Cookies to Smile About

My 7th grade daughter just left for school and she looked fabulous.

It is school picture day and I just can't believe how much more fashion sense she has than I did at her age. I would be way too embarrassed to post a picture of my 7th grade picture-how my mother let me out the door with what I wore that day I will never know. I wore a hideous blue tie-dye like blouse with a blue vest over it, a hand crocheted necklace (which I handily crafted myself) and here's the kicker-pinball wizard T-shirt earrings (earrings shaped like a T-shirt with pinball wizard emblazoned across the shirt. I was a die-hard Elton John fan and I wore them proudly just about every day those first few months of 7th grade.

Here they are.... (You didn't think I'd throw them away did you?? You can't find stuff like this anymore!!)

I think I am having the hardest time getting back in the "back-to-school" mode-my kids seem fine. After a summer of meals on a whim, it's hard to get into early breakfasts and packing school lunches. Yesterday we baked an old stand-by favorite-a recipe that I created for a Betty Crocker cookie contest a couple of years ago: Caribbean Lime Coolers. The cookies didn't win the grand prize, but they are now a family favorite and I think that's something to smile about too.

The cookies use a supermarket staple for us-Betty Crocker Cookie mixes; the mixes are quick and easy to use and they are easy to modify to create your "own" favorite cookie. When I created my cookie I was inspired by a cookie my mother used to pack in my lunch when I was a kid-Sunshine Lemon Coolers. You can't find them in the stores any more (as if I didn't age myself enough with the Pinball Wizard earrings) so I created my own. The cookies work equally well with lemon or lime.

Picture is from the Betty Crocker web site

Caribbean Lime Coolers

1 (17.5 ounce) package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
1 tablespoon - lime zest
3 tablespoons – lime juice
1/2 cup – shredded coconut
6 tablespoons – melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup – Confectioner’s powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir cookie mix, lime zest, lime juice, coconut, melted butter and 1 egg in a medium bowl until a soft dough forms.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart on an ungreased 11 x 16 inch cookie sheet.

Bake cookies for 9-12 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool cookies 1 minute before removing from baking sheet. Cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over the cookies.
Makes about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies.