ISO Lemon Cookie ideas (already tried CL's Lemon Honey Drop)

[applecrisp]

I'm thinking of making some lemon cookies, since I think its a nice change to the ever present chocolate cookie (not that I'm complaining).

I love citrus, especially lemon. I tried CL's Lemon Honey Drop Cookies and didn't love them, so was looking for other ideas.

Thanks!

[ljt2r]

These are not the prettiest, but they were very tasty. Pics are here (http://thespicedlife.blogspot.com/2008/07/summery-lemon-cream-cheese-sugar.html).

Summery Lemon & Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Adapted from King Arthur Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (4 oz) cream cheese, softened
¼ t salt
½ t baking powder
Zest from 2 lemons
Several drops lemon oil
½ cup (3 ½ oz) granulated sugar
½ cup (2 oz) confectioners’ sugar
2 cups (8 ½ oz) AP flour

For rolling:
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1/8 t lemon oil

Beat together the butter and cream cheese until well blended and creamy. Add the salt, baking powder, lemon zest and oil and sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in the flour. Cover and thoroughly chill: I find it easiest to freeze the dough and then let it thaw for about 15 minutes before working with it. Otherwise this dough is pretty soft.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Whisk together the 2 rolling sugars with the lemon oil. Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 2 tablespoons of the cookie dough and roll them into a ball. Then the roll the ball in the rolling sugars mix, coating it thoroughly. Place the coated balls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the edges have browned and the centers are set.

[lindrusso]

I just made a batch of Lime Meltaways (http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lime-meltaways?rsc=also_try), but they can very easily become Lemon Meltaways if you prefer.

I am also going to make Cream Cheese-Lemon Bows (http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cream-cheese-lemon-bows?autonomy_kw=lemon%20cream%20cheese%20bows&rsc=header_1) (or a shape of our own design ;) ) but I've not tried them before so I can't tell you how they come out. Still, they look yummy.

For a tried and true, CL's Lemon Cream Cheese Cookie Cups (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=224917) are very good. The only change I make to these is to use homemade lemon curd - so much better.

[Alleycat]

These are wonderful. Cakey and moist, and the glaze is more like icing than a glaze. RecipeGirl posted them last year.


MEYER LEMON RICOTTA COOKIES

Number of Servings: 4 dozen

Cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or 1 teaspoon lemon and/or tangerine baking oil
3 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest, freshly grated*
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
Decorating sugar, silver dragees (small silver balls), optional

*Meyer lemons are available mid-November through early spring in specialty food stores. You will need 2 to 3 medium-sized lemons. Regular lemons can be substituted.

Cooking Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine butter and sugar in bowl; cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, ricotta, lemon extract (or baking oil), zest and juice; blend well.

Add 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt; blend to combine. Add remaining flour in two parts, blending to combine between each, until a dough forms.

Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake until cookie edges are very light golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for a few minutes and transfer to wire cooling rack.

While cookies cool, prepare glaze by creaming together butter and sugar. Continue to mix, gradually adding juice until desired consistency. Decorate cooled cookies adding dragees or decorating sugar, if desired, before icing sets.

Recipe © 2007 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.

[mightyh]

I've made a few batches of these recently and think their lemon flavor really shines through!

Lemon Poppy-Seed Cookies

From:
Martha Stewart Living

Lemon lovers, rejoice -- these crisp, delicate cookies are made with lots of juice and zest for a delightful tang; poppy seeds add crunch.
Ingredients

Makes about 30

* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest (2 to 3 lemons)
* 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1 large egg
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced by half. Add 1 stick butter; stir until melted.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream remaining stick butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in egg and lemon butter. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla and 2 teaspoons zest. Mix in flour mixture and poppy seeds.
3. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons zest. Roll spoonfuls of dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; roll them in sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press each with the flat end of a glass dipped in sugar mixture until 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with seeds.
4. Bake until just browned around bottom edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

[mightyh]

These are also very yummy.... more cheesecakey!

Butter Crunch Lemon Cheese Bars

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 bar)
Ingredients

* Crust:
* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* Cooking spray
*

Filling:
* 1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
* 3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 large egg
* 1 large egg white

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare crust, place first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Add 1 cup flour to butter mixture, and beat at low speed until well-blended. Press crust into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

To prepare filling, place cottage cheese in a food processor; process 2 minutes or until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once. Add 1 cup granulated sugar and remaining ingredients, and process until well-blended. Pour filling over crust. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until set (the edges will get lightly browned), and cool. Cover and chill for 8 hours.
Nutritional Information

Calories:
281 (29% from fat)
Fat:
9g (sat 5.2g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.6g)
Protein:
6.7g
Carbohydrate:
44.5g
Fiber:
0.5g
Cholesterol:
49mg
Iron:
1.1mg
Sodium:
298mg
Calcium:
40mg

[Gilgamesh37]

I don't know how similar these may be to the CL lemon honey drops, but these are one of my favorite lemon cookies.

TOPAZ’S LEMON CRISPS

3¼ cups unsifted all purpose flour
1½ tsps baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
2 eggs
2 tsps grated lemon peel
2 tsps lemon extract
granulated sugar

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl. Blend in the oil, eggs, lemon peel and lemon extract. Stir in the flour mixture. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into ¾” balls* (see below) and flatten to 1/16 inch thickness. Bake 7 to 9 mins.* (see notes) or until edges are light golden brown. Makes 6 to 7 dozen cookies (My Aunt Fanny. I must have had 12-15 dozen, easy—they don’t spread at all, so you can get 20 or 25 on a big cookies sheet)
I used the big end of a melon baller (slightly heaped full) to get just the right amount of dough. I used the teflon baking sheets, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Form the dough in a little tiny ball and put the Saran Wrap over each cookie and using a glass you can see through, press the dough perfectly flat. I baked for 6 minutes and then rotated the pan and bake 1-3 more minutes or until golden on the edges. Remove to a rack and sprinkle with sugar (use a sugar shaker) while they are still warm and when cool, sugar again, until very sandy. To make a TEA COOKIE variation shape the dough into 1 inch balls, and flatten to 1/8” thickness. Bake for 10 to 12 mins until edges are light golden brown. This makes a slightly thicker, chewier cookie. You can substitute orange peel, and orange extract for the lemon to make Orange Crisps.

[applecrisp]

Thanks everyone for the fantastic ideas! I just saved all the recipes.

The only one that I knew about and tried was the Butter crunch lemon cheese bars. I agree, those are fantastic!

Thanks again.

[ande]

I recently tried a new recipe for Lemon Drop Cookies that takes crushed lemon drops. They were pretty good, but a little flatter and chewier than I really like. Maybe next time I'll try using something other than all butter for the fat. I can post the recipe if you're interested.

ande

[mackandme]

I found these posted on the CLBB and made them last Christmas. I really liked them.

Lemon-Basil Butter Cookies
Southern Living

Ingredients
1 cup fresh lemon-basil leaves*
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 pound butter, softened
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 large egg
6 cups all-purpose flour
Garnish: fresh basil sprigs


Preparation
Process basil and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until blended.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, beating well. Add lemon juice and egg, beating until blended. Gradually add flour and basil mixture, beating until blended.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.

Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Garnish, if desired.

* Plain fresh basil leaves may be substituted for lemon-basil leaves.

Yield
6 1/2 dozen

Southern Living, MAY 2001

[Kathy B]

Here are two more that are family favorites.....

Lemon Cranberry Shortbread
posted by Kismet CLBB

Cookies:
2 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup cold butter -- cut up
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries -- chopped
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9x13 metal pan with foil, letting the foil extend 2 inches at ends.

2. Grate lemon rind and squeeze lemon juice.

3. In food processor with knife blade, blend butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, lemon peel, and lemon juice until creamy. Add flour and pulse until dough comes together. Add cranberries and pulse until evenly mixed into dough. With fingertips, press dough evenly into prepared pan.

4. Bake shortbread 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on rack.

5. When cool, in small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel for glaze. Add more juice if needed. Spread glaze over shortbread, let stand until set - about 30 minutes.

6. Using foil, transfer shortbread to cutting board. Cut lenghtwise into 3 strips, then crosswise into 12 bars.

Makes about 3 dozen.

NOTES : It was originally just Lemon-Cranberry, but I had some lovely Trader Joe's dried raspberries in my cupboard, so I subbed 1/2 raspberries for cranberries - worked out well! I also omitted the glaze. The original recipe came from a Good Housekeeping holiday magazine, I believe. It's extremely easy!!

Lemon-Currant Cookies
from Everyday Food

1/2 cup unsalted butter -- softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried currants
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl; beat until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream and egg.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until they are well-combined. Stir in currants and lemon zest.

Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies are puffed and golden around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on baking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

[magpie]

The Washington Post had a ton of interesting looking cookie recipes in a recent Food Section. One that I'm planning to try:

Iced Lemon Rings

This is an especially lemony interpretation of a cookie made throughout southern Italy. Meringue powder, which is not the same thing as powdered egg whites, is available at cake shops and gourmet kitchen stores.

MAKE AHEAD: The iced cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Un-iced cookies can be frozen for up to 1 month.

Makes about 36 cookies

Ingredients:
For the cookies

* • 2 cups flour
* • 2 teaspoons baking powder
* • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* • 1/2 cup sugar
* • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* • Freshly grated zest of 1 medium lemon (at least 1 teaspoon)
* • 3 large eggs

For the icing

* • 1/4 cup meringue powder (see headnote)
* • 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
* • 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour and baking powder on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.

Combine the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition (the mixture may look curdled). Reduce the speed to low, then gradually add the flour mixture to form a sticky dough.

Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch-wide (No. 6) round tip. Alternatively, a resealable plastic food storage bag may be used; cut 3/8 inch off one of the bottom corners for piping.

Pipe rings of dough that are 2 inches in diameter, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Use fingertips dipped in water to smooth the ends of each ring together. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cookies are a light golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat to use all of the dough.

For the icing: Combine the meringue powder, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed to form a smooth paste. Transfer the icing to a large (gallon-size) plastic food storage bag. Make sure it is sealed completely, then snip just the very tip off one of the bottom corners. Pipe the icing on the tops of the cookies as desired; let set completely until serving or storing.

Recipe Source:

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine (May 1995).