Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Lemon Cookies - Petits sables au citron


Everytime I start a new post, I promise myself to publish more than my once a month. Then as days weeks go by, I just wonder when and where I will possibly find time to cook something new worth-being-posted and publish it online. Time flies. And I just wonder where it goes. What????  School is almost over? (I don't know about you but the Summer-show/Field Trip always sound like end-of-the-school-year to me)... And I have not booked the Summer camp yet! (for my French readers, American children get at least 11, if not more, weeks off in the Summer; how working parents with a minimum of 2 weeks off manage to spend relaxing time with their children in the Summer, is still a big mystery to me). My list of TO DO things keep being longer. My TO READ New Yorker pile gets bigger. My piano practice? What piano practice??
I am up at 5.20 am... I have set it up earlier and earlier hoping that I would have time to read a few pages of the newspaper while enjoying my breakfast au calme (one of my petit plaisirs!!). Pff, how utopic of me? I find  myself unloading the dishwasher, preparing lunchboxes while eating a spoon of oatmeal here and there... then finishing up very fast before waking up the children at 6 am. And from that minute on, it's go-go-go until I get to on the train after droping them in school : I have 15mns where I can read a few pages of the newspaper or send a few personal emails...
6 am, it's early...I did try to wake them up 15 minutes later to have them sleep more but they told me that they'd rather be up earlier and have time to play after breakfast-teethbrushing-handwashing than having to leave straight after breakfast (which generally meant no teethbrushing). Anyway, after a day of work in an office, I come home and then again, I feel that I am back on my track-and-field days with a stopwatch in hand: feed the children, supervise/sign homework, supervise teethbrushing, read bedtime stories, turn light off before 7.30pm. Go back into the kitchen to clean the mess and start preparing dinner for the next day, have dinner with my husband (he cleans the dishes if you wonder where he had been!! ), do one load of laundry and few other house chores.... before going to bed early. With the newspaper if I have not had time to read page 2!
I cook dinner the night before?  I know. I am that kind of person and that's, my friends, is my savior. The few days I thought I would be back early and have extra time (ie 15-20 mns) extra to prepare dinner, it never worked...  So yes, as I write this post, dinner for tomorrow is already cooked (kasha with leeks and tomatoes, slivered almonds and ricotta cheese). Otherwise, our children would be ever more sleep deprived. Or eat  n'importe quoi.  As a result, I have come to love Thursdays because that's the only night I don't cook. Fridays is Aperitif Night so I don't have to prep much! Unless we have friends over. Of course. So maybe I should just plan to write my blog on Thursday nights. Assuming I have been able to cook and take pictures of a few worth-publishing dishes before. That means, cooking on the week-end because my daily cooking, while from scratch, is fairly limited! That's a challenge! We'll see. Until then, you can always either make these littles sablés or prep your dinner for tomorrow. Your choice! Bon Appétit 


Ingredients
  • 1 stick (115 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) light blond cane sugar
  • 1  egg
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 3/4 cups (245 gr) all purpose flour
  • a pinch of salt.

  • Mix butter and sugar together until creamy
  • Add egg and beat until well incorporated
  • Add flour, salt and lemon zest and mix until well incorporated
  • Knead the dough to bring it together. Divide it in two parts.
  • Let cool in the fridge for one hour
  • Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
  • Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out.
  • Use your cookie-cutter to make cookies
  • Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. While the first batch is in the fridge, roll out the second batch.
  • Bake cookies for about 10 mns or under golden brown.