Description
A light twist on a holiday classic, this recipe for Lemon Shortbread Cookies doubles, triples and multiplies as deep as ten times in a snap. Those sugary edges are very popular with cookie monsters!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1/4 cup coarse sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Cream together butter and icing sugar in bowl, either by hand with a wooden spoon or using an electric mixer – until smooth. Add lemon zest and vanilla and beat lightly. Then add flour and coarse salt and mix just until blended. Dough should be the texture of a course meal and bind easily together with fingertips.
- Transfer dough to large piece of plastic wrap and roll into a smooth log, approximately 1 ½ inches in diameter, then wrap it tightly with your plastic wrap, twisting the ends to ensure your cookie dough retains moisture then refrigerate until firm; minimum 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Pour coarse sugar into a low, shallow bowl and reserve. Remove dough from fridge, and unwrap on a clean cutting board, cut dough horizontally into 1/4-inch disks. Quickly press each cookie slice in the coarse sugar, being sure to roll the sides so it’s evenly coated. Bake off one test cookie on a parchment lined baking sheet, to test oven temperature, timing and spread (target time: 12 – 15 minutes). While your test cookie is in the oven, slice the rest of your dough and place about 1-inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet, then return tray to the fridge, and chill cookies until ready to slip immediately into the oven. (Ideally, about 10 minutes.)
- Bake cookies in 350°F (175°C) oven to until edges and bottom are barely golden around edges; about 12 – 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. Store Lemon Shortbread Cookies in an airtight container, away from cookie monsters!
Notes
- Knife Work: You should get between 12 and fifteen cookies, to gage size I often mark the mid point on my dough and score each cookie slice before I cut, for even results.
- Plan ahead: You can make a batch or two of Lemon Shortbread Cookies ahead of time because they store beautifully in a roll in your fridge for a week or more and this dough freezes well too! Then you can bake them quickly whenever you want.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American