Lemon Cookies with Lemon Glaze
These lemon cookies were great treats for the summer. The cookies themselves were crisp on the edges, soft and cakey in the middle, and full of lemon flavour. But one thing I really liked about them was that they were incredibly soft and puffy in the middle.
The lemon glaze was what really topped these cookies off. Although the cookies were delicious without it, the glaze turned the cookies special, if you know what I mean. Without the glaze, they were still very yummy, but they were quite plain by themselves. And the lemon glaze made them fancier... :) Unfortunately though, I didn't have enough lemon juice so I had to make do with only a tiny amount of glaze. That is why only two of the cookies are glazed in the photos. :(
I never tried making lemon glaze before (other than this time) because I had thought it would be too sweet. Cookies were sweet enough so glazing them would only make them excessively sweet. But that was not the result once I glazed those lemon cookies. It just brought out the fresh lemon flavour better. Oh, and the glaze hardened pretty quickly at room temperature, which is what you want. But I wonder why that happens? I only mixed together powdered sugar and lemon juice, so why should they harden? Things like melted chocolate should harden, of course, but why does lemon juice mixed together with powdered sugar do that?
Anyways, the next time I bake these cookies, I'm going to make an adequate amount of that fresh lemon glaze to have some fun decorating!
Lemon Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Yields 19 Cookies)
Ingredients
FOR THE LEMON COOKIES
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 tbsp. corn starch
-1/4 tsp. baking soda
-pinch of salt
-90g butter, room-temp.
-1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. white granulated sugar
-zest of 1 lemon
-1 large egg, room-temp.
-1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
-1 tsp. vanilla sugar
FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
-3/4 cup powdered sugar
-1 1/2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
FOR THE LEMON COOKIES
Before starting, line two baking pans with parchment paper.
1. Sift together flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt, and vanilla sugar. Give it a whisk and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir butter with a wooden spoon until creamy.
3. Add lemon zest into sugar and rub it in with fingers. Add lemon sugar to butter in 3 additions, whisking by hand until pale and fluffy after each addition.
4. Add the egg and whisk until soft and creamy.
5. Whisk in lemon juice.
Preheat your oven at this point to 180 degrees C.
6. Add the dry ingredients and cut it in with a spatula until a soft dough forms.
7. Scoop the dough out and roll them into balls.
8. Place balls on two baking pans lined with parchment paper and flatten them ever so slightly.
9. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes until browned around the edges.
FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
1. Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until it becomes a drizzleable consistency. Adjust the amounts of lemon juice and powdered sugar if needed.
2. With a spoon, drizzle some lemon glaze on the lemon cookies.
3. Let the glaze set at room-temperature.
Enjoy the cookies!
Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy. http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/01/glazed-lemon-cookies/