Lemony Baked Goods Hate Me!

I'm convinced...any baked good that has lemons in it has it out for me! It's a sinister little plot that rears its ugly fangs and dashes my (lemon-flavored) hopes and dreams. I don't know if you say my When life gives you lemons... post a while back, but I kid you not, baking + lemons + me =flop. I've made lemon bars from a mix and yes, they worked. Cooking with lemons...no problem. I make killer lemonade, for sure. But set me loose in the kitchen (armed with a recipe, even) and see what happens...or doesn't. My latest attempt at lemon-bakery (? I know, not a real term !) was a recipe by Gin from Once Upon a Gourmet Gin. Check out the actual recipe on her blog and her gorgeous picture...and then continue on to see my attempt (I'll post the recipe, too). My troubles in NO WAY reflect Gin's creative recipe...they were mine and mine alone! The thing that attracted me most to this recipe (aside from the lemon) was the fact that they are a variation of a Cake Mix Cookie. Cake Mix cookies are near & dear to my heart because my and I and possibly my brother (?) made cake mix cookies all the time when were young! Actually, we still make them...but we just make the "basic" version. Gin added such intriguing ingredients to hers that I needed to bake them as soon as possible. The Most Lemony Cookie of all Time

recipe by: Gin of Once Upon a Gourmet Gin

1 box lemon cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon lemon extract

1 7 oz box of Lemonheads®

zest from one lemon

1 box powdered sugar for rolling in...I just filled a plate w/ some

Preheat oven to 345 degrees I did 350 F

(1) Grind Lemonheads® in food processor into a fine powder.

(2) Add all ingredients and blend well. except powdered sugar

(3) Use melon ball scooper to measure small dough balls and roll in powdered sugar. *

(4) Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. It is very important not to bake these cookie for more than 10 minutes. Ten minutes give these cookies the perfect texture inside and out. **

(5) ENJOY! despite the bedraggled appearance, they were still tasty

* One of my problems....I used a scoop that I normally use for scooping out my cookies...made cookies that were a little larger than the recipe intended, I think. So, switched to a melon baller and I think they were too small (I used the larger, parisienne side). Next time...somewhere in the middle.

** My cookies stuck like crazy!!! Tried to remove immediately and they fell apart. Tried to let sit on pan and they stuck. I sprayed the pan next time...same problems!!! Argh...frustration sets in. My larger cookies spread (unlike Gin's beauties) and seemed almost like a "lace" cookie. My smaller ones were very pretty, but ended up cooling to a hard cookie. Where's my in between?!

These are my 3, count them 3 tries... starting clockwise from top left, cooked a little too long, because they didn't seem done (remember, too big). Next, (still big) cooked exactly 10 minutes but super hard to get off of pan...ended up with the best texture of the 3 and last (bottom) my smaller attempt...looked great, tasted great but ended up crunchy throughout. Okay, there are worse things than crunchy throughout...because they are excellent dunked in some milk or coffee this way. Thanks for going along with me on my lemon baking adventures....stay tuned for next time :) ! ~~quick update (I wrote this post and scheduled it for later, so this update will show up when it is first posted) : Ever determined, I headed back to the kitchen to use up the rest of my dough, which I refrigerated when I gave up yesterday...I sprayed the cr*p out of the sheet pan this time and they didn't stick!!! But...they did spread more than Gin's did.....aaaahhhh! Maybe a little baking powder next go 'round. NOTE TO SELF: BUY THE DARN SILPAT ALREADY!!!