Lemon Frosting Cookies

I hate kitchen waste. I try to recycle as much as I can and I try to make use of all my ingredients if possible. I had quite a lot of leftover lemon buttercream frosting from making these lemon cupcakes and some leftover cream cheese from making these nutella whoopie pies. So I got to thinking about what I could do with them apart from eating it straight from the bowl. Yes that was a very viable option! Anyway, I started thinking about my frosting which is basically butter and sugar with some lemon juice. That sounded like the basis of a cookie to me - add some flour, an egg, leftover cream cheese and more lemon zest and you'll have cookies. Leftover lemon frosting cookies to be exact. I was really surprised at how well the cookies turned out. They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with the distinct taste and zing of lemon. I ate 3 straight from the oven as they were highly addictive!

I'm entering this to No Waste Food Challenge which is guest hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary and created by Kate from Turquoise Lemons. The theme this month is anything goes.

I'm also entering it to Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior.  This is a simple recipe using basic ingredients including homemade vanilla extract.

Addendum 24/8/13 - I am also entering this to Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. This challenge was created by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla from Fab Food 4 all. This recipe uses up a lot of leftovers so it's perfect for the challenge.

 leftover cream cheese, leftover lemon buttercream icing and lemon

 the dough is soft and sticky but don't worry as it bakes beautifully 

Leftover Lemon Frosting Cookies

Approximately 120-150g of leftover lemon buttercream frosting (I forgot to weigh it so it's a rough estimate)
60g cream cheese (optional)
185g flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
20g caster sugar (I was worried that the lemon would be very tart)

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Grease and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
• Place the leftover frosting, cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixer and mix well (or mix by hand)
• Add in the egg.
• Add in vanilla extract and lemon zest.
• Finally stir in the flour and bicarbonate of soda.
• Place small scoops of dough spaced apart on a baking tray.
• Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
• Allow to cool on baking tray.