Watermelon Cookies

Joanne Fluke's recipes are terrific.  They are fun and easy to follow - and taste really good!  Using Joanne's recipe from Apple Turnover Murder, I whipped these cookies up for Mike's homecoming late on a Friday night.  He gobbled them up!  I confess I ate a few of them myself in a 24-hour period.  That's why I brought the rest to the airport to give to the guys.  Too much temptation for us!  But, they were welcoming treat for Mike, so they served their purpose as far as I'm concerned. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 package watermelon Kool-Aid powder.  (Do not buy the kind with added sugar or sugar substitute.)
• 1 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups softened butter (about 2 1/2 sticks)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Red food coloring (optional)
• 1/2 cup white sugar in a bowl (for rolling the dough in)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Spritz a cookie sheet with non-stick buttery spray.
• Mix the watermelon Kool Aid with the white sugar.
• Blend in the softened butter until fluffy.
• Mix the eggs in well.
• Mix in food coloring to desired color. (Depending on which flavor of Kool Aid you use, you may not need food coloring.  The watermelon flavor is clear, so I added red coloring to give the cookies a pretty pink hue.)
• Mix in the salt and baking soda.
• Mix in the flour in half- or one-cup increments until all the flour has been mixed in.
• Roll dough into one-inch balls or use a cookie scooper.
• Roll the cookie balls in sugar and place on cookie.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or til the cookies are just beginning to turn golden around the edges.
• Let the cookies cool for one minute and then move them to wire racks to cool completely.