I’m not sure that there is anything that tastes more like summer than homemade lemonade, unless it’s homemade strawberry lemonade! Hello TT&J friends, it’s Melissa from No. 2 Pencil and today I’m happy to share my recipe for Homemade Strawberry Lemonade. A few weeks ago, I shared my homemade lemonade recipe on my own blog and I thought it would be fun to share this easy strawberry variation with you.

Since it is officially strawberry season, it’s the perfect time to use those delicious ripe strawberries. This recipe is actually perfect if you have strawberries that are either overripe of slightly underripe. Just adjust the amount of sugar in the strawberry mixture to account for ripeness – use less sugar if the berries are overripe since they will be sweeter, and use a little more sugar if the strawberries are underripe.

Ingredients

1 pint of fresh strawberries – about 3/4 a pound hulled and sliced in half

2 cups of sugar

3 cups of fresh cold water

2 cups of freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice, about 20 small lemons

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine strawberries with 1/4 cup of the sugar and 1 – 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Let stand, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until strawberries have started to release their juices and soften.

2. Combine remaining sugar and water in sauce pan and heat until boiling. Reduce heat and let mixture simmer until sugar is dissolved.

3. Let sugar mixture cool, then combine with lemon juice.

4. Stir in strawberries and all liquid from bowl and refrigerate.

5. Serve chilled over ice.

Alternatively, you can keep strawberry mixture separate and spoon into individual glasses.

Thanks for letting me share, Jen!

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Thanks Melissa!! That lemonade looks amazing. I love fresh fruit drinks. They just always taste so much better. Melissa has amazing recipes on her blog. Here are a few others you might want to check out:

These Crunchy Baked Tacos look like such a fun, simple meal idea with a twist. I love the idea of melting the cheese first!

Her Baked Bean Casserole is one side dish that looks perfect for backyard BBQs this summer!!

And, if you’re looking for something sweet, this Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Cup recipe is awesome. You can make it for one, in the microwave! That’s my kind of treat.

Aren’t her recipes amazing? I always love to see what she will share next!!

xoxo

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These Homemade Lemon Toaster Pastries are easy to make and delicious. I used store-bought lemon curd and pre-made pie dough to whip these up in just a few minutes.

Start by trimming the pie dough into a square, then divide both pie doughs into a total of eight rectangles. You will have four from each pie dough. PS – The pie dough scraps would be perfect for my Chicken Pot Pie Soup!

Brush the edges with egg wash and fill with about a tablespoon of lemon curd. Keep lemon curd away from the edges so the dough will seal together properly. If a little leaks out, no worries!

Use a fork to seal the edges all the way around, then use a tooth pick to poke a few holes through the top layer of pie dough.

Brush with egg wash and bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

Top with lemon glaze and rainbow sugar sprinkles and enjoy!

Homemade Lemon Toaster Pastries

makes 4

Ingredients

1 package of Pillsbury Pie Crust (includes two crusts)

1 jar of store-bought lemon curd

1 egg

1 tablespoon of water

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

Rainbow sugar sprinkles

Directions

Step 1. Prepare egg wash by whisking egg and water together.

Step 2. Trim pie dough into a square, then divide into four rectangles. Repeat with second pie dough.

Step 3. Brush edges of bottom crusts with egg wash, then fill with one tablespoon each of lemon curd.

Step 4. Seal edges by pressing down with fork and use toothpick to poke holes in top crust.

Step 5. Brush with egg wash and bake at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Step 6. While pastries are baking, prepare glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice.

Step 7. Once pastries have cooled slightly, top with glaze and sprinkles.

Thank you for letting me share!

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Oh my goodness Melissa, those look amazing!! I know that any kid would LOVE to have that for breakfast, don’t you think? What a fun treat for spring too!

I am so lucky to have her as a contributor! She always has such yummy, fun ideas on her blog. Here are two more of her recipes that look amazing:

I just love how delicious and easy this Banana Pudding Recipe looks! I can’t wait to try it.

And, who doesn’t love a good freezer meal idea? This Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie looks so good!

Follow No. 2 Pencil and

xoxo

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Today I have one of my new favorite cookie recipes to share. These Super Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies are perfect for spring.

A soft sugar cookie with a hint of lemon and a rich lemon cream cheese frosting. If you are a lemon lover like me, you need to try these cookies! You may also want to try the Strawberry Lemonade Poke Cake I shared recently. It makes a delicious make-ahead dessert.

Super Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies

Makes about 14 large cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
• zest of one lemon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of softened butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of pure lemon extract
• Frosting
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of softened butter
• 4 oz of room temperature cream cheese
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of pure lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar and butter, and beat with paddle attachment until fluffy.
4. Add egg, vanilla and lemon extract and continue beating until combined.
5. Add flour mixture and stir just until combined.
6. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
7. Roll two tablespoons of cookie dough into a ball and place on baking sheet.
8. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Don’t over bake.
9. Let cool and frost.
10. Sprinkle cookies with additional lemon zest.
11. To prepare frosting, using the paddle attachment, beat butter, powdered sugar, and pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
12. With mixer still running, add in vanilla extract.
13. Divide cream cheese into 4 cubes and drop them into the mixture one at a time until well combined.

Please let me know if you try these cookies! I know you will love them. Thanks for letting me share, Jen!

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Thanks Melissa! Those cookies look so yummy! Lemon sugar cookies do sound perfect for spring. I’m thrilled to have Melissa as one of my amazing contributors this year! She has tons of great ideas on her blog, No. 2 Pencil. Here are a few recent recipes of hers that I love:

I love this Warm Vanilla Sugar Scrub she shared! It would make a perfect gift for any occasion!

I love a meal that is all in one pot! This One Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta looks SO good!

And, this Strawberry Lemonade Poke Cake looks so moist and yummy! It would make a perfect Springtime treat!

Follow No. 2 Pencil and

I just can’t wait to see what other amazing things Melissa shares with us this year!

xoxo

The post Lemon Sugar Cookies appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.

Today I’m sharing these Frosted Peppermint Sugar Cookies. These are just as yummy as they look. A tender buttery sugar cookie, with a touch of peppermint, frosted with a homemade peppermint buttercream frosting.

These are so pretty and perfect for gift giving. I’ve also topped them with Andes Peppermint Crunch baking bits. I just discovered these, and I love them! They are absolutely a must have for holiday baking. They are small candy bits, with tiny crunchy pieces of peppermint candy in them. I found them in the baking aisle at Target.

Frosted Peppermint Sugar Cookies

• 1 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of softened butter
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract

Peppermint Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of softened butter
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• pinch of kosher salt
• 2-3 tablespoons of milk
• red food coloring

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar and butter, and beat with paddle attachment until fluffy.
4. Add egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract, and continue beating until combined.
5. Add flour mixture and stir just until combined.
6. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
7. Roll two tablespoons of cookie dough into a ball and place on baking sheet.
8. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Don’t over bake.
9. Let cool, and frost.
10. Sprinkle cookies with Andes Peppermint Crunch baking bits
11. To prepare frosting, using the paddle attachment, beat butter, powdered sugar, and pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
12. With mixer still running, add in vanilla and peppermint extract.
13. Add 2-3 tablespoon of milk a little at a time until frosting is smooth and creamy.
14. Stir in several drops of red food coloring until frosting is desired pink color.

Adapted from my Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

I like to keep these cookies covered after baking, so the frosting stays nice and soft!

Thank you for letting me share, Jen! I can’t wait to see the rest of the Happy Holidays projects!

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Thanks Melissa!! Those look SO delicious, don’t you think? I think anything with peppermint is the perfect thing to eat during the holidays!! And they are pretty enough to give as a gift to neighbors, friends or family! Melissa has tons of other great ideas on her blog, No. 2 Pencil. Here are a few of my favorite projects of hers:

These Mod Podge Fabric Frames turned out so cute! I love how she used the antique matte Mod Podge to give it that antique look!

Worried about having room enough room in your oven for all the Thankgiving goodies you want to make?

Her Sausage Apple Stuffing in a crockpot might be the perfect solution!

I absolutely love her idea to Freeze Cookie Dough for Gift Giving!! You could even let the kids help with this one!

Visit No. 2 Pencil and

Follow the HAPPY Holidays Event at Tatertots & Jello

all through the holidays with awesome tutorials, recipes, decorating ideas and more from some amazing blogs!

xoxo

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