After talking with Jeff while I was planning out the menu this weekend, we thought it would be nice to make a spring-y and bright type of recipe for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day tomorrow. I went through my piles of cakes, cookies and bars to see what sounded good - we narrowed it down to a cake and a cookie, but these
Glazed Lemon-Lime Cookies won out!
The cookies were actually supposed to be just lemon, but we love this duo and we knew his coworkers would be game since those
lemon-lime bars we made back in March were a hit. To force those two into the cookies, we beat both lemon and lime zest into the butter and sugar mixture before we got too far in. When we tossed the egg in, we also brought the juices from the zested citrus fruits into the mix, along with a splash of vanilla. The vanilla isn't there to make them taste like vanilla, but the extract acts to round out the sweet notes with a subtle floral essence.
Being just a basic butter and sugar cookie, the lemon and lime play key roles to add a clean, zesty flavor that while good on their own, deserve a little support to up their intensity. Rather than a heavier frosting, these cookies get a thin glaze that is studded with more of that fierce zest. Made simply by combining powdery confectioners' sugar with the two zests and enough of both fresh lemon and lime juice to thin it out. You could dip the tops of the cookies in or take a spoon and let the glaze gently flow over the top - to keep clean, set the adorned cookies onto a wire rack with either a sheet pan or the like underneath to catch any drippings that come off. I did find that the glaze was fairly loose, so I scooped up it up and spooned it over the cookies for a second time to give them a good, shiny coat. You may want to hold back on the juice when mixing it together and just add enough to get a consistency you like.
The texture of the cookies crosses between being crispier around the outside edges, yet more soft and delicate as you reach their centers. While you don't get assaulted with a pungent, pucker-y punch, these cookies are just sweet enough and decidedly citrus in nature, which was like enjoying a warm spring sun shining down on my face as I let each bite slowly melt in my mouth. If lemon or lime (you could use just one or the other too!) doesn't conjure a thrill, how about switching the citrus zest and juice to orange and go in a different colorful direction?
The cookies were actually supposed to be just lemon, but we love this duo and we knew his coworkers would be game since those lemon-lime bars we made back in March were a hit. To force those two into the cookies, we beat both lemon and lime zest into the butter and sugar mixture before we got too far in. When we tossed the egg in, we also brought the juices from the zested citrus fruits into the mix, along with a splash of vanilla. The vanilla isn't there to make them taste like vanilla, but the extract acts to round out the sweet notes with a subtle floral essence.
Being just a basic butter and sugar cookie, the lemon and lime play key roles to add a clean, zesty flavor that while good on their own, deserve a little support to up their intensity. Rather than a heavier frosting, these cookies get a thin glaze that is studded with more of that fierce zest. Made simply by combining powdery confectioners' sugar with the two zests and enough of both fresh lemon and lime juice to thin it out. You could dip the tops of the cookies in or take a spoon and let the glaze gently flow over the top - to keep clean, set the adorned cookies onto a wire rack with either a sheet pan or the like underneath to catch any drippings that come off. I did find that the glaze was fairly loose, so I scooped up it up and spooned it over the cookies for a second time to give them a good, shiny coat. You may want to hold back on the juice when mixing it together and just add enough to get a consistency you like.
The texture of the cookies crosses between being crispier around the outside edges, yet more soft and delicate as you reach their centers. While you don't get assaulted with a pungent, pucker-y punch, these cookies are just sweet enough and decidedly citrus in nature, which was like enjoying a warm spring sun shining down on my face as I let each bite slowly melt in my mouth. If lemon or lime (you could use just one or the other too!) doesn't conjure a thrill, how about switching the citrus zest and juice to orange and go in a different colorful direction?
Another beautiful treat of the week. They sounds easy to make. I love the lemon-lime glaze. They will be popular tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI want to recall that Ckng Lght did something similar about five years ago and they were SUPER tasty. They were part of a Christmas cookie issue - we did a little cookie exchange at work and a coworker brought those in but used orange and lemon. Yum!
ReplyDelete(I just tried doing a search on CL and couldn't find them. Darn.)
Lemon, lime, orange are great any time of the year IMO! Lucky co-workers... :)
I make a lemon lime sugar cookie that I really like. For my kids' sake I call them "Sprite cookies" (after the soda) because my kids think they don't like lemon or lime. I guess, in their case, a rose isn't a rose by any other name, as they like them as long as they don't know what's in them.
ReplyDeleteThese sound great, but I have a question. How many limes did you need for 1 1/2 tablespoons of zest? For lemon zest I usually need 2 lemons available to get 1 tablespoon.
ReplyDeleteThese cookies remind me of my own lemon ricotta cookies - I like that you have lime in yours!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds wonderful! I love the use of lemon and lime, I'll have to try this one out!
ReplyDeleteI just used a variation of your banana whoopie pies...big hit!
;) amy
Helene - They were a hit!
ReplyDeleteKristin - I'll do some digging around and see if I can locate it.
Jennifer - Cute!
Anon - Hmm, I think I used 3 - it all depends on the size of the lime!
Hillary - I've made ricotta cookies in the past... they are quite good!
Calm - Awesome! I love those little guys.
Hi, I tried out your recipe yesterday but subbed Splenda for the sugar. The main problem I had with the cookie dough was after I mixed in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, the batter seemed too dry and didn't hold together very well as I finished scooping it onto the cookie sheets. Also, how did you get your cookies to shape so nicely? Mine were more like small, cracked mounds. The end result (I did a lemon cookie and lime glaze) was still tasty.
ReplyDeleteAnon - Splenda can dramatically change the texture of cookie doughs as it doesn't behave quite the same as regular sugar. My dough wasn't that stiff or dry, which is why (along with how granulated sugar works when it has heat applied) they baked into tight circles after using a cookie scoop to portion them out.
ReplyDeleteThis works if you use Splenda (for baking), not the regular Splenda.
ReplyDeleteSince I am diabetic I also used almond flour. They came out perfect.
Any citrus zest will work...I tried lemon, lime and orange. Thanks for a great recipe. Put your link on my Just Desserts for Diabetics blog.