My introduction to cooking started with an Easy Bake Oven before I was ten years old. I loved mixing up those little packets of unknown powder and getting some semblance of a cake out of the “oven” in record time. After that came Home Ec. It was a required class in junior high and I learned some terms along with the basics and did some cooking and baking, but I never had much of an interest in the whole process. When I first started living on my own in college, cooking became necessary to be able to eat & survive once there was no longer a dining hall just outside the dorm building for meals. I made very simple dishes as a means of survival, but still, I was not really into cooking or baking beyond necessity.

I graduated to more involved recipes as a newlywed, but it was still just a means to an end, not something I enjoyed doing. The creative aspect of my culinary growth started a bit later with baking. Quick breads, cookies, and pies were what I enjoyed baking in my mid-20s. I was given a few basic cookbooks as gifts as a newlywed and I began collecting recipes from the library’s collection of cooking periodicals when I wanted to try new things. Below is one of those finds from sooo long ago. I made these cookies religiously every December and they became favorites with a number of our relatives when we gathered with the extended family over the holidays. This cookie is a lemon flavored cookie dough wrapped around a Hershey’s Kiss, (I like to use Hershey’s Kisses with Almonds, but plain ones work well, too) that is baked, and then drizzled with melted chocolate. These require a bit more work than some cookies, but they are well worth the extra effort!

Lemon Kiss Cookies

Lemon Kiss Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com) Total Time Required: about 2 hours, Prep Time: 35 minutes, Chilling Time: 1 hour, Bake Time: 10 minutes, Yield: 5-6 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon extract
• 2-3/4 flour
• 1-1/2 cups (7-1/2 ounces) finely chopped almonds
• 14-ounce package Hershey’s Kisses, regular or almond
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon solid shortening

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon extract until fluffy.

Cream together the butter & sugar & extract.

Add in the flour and almonds and beat at low speed until blended. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Add in the flour and almonds.

Preheat the oven to 375º F. Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each candy Kiss, covering the chocolate completely.  Roll each cookie into a ball.  Bake the cookies on ungreased cookie sheets for 8-12 minutes. Cool them completely on a wire rack.

Shape a tablespoon of the chilled dough around a Hershey’s Kiss.

Melt the chocolate chips and the shortening together in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds on half power, adding an additional 10 seconds at a time until it is all melted.

Melt the chocolate and shortening together.

Stir the mixture together and drizzle it over the cookies. Allow the drizzle to harden before serving.

Drizzle the chocolate mixture over the cooled cookies.

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Chocolate & almonds & lemon, oh, my!

The holiday cookie baking has begun!  ~Linda

Lemon Kiss Cookies (adapted from allrecipes.com) Total Time Required: about 2 hours, Prep Time: 35 minutes, Chilling Time: 1 hour, Bake Time: 10 minutes, Yield: 5-6 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon extract
• 2-3/4 flour
• 1-1/2 cups (7-1/2 ounces) finely chopped almonds
• 14-ounce package Hershey’s Kisses, regular or almond
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon solid shortening

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon extract until fluffy.  Add in the flour and almonds and beat at low speed until blended. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375º F. Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each candy Kiss, covering the chocolate completely.  Roll each cookie into a ball.  Bake the cookies on ungreased cookie sheets for 8-12 minutes. Cool them completely on a wire rack.

Melt the chocolate chips and the shortening together in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds on half power, adding an additional 10 seconds at a time until it is all melted. Stir the mixture together and drizzle it over the cookies. Allow the drizzle to harden before serving. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.