Lemon Bar Cookies

I love anything lemon.  I don’t know why, but I rarely make lemon desserts, even though I love them so much.  Lemon bars take the cake, and while I’ve made a few vegan lemon bars in my day that are really tasty, it’s hard for any of the them to come close to the bars my mom used to make.

Speaking of my mom, these cookies are from a little stocking-stuffer Cookie baking book that she bought for me years ago.  None of the recipes are vegan, but most of them are pretty easy to vegan-ize, and the recipes I’ve made so far have been fantastic – including these amazing cookies.  Ryan told me they’re the best cookies I’ve ever made, and I make a LOT of cookies…

I think that these are called frosted lime wafers in the book, but you can substitute lemon, as I did.  Or stick with the lime instead if you prefer.  I’m sure it would be really tasty, and they’d make a great dessert for taco night!

I’m calling these Lemon Bar cookies because the shortbread-like cookie and tart/sweet lemon glaze taste just like a little bite of lemon bar to me.  Here’s my vegan version…

Lemon Bar Cookies

Cookies

6 ounces margarine

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze

1 cup sifted confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For cookies, beat margarine in a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer.  Add the sugar, baking soda and lemon zest, and beat until combined.  Beat in lemon juice.  Add the flour and mix just until the dough comes together.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2-inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake for 5 minutes, rotate the trays in the oven, and bake for 5 minutes more, or until the edges are beginning to brown.  Remove from oven and cool on racks.

For the glaze, in a small mixing bowl stir together the confectioners sugar, melted margarine, and enough juice to make a mixture of glazing consistency.  Dip tops of wafers in glaze.

Notes: Don’t make the glaze until you’re ready to dip the cookies.  It starts to crystallize a bit as it sits, and the tops of the cookies won’t look as smooth if you wait too long.