Homemade Gifts for Summer

Summer is here and you know what that means: moving season! It’s a time for new neighbors, new friends, and the neighborhood barbeque. Nothing will make a better first impression or say a bigger thank you than a homemade gift. If you are looking for something simple and easy to give to your new neighbors, look no further than this fun recipe.

 

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When you think of summer, you probably think of hot days, long nights, and cold lemonade. A great way to capture the essence of summer into a little gift for the neighbors is with lemon shortbread cookies. Lemon shortbread cookies are light, buttery, and they have a little zing of lemon to them that makes them simply irresistible. For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 2/3 cup of flour
• 1/3 cup of cornstarch
•  2 sticks of butter at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ½ cup of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of lemon zest

Preheat your oven to 325˚. Mix the flour, cornstarch, and salt together in a bowl. In your mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the vanilla and lemon zest. Slowly add the flour mix into the bowl and stir until it is combined. Take the dough, and roll it out into about 1/4” thickness. Cut the dough into shapes with whatever cookie cutter you want, and place on your parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes until lightly browned, and then place them on a wire rack to cool. When they have completely cooled, you can ice them with lemon zest icing, or even just regular.

Now that you have made the neighbors a tasty thank you, it’s time to package them up correctly. Take a stack of cookies and put them in a mason jar. Attach the seal, and lay a square of yellow fabric over the top of it. Use the band and screw that over the top of the fabric. Take 7” lengths of ribbons, preferably yellow, and tie that around the band to hide the metal. Simple, easy, and cute: this is the perfect summertime gift for you to give to friends, family, and neighbors.