Written by Shawn Krajewski
This recipe is very close to me. From a young age, I have had these cookies around me to give my life a little light. Even when things were quite frankly falling apart, I always had my mother's cookies to soothe the pain and make it easier to combat. Now, I have the honor of passing this recipe that has been perfected and honed for years to you. I hope you love them as much as I do.
Full Recipe:
Equipment:
2 Large Bowls
1 Medium Bowl
1 Small Container
1-quarter sheet pan
1 Eighth-sheet pan
Baking Spray
Small ice cream scoop
Knife
Mixer
Ingredients:
2 Cups AP Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
10 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup, 2 tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg Yolk
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
¾ teaspoon Lemon Extract
1 additional medium bowl (Optional)
1 cup Powdered Sugar (Optional)
½ Teaspoon Lemon Oil (Optional)
1 Tablespoon Water (Optional)
Step 1: Prep
Begin by setting your oven to 325 degrees, so you don't have to wait for it once you are at the baking step. Next, in one of the large bowls, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. You do not have to mix everything just yet. In the other large bowl, place the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract—this is the mixture that will give the cookies their flavor and sweetness. In the medium-sized bowl, crack one of the two eggs into it. With the other egg, separate the yolk from the whites and then place the yolk into the bowl that contains the other egg. (To separate the yolk from the whites, crack the egg in your hands over the sink and shift the mass between them. The yolk should stay in your hands as the egg whites make their way into the sink. Finally, in a small container, pour lemon juice and lemon extract.
Step 2: Mixing
Now, get out a stand mixer or mechanical mixing device. In the mixing bowl (whether it be the one that comes with the mixer or a large one from a hand mixer), pour in the contents from the bowl containing the sugar, butter, zest, and vanilla. Mix it for two minutes on a low speed. This process is called creaming, and it's the step in baking where you combine the sugar and butter.
Next, add both eggs and the other forms of lemon flavoring (juice and extract) into the bowl and mix once again for a minute on low speed. After mixing, the contents of the bowl should be homogenized and similar to yellow Play-Doh in texture. Finally, add in the dry ingredients—flour, salt, and baking powder—and mix for a final minute.
Step 3: Baking
Now that I've yapped about the difference between wet and dry ingredients, we've reached the part everyone has been waiting for: baking!
Take out both sheet pans and apply a light layer of baking spray to both. Remember, this recipe creates 16 cookies, so you want to put 12 spoonfuls of cookies on the larger sheet pan and 4 on the smaller one. To make the cookie spoonfuls, there are two techniques you can do. This first one is much easier, and it involves scooping out balls of dough with an ice cream scoop (or spoon) and placing them onto the pans. The second one is better, but it is slightly harder. To do it, place the cookie dough onto a clean surface and roll it into a tube-like shape around 2 feet long. Next, take a knife and cut the dough into 16 equally sized pieces. Finally, place the pieces of dough onto the sheet pan; you might want to slightly squish them down for a better shape.
Once all 16 balls of dough are evenly spaced on the sheet pans, place them in the oven and bake for 16 minutes. (You may prefer to cook them for longer, but 16 minutes is around the amount of time you want to bake them.) Halfway through the bake, come back to the cookies and flip them so they get an even bake.
Step 4 (Optional): Glazing
Additionally, while the cookies are baking, you can make a glaze to be placed on top of the cookies. To do so, place 1 cup of powdered sugar and a tablespoon of water in a medium-sized bowl, then mix. Next, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of lemon oil, but be careful as the oil is strong. Once you mix again, you can pour it onto the cookies or dip them once they are baked and cooled. Bon appétit! I hope you enjoy it!
Thumbnail Credit:
Commentaires