Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies

This recipe is not for diet, you can eat it on diet-resting days.

These cookies freeze well. Just remember to double wrap them in freezer bags and place them in a sturdy freezer container. When defrosting remove them from all wrapping and let defrost uncovered. 

Ingredients

1 stick of butter room temperature
1 eight ounce box of cream cheese room temperature
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 box lemon cake mix (I use Duncan Hines lemon supreme)
1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

• Cream butter and cream cheese with mixer. Add egg, lemon juice and lemon zest; mix until combined on low. Add the lemon cake mix in three parts mixing until combined after each part.
• Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.
• Roll into 1 inch balls and roll through the powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper.
• Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool for two minutes and remove to cookie cooling racks. When fully cool dust with more powdered sugar.

Useful informations

The citron is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind, botanically classified as Citrus medica by both the Swingle and Tanaka botanical name systems. It is one of the four original citrus fruits (the others being pomelo, mandarin and papeda), from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization.

From ancient through medieval times, the citron was used mainly for medical purposes: to combat seasickness, pulmonary troubles, intestinal ailments, scurvy and other disorders. The essential oil of the flavedo (the outermost, pigmented layer of rind) was also regarded as an antibiotic. Citron juice with wine was considered an effective antidote to poison, as Theophrastus reported. In the Ayurvedic system of medicine, the juice is still used for treating conditions like nausea, vomiting, and excessive thirst.

The juice of the citron has a high Vitamin C content and used medicinally as an anthelmintic, appetizer, tonic, in cough, rheumatism, vomiting, flatulence, haemorrhoids, skin diseases and weak eyesight.

There is an increasing market for the citron for the soluble fiber (pectin) found in its thick albedo.

Despite the variation among the cultivars, authorities agree the citron is an old and original species. There is molecular evidence that all other cultivated citrus species arose by hybridization among four ancestral types, which are the citron, pomelo, mandarin and some papedas. The citron is believed to be the purest of them all, since it is usually fertilized by self-pollination, and is therefore generally considered to be a male parent of any citrus hybrid rather than a female one.

Today, authorities agree that all citrus species are native to Southeast Asia, where they are found wild and in an uncultivated form. The story of how they spread to the Mediterranean has been reported by Francesco Calabrese, Henri Chapot, Samuel Tolkowsky, Elizabetta Nicolisi, and others.

The citron could also be native to India where it borders on Burma, in valleys at the foot of the Himalayas, and in the Indian Western Ghats. not in citation given It is thought that by the time of Theophrastus, the citron was mostly cultivated in the Persian Gulf on its way to the Mediterranean basin, where it was cultivated during the later centuries in different areas as described by Erich Isaac Many mention the role of Alexander the Great and his armies as they attacked Persia and what is today Pakistan, as being responsible for the spread of the citron westward, reaching the European countries such as Macedonia and Italy.

In the east and south there are special plants... i.e. in Media and Persia there are many types of fruit, between them there is a fruit called Median or Persian Apple. The tree has a leaf similar to and almost identical with that of the andrachn (Arbutus andrachne L.), but has thorns like those of the apios (the wild pear, Pyrus amygdaliformis Vill.) or the firethorn (Cotoneaster pyracantha Spach.), except that they are white, smooth, sharp and strong. The fruit is not eaten, but is very fragrant, as is also the leaf of the tree; and the fruit is put among clothes, it keeps them from being moth-eaten. It is also useful when one has drunk deadly poison, for when it is administered in wine; it upsets the stomach and brings up the poison. It is also useful to improve the breath, for if one boils the inner part of the fruit in a dish or squeezes it into the mouth in some other medium, it makes the breath more pleasant.

The seed is removed from the fruit and sown in the spring in carefully tilled beds, and it is watered every fourth or fifth day. As soon the plant is strong it is transplanted, also in the spring, to a soft, well watered site, where the soil is not very fine, for it prefers such places.

And it bears its fruit at all seasons, for when some have gathered, the flower of the others is on the tree and is ripening others. Of the flowers I have said those that have a sort of distaff [meaning the pistil] projecting from the middle are fertile, while those that do not have this are sterile. It is also sown, like date palms, in pots punctured with holes.

This tree, as has been remarked, grows in Media and Persia.

They're a Good Source of Fiber

Citrus fruits are a good source of fiber. Just one cup of orange segments contains four grams of fiber.

To put that in perspective, it's recommended that you consume 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you eat. It's estimated that only 4% of men and 13% of women in the US get that amount.

Fiber has several health benefits, including improving digestive health and aiding weight loss.

Oranges are particularly high in soluble fiber, the kind of fiber that helps lower cholesterol levels.

Compared to other fruits and vegetables, citrus fruits are unique in that they have a higher ratio of soluble to insoluble fiber.

Citrus Fruits Are Low in Calories

If you're watching your calorie intake, citrus fruits are a good choice.

They're low in calories, yet their water and fiber contents help fill you up.

Here's how many calories the main kinds of citrus fruits contain:

1 small clementine: 35
1 medium orange: 62
1/2 pink grapefruit: 52
1/2 white grapefruit: 39
Juice from 1 lemon: 12

What's more, a 2015 study that looked at people's eating habits and weight over 24 years found that eating citrus fruits was linked to weight loss.

They May Reduce Your Risk of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are painful mineral crystals.

They can form when your urine is very concentrated or when you have higher-than-normal amounts of stone-forming minerals in your urine.

One type of kidney stone is caused by low levels of citrate in urine.

Many fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, can raise the levels of citrate in your urine, lowering the risk of kidney stones.

Drinking citrus juices and eating these fruits can offer a natural alternative to potassium citrate supplements.

According to data on American eating habits over the last 40 years, kidney stones are more common in people who eat fewer citrus fruits.

They Contain Nutrients That Boost Heart Health

Eating citrus fruits could be good for your heart.

In fact, a Japanese study found that people who ate higher amounts of these fruits had lower rates of heart disease and stroke.

Furthermore, a 2017 review suggests that grapefruits are linked to a decrease in systolic blood pressure.

Several compounds in citrus fruits can improve markers of heart health.

For example, their soluble fiber and flavonoids may improve cholesterol levels by raising "good" HDL cholesterol and lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

And many of the flavonoids in citrus fruits, including one called naringin, are strong antioxidants that benefit the heart in several ways.

They May Protect Your Brain

The flavonoids in citrus fruits may help ward off neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which result from the breakdown of cells in the nervous system.

In part, these diseases are caused by inflammation.

Flavonoids found in citrus fruits have anti-inflammatory capabilities that are thought to help protect against the chain of events that causes the nervous system to deteriorate.

Specific types of flavonoids, including hesperidin and apigenin, have been shown to protect brain cells and improve brain function in mice and test-tube studies.

Several studies in older adults have also shown that citrus juices may boost brain function.

The Bottom Line

There are many reasons to eat citrus fruits.

They're nutritious and contain plant compounds that can protect against a variety of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, brain dysfunction and kidney stones.

But aim to consume whole fruits, rather than a lot of fruit juice, as its high sugar content can lead to problems.

Overall, citrus fruits are healthy, low in calories and convenient to eat. Most people could benefit from adding more citrus to their diet.