Cookie Club Recipe #4

I am so happy for the weekend. I have been sick all week with a virus and finally feel really great today. I did not make the cookies for this week but Suzi over a Savy Suzi made them and they were a big hit with her kids.
Spring is really around the corner and I am so ready for it. Old man winter can surely pack up and go away. So this week I have a really yummy Spring recipe for cookies that will get you in the mood for chirping birds and flower blooms. It is from my Martha Stewart cookie book but with a Cookie Girl twist.

I hope you all enjoy them...

Lime Sugar Cookies (Lime Flowers)

2 cups AP flour, plus more for work surface

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs. finely grated lime zest

1 1/2 sticks butter (room temp.)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

( I will use key lime juice)

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Directions: Sift together flour,baking powder,and salt into a bowl.

Put granulated sugar and lime zest in a separate bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Add butter, and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla and lime juice. Reduce speed to low, and gradually mix in flower mixture.

On a lightly floured work surface, halve the dough. Flatten each half into a 10 inch disk, and wrap each in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Working with one half at a time, roll out dough on parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes with a 3 inch flower cookie cutter or cookie cutter of choice. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining disk.

Wrap scraps in plastic. Freeze 30 minutes, re-roll and cut.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until cookies are set, 12-13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on wire rack. Before serving, sift confectioners sugar over cookies.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.

Cookie Girl Notes: I will be using key lime juice. I am going to forgo the freezing step and use my cookie press instead. I will chill the cookies before I bake them.

Eight Amazing Years

Tuesday, February 17th marked eight wonderful years of marriage to Mr. Cookie. I just don't know where the time has gone. It was just like yesterday I was walking down the aisle to Unchained Melodies with butterflies in my tummy waiting to become the wife of the most amazing man you will ever meet.

It is funny how I reminisce and remember every little detail of our wedding day, right down to the moment he carried me through the threshold of our first home. I still miss that little place and all the memories that were made there.

So for our anniversary this year I wanted to go to the Georgia Aquarium and see the fish....sort of :) I really wanted to meet Martha Stewart who was going to be there signing her newest cookbooks. Being the wonderful man that my husband is he happily agreed to take me.

We got up early Tuesday morning and had mmmm...well, breakfast. We then left the house house and headed to the great ATL. An hour and half later we arrive at the aquarium and make our grand entrance toward the Ocean Ballroom where Martha was waiting to see ME. Okay, Okay...maybe not me personally but she was there. We actually waited and waited and waited for about two hours in line. Luckily we got there early enough to get a good place in line. There were hundreds of people behind us. The picture only captures a small amount of them.

We were even entertained by the beautiful Beluga whales the whole time. We were all served milk and cookies during the wait which for me was like Heaven! Helloooooo..I am the Cookie Girl.Yep...this is me! 100% Guilty with Dark Chocolate on my fingers and a smile on my face!

After the long wait....did I mention my AMAZING husband stood in line with me? Yes he did Girls....I just love him sooooooo much. There were reporters there with cameras taking pictures of the crowd. Once they saw Mr. Cookie and I they completely forgot everyone else and we were swamped with flashing lights and microphones......well, that is only half true. :) They did take our picture and ask us some questions about our Anniversary. Who knows if they made it into the paper. I would say Martha's picture took a little more precedence over ours.

Finally.....the doors opened and the line was moving very quickly. I was so excited but really contained myself for Mr. Cookies sake. Once we got close enough to the door they told us that we could not get a personal picture with Martha but we could take pictures from the line. Bummer!


I did have an idea though. There were two of us so Mr. Cookie could snap a picture while I was keeping Martha occupied with my Cookie Book. Woo Hooooo! I am so freakin' smart! LOL
Not really....but he was able to get a quick shot of us. Darn I should have looked at the camera.
Yes...those are real fish behind her in the aquarium!
Martha was very nice and soft spoken. She really is a beautiful lady. She complimented on my necklaces saying they were very pretty. I replied quietly with a thank you. I told her it was nice to have met her and she of course being the polite lady she is ,said it was nice to meet me as well.
I wish that we could have had tea or something after the signing but I just could not wait on her all day. :)

After all of this Mr. Cookie and I took a tour of the Aquarium gazing at all of the beautiful fish and sea otters. We got a couple of pictures of each other at this water fall that uses reclaimed rain water. Pretty Cool I thought.

The aquarium wasn't as big as I had thought. We finished up and headed out about the same time Martha did. Nope, no romantic dinner for us either. I had been feeling a little dizzy and nauseated all morning and on the way home it escalated into a full blown stomach virus. Yep...I did the most horrible thing ever....upchuck in the car. Ewwwww! Finally we made it home and my wonderful Mr. Cookie has been nursing me back to health ever since. I spared you the Gorey details...Trust me! You will thank me for that part.
All in all, it was a great anniversary DAY!

Thanks Honey for all you do. You are the LOVE OF MY LIFE!

I love you!