This was a week of garden parties and I was asked
to make these lemon cookies from Cook's Illustrated.
I am always a little nervous about making something
I haven't made before, but these turned out beautifully.
I have never liked refrigerator cookies as they don't stay
round and beautiful so I searched the internet for ideas
and someone suggested using a paper towel roll to
refrigerate the cookies in so that they retain their
roundness.
That worked perfectly. I shaped the cookie dough into a log
and then wrapped it in parchment paper and placed it inside
the paper towel roll which I had opened up down the center
with a scissors.
Yes!! Nice and round refrigerator cookies.
The garden party had been scheduled for June but was rained
out. I had promised that I would sugar some of my flowers
to top the cookies with, to add to the garden theme. Well,
a month later, I hadn't pulled any of the pansies in the shady
areas, and I was able to have enough flowers to sugar for
two batches of cookies. I added a few rose petals in to get
the pretty pink flowers, and I sugared some mint leaves.
The mint leaves are so fun, they are like a piece of mint candy.
People thought they were too pretty to eat. I
had no problem eating a few. These were perfectly
lemon and soft and wonderful!
Lemon Iced Cookies Recipe
(from Cooks Illustrated)
3/4 C. granulated sugar
2 T. grated lemon zest plus 2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 C. unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
12 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Glaze
1 T. cream cheese, softened
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
In a food processor, pulse the sugar and lemon zest until
the sugar looks moist. Pulse in the flour, baking powder
and salt. Then add the butter and pulse it until it looks like
fine cornmeal. In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, egg yolk and vanilla.
Pour that in and pulse until mixed thoroughly and the dough forms
a ball.
Remove and roll into a log about 10 inches long. Wrap the
log in parchment paper and place inside a paper towel roll
that has been cut lengthwise down the center. Place in
the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 350 and cover pans with parchment paper.
Slice the log of dough into 3/8 inch slices, turning the log a
quarter turn with every slice so the log doesn't flatten.
Place the cookies on the parchment paper and bake for 12-13
minutes. I like a soft cookie with no brown edges. They
suggest baking at 375 for 14-16 minutes or until edges
are brown. Everyone likes their cookies different, so adjust
your heat and cooking time. I won't eat a cookie that has a
brown edge, so I chose lower heat and a lower cooking time.
Let cool on pan and then remove.
Stir the ingredients for the glaze together.
They call it a glaze, but it was more like a frosting.
Spoon a little on each cookie. Garnish as desired.
I garnished with sugared flowers.
Refrigerate since there is cream cheese in the frosting.
Sugared Flowers
Choose fresh flowers and mint leaves that are pesticide free.
Rinse the flowers in a bowl of water.
In a small bowl, mix 2 T. water with 2 tsp. Just Whites - a powdered
egg white product that you can find in your baking aisle.
Mix it well, it will be lumpy at first, but keep mixing with
a fork or a small whisk. When it is mostly blended,
pour it through a fine sieve. You don't want lumps.
Dip both sides of the petal in the egg white mix, then gently blot off
any excess egg white mix. You don't want blobs of sugar created by
too much liquid on the flower.
Hold the petals or leaves over a small bowl of sugar
and sprinkle sugar on both sides. Lay on parchment paper to
dry several hours or overnight.
I also brought Lemon Shortbread Truffles for
this garden party, and they were topped with
sugared violets that I had done earlier in the spring.
I had already blogged about these before, but they turned
out so much prettier with the violets on top, I had to
show them to you again.
(The table with the delicious Spa Waters made by Rache,l and my treats, before
more cookies and watermelon slices arrived.)
The party was at my friend Karen's beautiful home and yard. Karen is a Master Gardener and taught us about Cottage Gardening. Her yard is such a joy to be in. She loves
to spend hours in her garden and even has an aviary.
It was such a treat to be taught about gardening by Karen,
and to share in the beauty of her home and garden.
I hope you give these wonderful cookies a try. You don't
have to have sugared flowers on top for them to taste fantastic.
There is just something about lemons and summer!!
I will be posting this with
