Falafel and Cookies

You know it's a great day when one of the options for lunch in the cafeteria is a falafel and hummus salad.  I nearly squealed with joy!!  It was certainly not the amazingness that is the Taim falafel pita, but it was pretty darn great for a hospital cafeteria.

Please excuse the rather ugly picture.  I was so hungry that I began to dig in to lunch before I stopped to take a picture.
Spring mix, tomato, cucumber, carrots, sprouts, bell pepper, cabbage, baked falafel, and roasted garlic hummus

Tonight after I finished dinner I had a hankering for a freshly baked treat  I happen to see a picture of  a lemon layer cake while browsing Pinterest and suddenly HAD to have a slice.  Unfortunately, cooking a lemon layer cake at 8pm wasn't exactly feasible.  I did, however, recall that half of a lemon was sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be used.  So with inspiration and ingredients, I quickly through together a little baking experiment.

Tart Luscious Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Earth Balance
Lemon Juice and Zest from 1/2 of a fresh lemon
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine earth balance, lemon juice and zest, sugar, and vanilla extract.  Beat with a mixer until smooth (30 seconds).  Gradually mix in flour and baking powder.  Mix until just combined.  Roll spoonfuls of dough into one inch balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Use the back of a spoon (or your fingers) to slightly flatten the cookies.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Cool on a baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing them.  Enjoy immediately!

If you're looking for a tart lemon cookie, this is definitely your recipe.  It literally took 15 minutes from the time I started gathering ingredients to the time I was enjoying bite after bite of lemony goodness. Enjoy!