Glazed Lemon Cookies

Sometimes I get a craving for something and I can't get rid of it until I've tasted what I've been craving. Last night I had a crazy dream. It was ridiculous and there were lemon cupcakes. Perfectly moist cake and heavenly fluffy lemon frosting.  I don't remember anything else. From the moment I woke up I had a craving for something lemon and sweet. Goodness! Food should not enter my dreams.

I turned to Tastespotting, my absolute favorite site for finding recipes. Warning: if you look at the site you will start salivating. Gorgeous food photography to the max. I'm a firm believer that recipes should have pictures. Which is probably why I love this site so much.

After searching "lemon cookies" and checking out a couple recipes, I decided to use one from Cafe Johnsonia. The recipe is originally from Cooks' Illustrated.

These definitely took care of my craving. Hubby likes them too! Though, the lemon is a tiny bit too strong for his tastes. I'm sure it would be a great compliment to some tea.

{Yum!}

{Instead of the lemon zest, I used a tiny amount of lemon juice}

{I'm so thankful one of my aunts got me this egg separator for my bridal shower; it works like a charm and I've used it so many times}

{the dough came out perfect even though I used a mixer instead of a food processor}

{form into a log and wrap}

{slice the dough after it's been chilled}

{lovely golden edges}

{more lemony sweet goodness in the glaze}

{Enjoy!}

Glazed Lemon Cookies
From Cooks' Illustrated
Makes about 30

Lemon Cookies
¾ cup (5 1/4 oz.) granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. grated zest plus 2 Tbsp. juice from two lemons {I didn't have lemons so I just used lemon juice}
1 ¾ cups (8 1/4 oz.) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
12 Tbsp. ( 1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
1 lg. egg yolk
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze
1 Tbsp. softened cream cheese
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 ½ cups (6 oz.) powdered sugar

1. For the cookies: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In the bowl of *food processor, process granulated sugar and zest until it looks damp and zest is thoroughly incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add flour, salt, and baking powder; pulse to combine, about 10 one-second pulses. Scatter butter chunks over. Pulse until mixture resembles fine cornmeal, about 15 one-second pulses.In a measuring cup or small bowl, beat lemon juice, yolk, and vanilla until combined. With machine running, add juice/yolk mixture in slow, steady stream (process should take about 10 seconds); continue processing until dough begins to form ball, 10 to 15 seconds longer.

3. Turn dough and any dry bits out onto counter (or board); working quickly, gently knead the dough together to ensure no dry bits remain and dough is homogeneous. Roll dough into cylinder approximately 10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Center dough on piece of parchment (waxed paper or plastic wrap will work in a pinch ). Fold paper over dough. Grasp one end of parchment. With other hand, use bench scarper to firmly press parchment against dough to form uniform cylinder. Roll parchment and twist ends together to form tight seal. Chill dough until firm and cold, about 45 minutes in freezer or 2 hours in refrigerator.

4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough log from wrapping and, using a sharp chef's knife, slice dough into rounds 3/8-inch thick. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

5. Bake until centers of cookies just begin to color and edges are golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time.
Cool cookies on baking sheet about 5 minutes, using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature before glazing.

Lemon Glaze:

1. Whisk cream cheese and lemon juice in a medium nonreactive bowl until no lumps remain. Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.

2. When cookies have cooled, working one at a time, spoon scant teaspoon glaze onto each cookie and spread evenly with the back of spoon.

Let cookies stand on a wire rack until glaze is set and dry, about 1 hour.

*Note: I don't have a big enough food processor so I used my mixer and it worked just fine. Cafe Johnsonia provided alternate directions for making the dough by hand or with a mixer. I fully intended to follow these and then I misread it. OOops! I made it just like the original but with sofened butter.