Southern lemony things!

Fall is upon us, and I don't know if there's a bigger saturation of pumpkin-spice everything or "news" articles about pumpkin-spice everything. Sometimes I think the coffee shops could give away three clippings about how pumpkin-spice is so over with every pumpkin-spice latte. At any rate, we at A Book of Cookrye are pretending it's still summer and making lemony things!

Lemon Loves Heat oven to 350°. Grease a 9" round cake pan.* Because these tend to want to stick, I suggest you cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Spray the empty pan, then press the paper into it, squeezing out as many bubbles as possible. Then spritz the top of the paper with additional cooking spray. That way, the cookies may cling to the paper but absolutely can not stick to the pan itself.       Crust: 1 cup flour ½ cup butter 2 tbsp sugar Mix together. It may be a bit sandy, but it should stay together when you take up a handful and firmly squeeze it. If not, add a spoonful or two of water. Press into the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.       Filling: 1 cup sugar 5 tbsp flour ½ tsp baking powder† 2 eggs 3 tbsp lemon juice Stir together the sugar, flour, and baking powder. Be sure to eliminate any lumps. Then thoroughly beat in the eggs, adding both at the same time. When all is mixed, stir in the lemon juice. Pour on top of the crust (no need to cool the crust first) and bake 25 minutes more. Cool completely before icing.       Icing: ¼ cup butter 1½ cup powdered sugar 2 or 3 tsp lemon juice Mix the butter and powdered sugar. Add enough lemon juice to make it a spreadable icing that still holds a shape instead of being drippy (if you add too much, just add more powdered sugar until it's not runny anymore). Spread it over the cookies after they have cooled. I think these are best with only a very thin layer of icing on top. *The original recipe specifies a 9" square pan, but I found those to be a little too thin. †I forgot to add this and they came out fine anyway. If you prefer a dense, more fudge-like lemon layer, leave the baking powder out. -Mrs. Charles Hamaker, The Cotton Country Collection, Junior League of Monroe, Louisiana, 1972

It seems I punctuate a lot of assignments with baked goods. It's reached the point that whoever's downstairs seems to start loitering in the kitchen vicinity whenever I come downstairs with my laptop and a sheaf of papers because they know I'm about to make something for while I'm working over whatever I have to do this time. Or perhaps it's been a long, trying week and I've decided I deserve a reward. Such is the case this week. In the span of three days, I had an essay, a test, and a presentation come up all at once. Therefore, lemony things!

Butter is dairy. Dairy is calcium. Therefore, I'll get sturdy bones.

I always wonder about the names of recipes like this. Does anyone ever say them out loud when asked "What are these?" Have you ever heard anyone say "Would you like a lemon love?" or "Peanut Butter Supreme, anyone?"

Halfway into pressing out the dough, the baking pot was as happy as I felt.

That said, these looked like they were going to be really good. The cookie dough was good enough to eat on its own, and the lemony stuff looked promising. I added in some anise extract that came from... somewhere... and it was ridiculously good. Although having found extracts I forgot I purchased and what I used them for, I think of Erma Bombeck who said "Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which ones I'm taking with me when I go." My parents have some in the house from five moves ago, and I'm sure I'll be no better.

Lemony.

The filling went on really nicely, but came out looking really desiccated.

What's with things coming out of my kitchen looking dried out lately?

Some of you may have noticed that I am in fact baking these in a saucepan. While I did have a cake pan I "borrowed" from my cousin and have used repeatedly for all manner of things that aren't cake, I accidentally left it at my parents' last time I visited. This is why you shouldn't buy pots with plastic handles, people!

Nothing wrong with making your icing really thick--- and mixing it in another pot.

Desiccated or not, icing on top makes almost everything not look so bad.

Heck, it might even look good.

And so, happy fall everyone! These are really good and you should try them.