Hey there!
Summer has us in a full-on whirlwind of hustle and bustle. I can’t believe it’s August! I remember agonizing over childhood and adolescence, just willing it to hurry up. Now I’m dragging my heels to make the wheels turn a little more slowly.
Anyway, I wanted to give you a little update on the cookbook. If you pre-ordered from Amazon you may have received an email that there is a delay. Our hope (meaning the publisher and myself) was the to have the book out in the month of August, so August 1 was more of an arbitrary date. There are so many variables in publishing that can throw off when a book is actually ready that pinpointing an exact release date can be a bit dangerous. I have a fellow author whose book came out 3 months after expected!
I’m happy to say that the book is finishing up at the printers right this very moment and will be (hopefully!) going to the distribution warehouse at the end of the week. So the book should be out and in the world this month! Very exciting.
As a preventative measure, since it will take a little longer for me to get my own boxes of wholesale books, I am planning on holding an awesome book release party in September. The nitty-gritty is getting worked out as we speak, but let’s just say it involves the cookbook, yummy samples and free vegan tattoos (for reals!). Details to come.
For those who are interested, I am working on a detailed tutorial on how to make jam. I swear, no more jam after that. 
In the meantime, here is one of my favorite cookie recipes from the book. Oh, I can eat an obscene amount of these things and they are a perfect cookie any time of year. Light and citrusy for hot summer days and a bright spot in the dreariness of winter.
Lemon Drop Cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
When I first went to college, I basically lived off of powder sugar-coated lemon wafer cookies that were made by a major cookie manufacturer. Naturally, because I liked them, they stopped making them about a year after I got hooked and I spent nearly a decade feeling sorry for myself before realizing that I didn’t care about their silly cookies- I could make my own! These little cookies are crisp and tart, with the powdered sugar taking the edge off and adding a sweet coolness to each bite.
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
juice from 1 lemon
2 teas. lemon zest
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar for coating
Preheat oven to 375. Prepare a cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and shortening until smooth. Mix sugar to combine, then incorporate lemon juice and zest. Add flour in small batches until well incorporated.
Spoon teaspoon sized balls of dough onto cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 8- 10 minutes until edges are set and are slightly browned. If baking both sheets at the same time, switch shelves halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool completely before coating each cookie in powdered sugar. To coat, us a fork to support each cookie and roll cookie on each side to coat in sugar. Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature.
Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies
*For best results, zest the lemon before juicing. You can use the small holes on a grater for a fine zest.
16 Responses to cookbook update and cookies for noming
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It’s here!
Bless your animal-free sweet & sour tooth! I LURV me a good lemon tea cookie. THANK YOU! And, if your awesome, amazing partay is before September 22nd, I’ll drive my foodie self right down to enjoy the festivities! Congrats on getting that cookbook printed!
so happyhappyhappy that your book is almost there !!!!
so saaaaaaaad that I can’t come around and get a vegan tattoo
so LUSTING for these cookies !!!
Is there anything you recommend that I can substitute for shortening?
You can just sub it with more margarine. The shortening makes them more crisp, so yours will probably be a little softer.
FYI, Crisco is vegan and it no longer has transfats.
Such pretty cookies! I love lemon.
You can post about jam as much as you want–I love jam! You know what would make these cookies even better? JAM! Haha
Courtney
I love it! We’re totally thinking on the same level.
Man, I so wish it was summer here! I’m jealous! It’s a beautifully fine day outside today but bitterly cold. Although winter does mean lots of delicious hot soups!
By the way, I am looking forward to your cookbook coming out. I love the Damn Tasty Vegan Baking Guide…it’s getting a bit tattered from all its use!
Lemon Drop Cookies… this sounds like a treat I would really enjoy! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m also looking forward to the jam-making tutorial. It will be a great confidence booster, and may get me to try my hand at some homemade jammy delights!
I wish I could come to the book release party! alas…
Whoa – I’d totally forgotten about those lemon cookies until you mentioned them! My mom used to buy them quite often when I was a kid… I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Oh, I loved them! They were basically like lemon Nilla Wafers covered in powdered sugar. I’m embarrassed to admit that they greatly contributed to my freshman 15. Those, Pasta Roni and generic fruit-flavored soda. You can tell from the menu, that was my first time living on my own.
I just made a batch of these today.
The lemons I used were pretty small and thin skinned (had to zest 3 to come anywhere near 2 teaspoons of zest!), so I ended up using the juice of 2. I’d be interested to know how much juice was in your lemon? (preferably in spoons or millilitres?)
The ones I’ve tried so far have been really tasty, even without the sugar coating! Thank you for this recipe
Hi Emily!
I’d say that my typical yield is about 3-4 tablespoons. While the juice is important, the lemon flavor really comes from the zest, so the more the better!
Thanks for the reply! I’ve just finished (I still have crumbs round my mouth!) eating the second batch I made of these, and I’m going to try an orange version next.
Thank you again for the delicious recipe!
These are stunning. I made them and I never got round to putting the icing(powdered) sugar on them because we ate them all while they were still warm!! My husband and I are trying out veganism…unfortunately I’ve put on about 4lbs in the last few weeks due to your book I can’t stop baking cakes, breads and cookies from it and they are SO good!!
I don’t know if you’re still reading these comments but I just wanted to let you know that I made these cookies for the official opening ceremony of Leicester Central Library and the City Mayor sent his compliments to the chef because of them!