Recipe For Lemon Cream Shortbread Cookies

LEMON SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until combined. Blend in lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla.
• Stir flour and salt into butter mixture. Transfer mixture to waxed paper or plastic wrap. Roll into a log (for slicing cookies) or shape into a disk (for using cutters); wrap dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies using a 2-inch round cutter and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. (Or slice cookies and arrange on baking sheets). Gather and reroll dough scraps.
• Bake in preheated oven until edges are pale golden, but not browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 2 minutes. Remove to a rack and let cool completely.

LEMON-BUTTER SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sift or whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
• Place butter in a large mixing bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until very creamy. Add confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and flour mixture; mix until well combined.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into rounds using a round cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are light brown on the bottom but still very light on top, about 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
• Whisk melted butter and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Add lemon zest and whisk again. Whisk in confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time. Add more lemon juice if necessary for a thin consistency.
• Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze and transfer to a wire rack placed over waxed paper or parchment paper. Allow cookies to sit until glaze has set, about 2 hours.
• Store cookies in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper.

LEMON SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in lemon zest and vanilla. Combine the flour, cornstarch, nutmeg, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. (Dough will be crumbly.) Shape into a ball., On a lightly floured surface, press dough to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 1-in. fluted cookie cutter; place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick cookies with a fork. Reroll scraps if desired. , Bake until firm, 12-15 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before carefully removing to wire racks to cool completely. , Combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice; drizzle over cookies. Store in an airtight container.

LEMON COOKIES WITH LEMON CREAM FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cut two pieces of parchment to fit your baking sheet(s). Using a round cookie cutter create a template by drawing 1 ½-inch circles, about 1-inch apart, on one side of the parchment. Turn the paper over so the circles are on the bottom. Repeat with the second sheet of parchment. Set aside.
• Fit a large pastry bag with a large open decorator tip and set aside.

LEMON CREAM SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Mix all the cookie ingredients, in order listed, using an electric mixer.
• 2. Roll dough into small balls, and press onto an ungreased cookie sheet using your thumb to flatten middle, leaving indent in the center.
• 3. If you don't want frosting (but the frosting IS WONDERFUL!) you can sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cinnamon sugar before baking.
• 4. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees F, for 8-10 min. For harder cookie, you may bake longer, till edges brown some. (But they're better soft!)
• 5. Make Lemon Cream Frosting by mixing all the ingredients with an electric mixer, adding water at the end as needed in small amounts, until it is a smooth spreading consistency. This makes slightly more than you need to frost the cookies. I usually free-hand the frosting amounts and am guessing on measurements, so feel free to adjust amounts as you'd like. If you add too much water, just add more powdered sugar. Frostings like this are very forgiving. I use an oil-based, alcohol free lemon extract for the frosting, so I can add as much as I want without getting an alcohol taste. If you don't have that, more lemon juice should work if you want to strengthen the lemon flavor beyond a teaspoon or so of extract.