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:
- In a large bowl, sift flours, salt, baking soda and Cream of Tartar, set aside.
- In a stand mixer, combine lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups sugar and butter until creamy. Scrape sides if needed.
- Add lemon juice and mix. Add vanilla and lemon extracts and mix.
- Add egg yolks, one at a time and mix until just combined.
- Add flour mixture in two parts to avoid flour/dust cloud and mix until just combined.
- Scrape sides down, cover bowl and let dough chill for 1-2 hours or overnight.
- When dough is chilled, transfer to a floured surface.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking sheets with either parchment paper or Silpats.
- Make 1 inch round balls and roll in 1 cup granulated sugar in a bowl or on a plate.
- Place balls 3 inches apart on cookie sheet.
- Smoosh balls to 1/4 inch thick disks.
- Bake for 7 minutes, turn cookie sheets and bake for an additional 7-8 minutes. The edges will brown slightly.
- Transfer to a wire cooling rack and repeat until all cookies are made.
- In a bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and lemon extract with a fork.
- Use fork to drizzle glaze onto cookies. Let the glaze set for about 15 minutes before serving.
Makes about 30 cookies.
