Lemon Semolina Cookies Recipes

MOM'S LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest and extract. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours., Preheat oven to 375°. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned, 7-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

MOROCCAN SEMOLINA AND ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Position racks to divide the oven into thirds, and heat it to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a bowl, whisk together semolina, almond flour, baking powder and salt.
• Put sugar in bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer. Finely grate lemon zest over sugar, then rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is moist and fragrant. Add eggs and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. With mixer running, pour oil down side of the bowl and beat for another 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla and orange blossom water, if using. Turn off mixer, add half the dry ingredients and mix them in on low speed, then add the rest, mixing only until dry ingredients disappear into the dough, which will be thick.
• Sift some confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. For each cookie, spoon out a level tablespoon of dough, roll it between your palms to form a ball and dredge in sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets, then use your thumb to push down the center of each cookie, pressing firmly enough to make an indentation and to cause the edges to crack.
• Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, rotating pans top to bottom and front to back after 8 minutes, or until cookies are ever so lightly colored: They will be golden on the bottom, puffed, dramatically cracked and just firm to the touch. Carefully lift the cookies off sheets and onto racks. Cookies will keep for about 4 days in a covered container at room temperature.

LEMON SEMOLINA COOKIES

Steps:

• Using a grater, grate lemon peels, removing only the yellow part.
• Place the grated peel in a mixing bowl.
• Squeeze the lemon juice and set aside in a small bowl.
• Combine the butter, vanilla, sugar and salt in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, if you have one, and beat together at medium speed until creamy.
• Add the egg, ½ cup lemon juice and grated rind and beat until incorporated.
• Reserve any extra lemon juice for another use.
• Decrease speed to slow and add the semolina and then the flour, beating until just incorporated.
• Turn the dough onto a marble or wooden work surface and divide it into 2 balls.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
• When chilled, remove from the refrigerator and roll each ball into a log 2-inches in diameter.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Working on a marble or wooden surface, unwrap the dough log and cut into rounds about ½-inch thick.
• Sprinkle each round with a little sugar and lightly flatten the rounds with a rolling pin.
• Place the rounds on an unbuttered cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Bake the cookies on the middle rack of an oven for about 10 minutes, or until the surface starts to crack slightly.
• Remove from the oven and let cool.
• The cookies will harden as they cool.

CREAMY LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 baking sheets lightly.
• Combine 3 tablespoons white sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice together in a small bowl.
• Beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat egg yolks, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and vanilla extract into butter mixture. Add flour, half-and-half, and baking soda; stir until dough is just combined.
• Roll dough into walnut-size balls, coating each in the lemon sugar mixture and allowing excess to drip off. Place 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes more.

LEMON MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the meringue: Heat oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together both sugars.
• Working with an electric mixer, beat the egg white, vinegar and salt on medium-high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. Once the sugar is incorporated, beat 2 minutes more; you'll have stiff, glossy, white peaks. Put the meringue on the baking sheet and spread it 1/4-inch thick. (It will cover only a small part of the sheet.)
• Bake the meringue undisturbed for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, prop open the oven door and let it dry for 1 hour. When you're ready to use it, chop it into pieces about the size of chocolate chips. Precision doesn't matter.
• Make the shortbread: Working with a mixer (use the paddle if it's a stand mixer), beat the butter, both sugars and the salt on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until smooth but not fluffy. On low speed, beat in the yolks, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add the flour in three additions, mixing on low until the dough comes together in large clumps. Turn out the dough and knead it into a ball. Cut the ball in half.
• Shape each half into a 6-inch log. Wrap it and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You could also freeze it for up to 2 months; leave it on the counter for 1 hour before baking.)
• When you're ready to bake the cookies, heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 1 or 2 muffin tins with butter (or nonstick baking spray).
• Slice each log into 12 rounds (each 1/2-inch thick); drop one into each muffin cup. (If you don't have enough tins, you can work in batches.)
• Bake for 21 to 23 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown around the rims. Transfer the tin(s) to a rack, cool for 5 minutes, then lift the cookies out and onto racks; cool to room temperature.
• Just before serving, top each cookie with lemon curd, then top with ample chunks of meringue, pressing them into the curd. The meringue will keep in a cool, dry place for a few days, and the cookies can be kept at room temperature for about 3 days. But once you top the cookies, they're best eaten soon after.