Basketball Lemon Cookies

I discovered something today. As I have always known, I am not the most patient person. I have discovered that  cooking is helping me grow out of that. Cooking has taught me patience. So many recipes take time and patience to get right. Miss one step, and the recipe is ruined. I have learned to be patient with my cooking and with my recipes. That is something to think about. Because these girls have been through so much, I wanted to do something small for them, that lets them know I care about them. So I made them some bball cookies. I didn’t add black markings for the ball stripes because they are speaking in front of the board and I know how black food coloring tends to leave the teeth looking pretty grim.


Basketball Lemon Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar`
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested
• Orange food coloring
• Sugar Embellishment

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze: Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth.Add Orange food coloring Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Follow the recipe for the Sugar Embellisment I used a bball shape and put it on the plate of the cookies.

Sugar Embellishment

• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• Cooking spray

Directions
Place the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Insert a candy thermometer and cook the sugar mixture until it reaches 311 degrees F,

or what is known as the "hard crack" stage. Remove from the heat and carefully pour on to a silicone mat in the shape you would like. I use my Silpat. You can make hearts, or just random shapes. Let set/cool for 1 hour.

Peel off from mat slowly and decorate your dessert. It is that easy!