Lemon Cookies

Spring time is here and Summer is on the way and I can’t think of a better cookie to capture the essence of this time of year more than a lemon cookie.

This particular cookie is a house favorite. The cookie is soft and sweet and balances nicely with the tartness of real lemon.

LEMON SUGAR:

1/2 cup of sugar

The zest of 1 lemon

In a small bowl, mix together the lemon zest and sugar. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

PREPARATION TIP:Use lemon sugar to top blueberry muffin batter before baking. Try some in your hot tea along side this buttery, lemony cookie for a perfect late night treat. Just remember not to use leftover lemon sugar that has been rolling with raw cookie dough. Just a precaution from food born illnesses.

LEMON COOKIE:

Yields: 19-20 two ounce cookies

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups of sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon lemon juice

The zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4-1/2 cup of the lemon sugar, recipe above.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light in color, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Add to the butter mixture and beat on high for another 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Once the eggs have been thoroughly incorporated, add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture.

Turn the mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute until the batter is cohesive. Scrape the sides of the bowl once during that minute.

Store the batter in the refrigerator for 4 hours or up to a week. The flour will absorb all the delicious lemon flavor if you give the dough a chance to rest. This is a good tip for all cookie dough batter.

PREPARATION TIP: Pre-roll all your cookie dough, tightly wrap the dough and store it in a labeled freezer bag. You can bake the cookies straight from the freezer. You may have to add an additional minute to the cooking time. Frozen batter will last about 2-3 weeks.

When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

I like to weigh my cookie dough with a kitchen scale to ensure even baking. I measure 2 ounces for each cookie. You could also use a 1/4 cup scoop of cookie dough.

After measuring your cookie dough, roll the dough in the lemon sugar and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Squish the dough down with a heavy glass and repeat with each ball of dough.

Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are light brown.

LEMON GLAZE:

3 cups of powedered sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

About 5 tablespoons of lemon juice

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and sugar. Add the lemon juice, one tablespoon at at time until you get a nice thick glaze. When the cookies have just about cooled, pour the glaze over the cookies.

Let the cookies dry for several hours or up to overnight. This will keep the cookies from sticking together while being stored.