Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Glittering Lemon Sandwich Cookies (Gourmet Magazine)

If I was a cheerleader, the cheer for these cookies would be: "Give me a W, Give me an O, Give me a W! What's that spell? WOW!". These cookies are amazing and definitely worth cheering for. They are very light and delicate shortbread cookies with a pronounced lemon flavor, coated in crunchy sanding sugar, and filled with a creamy, lemony filling. They are mildly sweet, buttery, crunchy, and tart, all at the same time. And, they are so easy to make.

These are perfect cookies for special occasions, and for holidays. They are just such a wonderful treat.

Here's the recipe:

Cookies:
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
sanding sugars

Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
heavy-duty sealable bag

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Beat together butter and powdered sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in zest and vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture just until a soft dough forms. Put sanding sugars in bowls. Roll a scant teaspoon of dough into a ball and drop into sugar, turning to coat. Reshape if necessary and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat, spacing balls 3/4" apart. Bake until tops are slightly cracked but still pale, about 12-15 minutes. Bottoms will be pale golden. Cool cookies on a rack completely.

Beat together the filling ingredients until well combined. Transfer to a sealable bag and snip off corner. Turn over half the cookies and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon of filling on flat side of each. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently. Store in a metal tin at room temperature for 4 days.

If you like lemons and you like cookies, try these! They will put a big smile on your face. And, turn even the most generous baker into a hoarder, as these are just too good to share.

14 comments:

  1. I saw these! Your's look wonderful.

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  2. Yum I have to make these soon. Lemon is in the air lately!

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  3. These look delicious and beautiful! what a fancy treat! And it sounds like the taste is worth the effort. Lovely!

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  4. mmmmmmmmm. cookies! these are right up my alley! they look delicious Michele!

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  5. Thank you Wendy, Flourchild, Shari, and Lauren! I am in love with these cookies.

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  6. Wow indeed, these are fabulous! I'm itching to give em a try!

    Katie xox

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  7. Thank you Katiecakes! I hope you like them as much as I do!

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  8. Hey Michelle - just added you to my blogroll! You have some fab recipes here.
    Fran and her tiny cat Mouse x

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  9. Oh, yum! These look wonderful!

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  10. I have the recipe sitting in my cookie binder, waiting to make them.

    I guess I shouldn't wait any longer? :)

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  11. Thank you Fran!

    Thanks Cheryl!

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  12. I will have to make these, they look like something I could ship to my dad and he is a lemon dessert fanatic. So pretty too.

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  13. Mermaid- These have a lovely lemon flavor, and if you let them rest for a day, they become much less delicate!

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