Lemon Butter Cookies
I am a big lemon fan. Everything tastes better with lemon, including these basic butter cookies. Add lemon to the dough and lemon to the icing and you have a soft, buttery cookie treat, packed with flavor. With a hint of food coloring in the icing, these cookies can earn a spot on your holiday favorites list.
Prep dough: 25 minutes dough Chill dough: 2 hours Roll & cut: 20 minutes Bake: 12-14 minutes Bake at: 350° Spread icing: 20 minutes
Makes: 3 dozen 2" cookies Pan: baking sheet Difficulty: intermediate
Ingredients:
Cookie Dough:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (126g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
6 tablespoons (78g) sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind (1/2 lemon)
Lemon Icing:1 1/4 cups (140g) powdered sugar, sifted1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind (1/2 lemon)Up to 5 teaspoons milk
Directions:
To make cookie dough: Begin by sifting together flour and salt in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer at medium speed to cream butter until whipped, about 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar with mixer running and then beat 1 minute more. Add egg yolk, vanilla, and lemon rind, and blend. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in two parts and stir until just combined.
Form the dough into a tight ball and flatten slightly with your hand. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Pre-heat the oven to 350°.
Placed the dough ball on a floured surface and let sit for 5-10 minutes until dough is just malleable. Roll out to 1/4" thickness. Cut into 2" rounds and place 1" apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes. Cookies will be pale, but dry on top. Use longer baking time for crisper cookie. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Let cool completely before spreading icing.
To make icing: Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add vanilla, lemon rind, and 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) of the milk. Use a fork to beat together until combined. Add a small amount of milk, if needed, to make a spreadable, but very thick icing. Spread a thin layer on the tops of cookies, leaving a small margin around the edge. Let icing set until hard, about 1 hour.
Store for 4 days or freeze in tins between layers of wax paper for up to 3 weeks.
Tips:
- If you prefer not to add extra flour to your dough, roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper.
- For more intense flavor, use 1 teaspoon lemon rind in the cookie dough and up to 1 1/2 teaspoons if you omit the icing.
- Cookies can be made simple and plain to serve with tea. For a tea cookie, you can omit the icing.
- Change flavors by substituting orange rind for lemon.
- You can leave out the lemon rind and flavor instead with almond or maple extract.
- For a holiday cookie, use a small amount of food coloring in the icing.