Lemon Sugar Cookies

http://www.marthastewart.com/333938/old-fashioned-sugar-cookies

I made Lemon Sugar Cookies, it's fresh out of the oven cooling and they smell lovely. I didn't have a lemon but I did have lime. I have a cheese grater and they don't grate zest very well, so I only got a teaspoon overfull of lime zest from 2 limes, but I did get a tablespoon of juice from half of a lime. I didn't know what to do with the other half so I just squeeze some extra juice into the butter/sugar mixture. I had no idea what was sanding sugar so I just used brown sugar to sprinkle on some of the cookies.

These taste pretty good. A buttery flavor with zesty tang. My cookies were moist, soft, and not too sweet. I'm also happy that they're not bitter!

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened

2 large eggs

Sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.

Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.

Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop;  space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.

Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Butter Dip Biscuits

http://www.thecountrycook.net/2012/02/butter-dip-biscuits.html
There's step by step picture on the link.

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter (see notes below)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk (see notes below)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F degrees.

Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a microwave-safe bowl (or you can use the baking dish that you'll be baking these in), melt stick of butter in the microwave.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Pour in the buttermilk.  Stir until a loose dough forms. Dough will be sticky.

Press biscuit dough into baking dish (right on top of the melted butter).
It is easiest to spread it out with your hands.

Take a sharp knife and cut the biscuit dough into 9 squares before baking.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, rotating once during baking.

If you notice that some of the butter that is coming up to the top is getting brown, just take a paper towel and dab around the edges a bit.

Oven times do vary since different ovens have different hot spots, but basically biscuits should be golden brown on top and spring back to the touch.

Cook’s Note:  
I really recommend only using buttermilk with these but if all you have on hand is regular milk then you can use that (just not skim milk, that stuff is far too watery).  Keep in mind though that when you use regular milk, you'll have to cut back on the amount you use because regular milk is much thinner than buttermilk. You may need to use about 1 1/4 cups - 1 1/2 cups (start with less, you can always add more in). The buttermilk adds such great flavor to these biscuits so if you can get your hands on some, definitely give it a try. Also, if you use salted butter, make sure you leave out the additional salt that is added to the dough.