Uh, YUMMY.

Sundays are my day for afternoon naps, laundry, and baking. Eric usually grills, which means I have the house all to myself. I came across this recipe in a magazine, and knew it would be my pick for this weekend. I had to tweak a bit, so I'll make notes where I made changes. They are unbelievably delicious, and I don't even like sugar cookies! As I start this blog, I have a mouth full of them! OK, let's get to the sharing part....

Limeade Sugar Cookies

Makes: 30 cookies Chill: 1 hour Bake: 20-25 min
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened (*I used the butter flavor Crisco)
2 cups of sugar, divided (*I used 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 c. powdered)
zest of 2 limes, about 2 Tbsp.
1/2 cup sour cream (*I used fat free)
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour

1. Beat butter, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, and lime zest on medium speed with an electric mixer until lightly creamed. Add sour cream and beat until blended. Stir in egg yolks an dlime juice. Add salt, baking powder, and flour. Chill dough 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup powdered sugar into a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar, and place on baking sheets. (*I lightly dusted the powder over the cookie balls)
3. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to brown; bottoms will look light golden. Crispier cookies will need to bake a few additional minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool...

My NOTES: I don't think fresh limes would be absolutely necessary, although the fresh juice and zest give them a bit of a zip. Bet you could use refrigerated lime juice. My cookies never browned on the bottom (after 25 minutes), but they did fluff up and were nice and chewy. There was a note stating the importance of room temperature eggs- It says cold eggs can make it harder to work with doughs and batters you have to prepare. The dough was incredibly easy to roll, but I don't know if that's from the eggs or the chill. I was never sticky.

Seriously, go bake these and eat.
Love, Aimee

While looking through my pictures, I found three pictures of some of the cutest kiddies ever... They're cousins, but I almost think of them like nieces and nephews!!! These pictures were taken over Spring Break, back in April... We were staying the night at Aunt Arlene's, and Aunt Debbie, Amanda, Angela, and crew came to visit...

The first one is Carter...at the time, he was really getting the walking thing DOWN! He'd take off, chase the older ones, flop right down on the Pampers, and spring back up!

Second is Carter's older sister Callie, who spent most of her time showing us how she can pinch her nose, inhale, and keep her nostrils sucked into her face. Didn't last long enough to photograph, unfortunately!

Finally, we have Cowboy Caleb! He's beyond attached to his hat and boots, and figured out rather quickly that Dad would make a good bull to ride...(Dad sleeps likes this when his back hurts, so the first time Caleb "mounted up" Dad was caught a little....off-guard!) Caleb used proper form, with one arm in the air, as he rode Bull. Yeah...Dad's new name is Bull. Rather fitting.

Sorry so late in getting these up, Ang! Wish Hayden hadn't been so wiped out from his swimming party, or he'd be up here too! Love you guys!

7 Random Things

Okay, as instructed, seven random things about me.

1. I have no control over my middle joint in my left big toe. It's freaking me out, actually. Did I injure myself long ago, in the side-ponytail ages when I played sports? Do I even have a middle joint?

2. I still cut my hair. Ya know, like little kids and scissors = bad mix. I think a bright light, clean mirror, and a pair of Fiskars will turn out decent. Yet it never does. NOTE: I only cut my hair because I've slowly learned that I can't color, highlight, or permanently straighten it without the help of a professional.

3. Liars seriously bother me. Especially the little bitties, a.k.a. nine-year-olds, who will lie to you without blinking an eye. It makes me secretly wish I was all-knowing, with hidden cameras and FBI wires, so that I could bust people in the act. In a nutshell, don't lie to me about your homework. I for reals don't care that much.

4. I'm easily scared. The dark, freaky people, scary movies, can't handle them. That's why I don't watch scary movies with carnies in the dark.

5. I can make a mean mixed tape. I mean, CD...I mean, playlist. My taste of music is better than yours, so just let me control the radio, CD player, iPod, etc.

6. I count things. For example, the number of stoplights on the way home...the number of people wearing stripes in a room...the number of dogs that walk by on a leash in the afternoon...the number of tiles on the bathroom floor or shower stall... All this counting mess is usually when I'm supposed to be doing something, but am wasting time....

7. These lists of things take too long. I'm always self-editing. Nah, not interesting....no, not funny enough....nobody cares about that.... They should start making lists of 3 random things, or 2...