolk until it's well blended.

Scoop the mixture onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges and not doughy in the middle. 

Homemaking Linkup Weekend is going on right now!  I hope you'll link up and take my button for your blog so your friends can join in too. 


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Here are a few of my favorites from last week's party:

Jennifer from The Crunchy Fry is an excellent resource on cloth diapering.  I am learning so much and she's just about got me convinced!

Alison from Mumtopia shared a humorous and encouraging article on Embracing Your Inner Housewife. 

Rachel of Bubbly Nature Creations has a cute and easy idea for a unique Valentine's Day treat!

Finally, the most important part of this post.  I was made aware of a sweet couple who are wanting to adopt a little girl and have come up with a creative way that we can all help just a little.  Please visit my post on the Hill family and pray about what you can do to take part in their adoption plans.

Hope In Every Season is on Facebook!  If you like what you've read here, please follow me and keep up with the latest posts.

Also linking with:
Vintage Thingie Thursday @ Coloradolady
Pearls and Lace Thursday @ Faith, Grace and Crafts 
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits at Stone Gable 
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner 
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple 
Thursday Tea Things & Talk 
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home 
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm 
Inspiration Spotlight @ Dear Creatives 
Beverly's Pink Saturday 
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tater Tots and Jello 
Friday Free for All @ Young and Crafty 
Show & Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal 
Church Supper @ Everyday Moms' Meals 
Sundae Scoop @ I heart nap time 
Sunday Linky Party @ Petite Hermine 
The Creative HomeAcre Hop 
Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy 
Craft-O-Maniac Monday 
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple 
Make the Scene Monday @ Alderberry Hill 
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage 
A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success 
Monday Funday @ C.R.A.F.T. 
Or So She Says... 
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home 
Titus 2sdays @ The Time Warp Wife 
Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good 
Tutorial Tuesday @ Hope Studios 
Courtship Connection 
Whole Hearted Home Wednesday 
Wise Woman LinkUp @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Inspire Me Wednesday @ Mama Buzz
Whatcha Work Up Wednesday 
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 

Cookie's Kids Valentine's Day Styles #CBias

Yesterday, I took Selah and Cainan out for a photo shoot in their new Valentine's Day outfits from CookiesKids.com.  They've always been close and had a lot of fun being silly together.

I had the opportunity to visit CookiesKids.com for the first time last week and was impressed.  I'm planning to go back and purchase several things for the kids when our tax returns come in.

Cookie's Kids is celebrating their 40th year of business.  What started in 1972 as a toy shop in Queens has grown to a retail (Cookie's Kids have seven stores in the NYC area in Bronx, Brooklyn and Jamaica) and online business that offers clothing, shoes, accessories, school uniforms, and, yes, toys.

Besides all the great clothes I spent a very long time perusing the other night, something that I thought was really cool about their site was this Alva Kids sizing app.  I had the option of entering in my kids' body type information, as well as measurements, and it gave me an appropriate size recommendation.  What a great tool!  For more about my shopping experience, browse through my Google+ album.

I was really impressed by the prices I saw on the site.  For instance, this 4-piece vest set is only $19.99!  CookiesKids.com has a great selection of boys suits, as well as nice dress shirt sets like this one I bought for Cainan:

He's so proud of the way he looks in it that he's worn it to three functions so far!

When I was shopping for their clothes, I wanted to find things that went well together so we could get some cute pictures.

CookiesKids.com's large selection of girls dresses makes it hard to choose just one, but my favorite of all is this one I bought Selah:

It is so elegant and feminine.  It reminds me of something from the Titanic.  Just beautiful!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Visit Cookie's Kids on Facebook and Twitter.
#CookiesKids

Hope In Every Season is on Facebook!  If you like what you've read here, please follow me and keep up with the latest posts.

 

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and CookiesKids.com.  All opinions are honest and are my own.  #CBias #SocialFabric

Delicious Pairings with Starbucks and Walmart

Yesterday, I invited a few family members to a little book party I put together.  I had the opportunity to sample Starbucks' Willow Blonde Blend coffee, and Walmart's Lemon Sliced Loaf Cake, and wanted to see what the others thought about them.

My husband and I both frequent our town's Starbucks retail store and he regularly drinks Starbucks brand coffee at home.  He prefers flavored coffees like carmel and vanilla. I was curious what he'd think of the Willow Blonde Blend, as it features complimentary notes of citrus flavor.  I wondered if he, as well as my other guests, would be able to pick up on them with the addition of the Lemon Sliced Loaf Cake---a citrus-flavored treat.

Before the party, I shopped for the coffee at Walmart.  They have a special display in the bakery section featuring certain coffees that are meant to compliment the flavors found in some of Walmart's baked items.  I didn't have a hard time finding the display, but it was up a little high.  I think I would have preferred it at eye-level since there are several things to read on it.  I knew where to find the cake as I'd seen it before when shopping, but never would have thought to pair it with the coffee.  It was three aisles over from this display so the intended pairing wasn't obvious.

Jamie brews a great pot of coffee!

When it was time for me to try the coffee and cake, I was surprised by the bold flavor of the coffee.  I assumed, as did my guests later on, that a "blonde" blend would be lighter in flavor.  Instead, it was surprisingly rich.  We were not at all disappointed by the quality of the coffee.  One of my guests later commented on the lack of bitter aftertaste that she was used to in other coffees she'd tried.  Starbucks proved, once again, to be our favorite brand.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the lemon cake.  The lemon flavor in the cake was barely detectable, which made it difficult to pick out the citrus notes in the coffee.  The cake had more of a buttery flavor and was fairly dry---even though it looked moist in the package.

My guests were also not able to detect the citrus notes in the coffee.  We all agreed the cake changed it's taste, making it lighter and sweeter.  We found ourselves wishing we had something with a stronger lemon flavor to try out.  Since we knew the citrus flavors were there in the coffee, we were curious to experience them!  

After our taste-testing experiment, we took turns sharing book reviews.  Mom talked about a story of a princess that she's enjoying and I received applause for finishing Little Women.

We all really enjoyed our time together, sharing good books and treats.  Maybe we'll pick another #DeliciousPairings combination a couple months from now and do it again!

For more information visit: 
Starbucks on Twitter and Facebook
Walmart on Twitter and Facebook

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™.  All opinions are honest and are my own. #cbias #SocialFabric

Linking with:
Tea Time Tuesday @ Rose Chintz Cottage 
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home
Titus 2sdays @ The Time Warp Wife  
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life
Courtship Connection
Whole Hearted Home Wednesday
Wise Woman Linkup @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home  
Inspire Me Wednesday @ Mama Buzz
Whatcha Work Up Wednesday