Lemon Cookies with Lemon Icing. Lemon.

Spring is upon us!! At least that's what it's felt like in Los Angeles the past few days (sorry mom and the rest of Minnesota). Yesterday I felt like baking something springy, and in honor of my son sucking a lemon and liking it I thought, lemon cookies! I came across a recipe from Nantucket Cookie Company and felt it would be appropriate. When you hear "Nantucket" what do you think of? Beaches and bicycles and iced tea with lemons and rich people. Right, lemons.

So I tried it, but not after a little Siriously Delicious modification. After reading the reviews and having some issues with my first batch, I decided it needed more flour, baking powder and vanilla. I also decided I didn't need 3 dozen cookies in my house so I cut it in half. If you enjoy lemons like my son, you will love this cookie. It is intensely lemony.

Lemon Cookies with Lemon Icing

2 1/4 cups sugar
4 lemons, for juicing and zesting
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled
3 egg yolks
3 tsp vanilla
1 lb confectioners sugar
Yellow food coloring
Yellow sprinkles

Zest 3 lemons and place in large bowl.


Add sugar and mix. Reserve 1/4 cup of mixture to sprinkle on cookies. Set the rest aside.


Chop chilled butter into 1-inch cubes.


In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add chopped butter and mix with electric mixer, until it looks like this...


There will be small lumps of butter, and that is okay. That is good. In another smaller bowl, juice the 3 lemons you have already zested.


Add egg yolks and 2 tsp vanilla to lemon juice and stir.


Now time to combine everything. Pour sugar/zest mixture into flour/butter bowl and briefly stir. Then, using electric mixer, slowly add wet ingredients to dry and mix until dough forms.


Cover dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until well chilled. Preheat oven to 350. Once dough is chilled, remove and place spoonfuls on greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with reserved lemon sugar. Bake for 13-15 minutes (my oven is crazy hot and 13 minutes was perfect).


While cookies are baking, make icing. Juice remaining lemon into bowl of confectioners sugar. Add vanilla and whisk. If still too dry, add a small amount of water or milk. Add drop of yellow food coloring and stir.


Make sure cookies are cooled before icing them. Because yesterday was Fat Tuesday, I decided to make some of them look like King Cakes. You know, the thing with the little plastic baby inside, waiting to be choked on.



Oh, and this is what lemon icing looks like with a brown cowboy sock inside: