Lemon Drop Cookies

These cookies could also be called the ULTIMATE Cake-Mix Cookies.  Seriously - they are everything you ever wanted in a cake mix cookie, but could never quite achieve.  The other day the mood struck for some lemon cookies.  I happened to have a cake mix, so I started a recipe search.  A girlfriend of mine has a recipe for cream cheese cookies, and they are the softest, most adorable little cookies that you ever did see.  So I thought, surely someone has mixed these two things together before - and yes, they have!  So I took one, gave it my own little twist and now I'm gonna share it with you fine people!  Enjoy!  They delicious!  Soft, slightly chewy, fluffy, sweet, tart, and super-cute! 

You will need:

Lemon Cake Mix
1/4 c softened butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
zest from 1 lemon

1-2 c powdered sugar
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla
zest from 1 lemon
pinch of poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 325. 

Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.  Add egg, then vanilla, then zest, then half of cake mix and beat until smooth. Add remaining cake mix. 

Refrigerate the batter at least 1 hour, but you could easily make this dough the day before you plan to bake it.  Don't skip this step though, because I'm not sure how small and puffy your cookies will be if the batter is a room temperature - they may have a tendency to be flat.

Roll teaspoon size balls - I scooped mine with my usuall medium-sized cookies scooper, but then divided the ball into 2 smaller balls. Then, place on baking stone (or sheet) and bake for 15-18 minutes - yeah, that's practically FOREVER, but they're worth the wait.

When they come out of the oven they are the cutest little round mounds of lemony goodness.

Now mix your glaze.  Start slowly, use about 1 cup of sugar, all of the lemon juice and zest, and half of the vanilla.  Then determine if you need more sugar or liquid (vanilla or water).  It should be about the consistency of syrup.  Add the poppy seeds - I just sprinkled some in for the fun of it, sorry, no measurements :o)

After your cookies are cool, dip the top of your cookie into the glaze, then place on a cookie rack to set. Load up in a tupperware and prepare to over-indulge for the next several days!  Seriously, they are so stinkin good!  My mouth is watering just thinin about 'em, and I think I'm gonna have to make some more as soon as humanly possible.  If you make them first, send me some!