Monday, April 25, 2011

Lemonade Cookies!!

We are quite partial to lemon everything in this family and I had not yet posted a recipe for lemon cookies.  I actually have another one in the works, but these were requested first.  I call them lemonade cookies because to me, that is what they taste like.  A bit tart and tangy and a bit sweet in each bite and I hope you like them.

Lemonade Cookies
Ingredients:
  • 2 tbsp. grated fresh lemon zest (or 1 1/2 tsp. Penzey's Powdered Lemon Peel)
  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (I use Trader Joe's Organic)
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar PLUS 1 cup in a bowl for rolling cookies in
  • 1/4 to 1/3 lemon juice, fresh (about 1 lemon worth)
  • 1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp. Lemon Extract (If you do not have this on hand, omit.  Penzey's is fine.  If using Boyajian, reduce to 1/2 tsp.)
  • 4 egg yolks at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
  • 1 cup cake flour (King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
Separately for glazing:
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp. milk at room temperature
  • 1 tsp. Lemon Extract
Directions:
  1. In a large bowl, sift flours, salt, baking soda and Cream of Tartar, set aside.
  2. In a stand mixer, combine lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups sugar and butter until creamy.  Scrape sides if needed.
  3. Add lemon juice and mix.  Add vanilla and lemon extracts and mix.
  4. Add egg yolks, one at a time and mix until just combined.
  5. Add flour mixture in two parts to avoid flour/dust cloud and mix until just combined.
  6. Scrape sides down, cover bowl and let dough chill for 1-2 hours or overnight.
  7. When dough is chilled, transfer to a floured surface.
  8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare baking sheets with either parchment paper or Silpats.
  9. Make 1 inch round balls and roll in 1 cup granulated sugar in a bowl or on a plate.
  10. Place balls 3 inches apart on cookie sheet.
  11. Smoosh balls to 1/4 inch thick disks.
  12. Bake for 7 minutes, turn cookie sheets and bake for an additional 7-8 minutes.  The edges will brown slightly.
  13. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and repeat until all cookies are made.
  14. In a bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and lemon extract with a fork.
  15. Use fork to drizzle glaze onto cookies.  Let the glaze set for about 15 minutes before serving.
 Makes about 30 cookies.