I’m having one of those weeks. The kind of week where exhaustion hits you like a train, you don’t get enough sleep, and you literally count the hours until the weekend – those two wonderful days that give you the opportunity to catch up on rest, relax, and do all the things that you wanted to do during the week, if you didn’t have work and other commitments to worry about. Not that I expect to get much sleep this weekend…

See this sweet little face? Those mismatched puppy-dog eyes? That little deformed nose? Do not, I repeat, DO NOT let those impressively cute features fool you. Honey and I adopted our little Bella from the Humane Society at the beginning of January. Don’t get me wrong, we absolutely adore her, we love her to bits. But…she hasn’t let us sleep through the night since. Not since the very first night we brought her home, and she tried to deceive us with her too-good-to-be-true behavior. As a result, we are both completely and utterly exhausted. She wakes up several times each night, and then it takes her nearly an hour to fall back to sleep (if she even does), barking all the while. Standing between me and REM sleep. *sigh* What are we doing wrong?

Perhaps I sound a bit melodramatic here, it must be the sleep deprivation talking. Sorry, I’ll get back on track. I made these cookies during the holiday season, and found them to be quite delightful. They remind me of a light shortbread cookie, but with a hint of lemon flavor (next time I whip these up I think I will double the lemon zest for a stronger lemon taste). These little lemon crinkles go very well with a hot cup of tea or coffee. Remember, when life gives you lemons, make lemon cookies! That’s my current philosophy.

Lemon Crinkles

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Zest of one lemon

4 TBSP. fresh lemon juice

1/2 cups sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a larger bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.

Add in the dry ingredients, beating until just combined. Roll rounded spoonfuls of dough into balls and then roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets, about 1 or 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. Makes 24 – 36 cookies. Happy eating!