Day 55 - Lime Poppy Seed Cookies

     Have I told you that I hate driving into the high school parking lot?  Yeah, I know I have.  34 days ago to be exact, in my Créme Brulée post.  So, today I decided that I hate being in the parking lot in the afternoon almost as much as in the morning.  I had to meet my daughter in front of the school to drop off a paper she needed to bring to the office and driving to find a spot was just a wee bit tricky because at times, I felt as if I was a salmon swimming upstream.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  I know the kids are excited to be out of school and can't wait to high tail it out of there because I was the same way when the bell rang.  Oh, wait.  That's right.  I rarely ever went home when the bell rang because I was always staying after for field hockey or drama.  But anyway, I can imagine how they feel.  Freedom.  The teenager cherishes it, especially if they have their own car.  Now, I'm not going to generalize and say ALL teenagers at the school are this way because there are absolutely wonderful kids that attend who I am absolutely in love with.  They are wonderful people.  There are others however who do not care one iota (wow, haven't used that word in years and looking it up discovered that it is the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet - Greek: Ιώτα [jota] Yota/Jota.  Who knew?) about who is in their way as they embark on their mission to escape the clutches of that menacing fortress.  (Ooh, that sounds dark and ominous.)  So, I kind of felt like I was playing dodge ball, but with cars.  Kids flying down the lanes as I was trying to back out, kids backing out without looking while I was flying, (NO!, kidding) down the lane.  No accidents, no fender benders to tell you about, just my frustration dealing with people who care for no one but themselves.  And remember, I do not generalize.  Gee, I sound like a really angry person, don't I?  I'm not, really.  Something has to REALLY push my buttons to make me upset and that doesn't happen too often, but when it does...

     I had a lime leftover from yesterday's dinner, and since I've been making all things lemon, I thought I'd add a touch of lime to something (uh oh, cue the song...well, here's the video.  Enjoy the momentary break!).

Sorry, that song just popped into my head when I typed lime.  And I loved this show growing up - watched it every week!  I adapted this recipe from the New York Cookbook by Molly O'Neill and they are listed as Aunt Hetty's Poppy Seed Cookies.

     Lime Poppy Seed Cookies - makes about 36 cookies

     1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

     1 1/8 teaspoons baking powder

     ¼ cup poppy seeds

     6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

     ½ cup sugar

     2 large eggs

     ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

     ½ teaspoon almond extract

     juice of ½ lime

     Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Lightly butter two cookie sheets.

     In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and poppy seeds.  Set aside.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and lime juice and beat at low speed until smooth.  With the mixer continuing to run on low, gradually add the dry ingredients.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix for an additional minute. 

Using one teaspoon of the dough at a time, shape into little balls.  Place them about 2 inches apart on the buttered cookie sheets.  Flatten the balls with the palm of your hand to make the them ¼ inch thick.  Dip your palm in cold water if dough begins to stick.  Bake 20 minutes, til slightly golden.  Cool on wire racks and allow to cool completely.

     My husband and son loved these cookies.  My daughter is going gluten free, so couldn't eat them.  I wasn't too nuts about them.  The guys think they should be rated 3 rolling pins and my rating system is on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  I give them a 2.5 rolling pin rating.  So, I could combine them and give them a 2.75, but we'll stick with the 3.  I tasted the almond flavoring more so than the lime and I really liked that, but as poppy seeds will do, they settled into the spaces between my teeth.  Not that I have large spaces, haha, just the nooks and crannies.  You know what I'm talking about.

     Happy baking!