Quick and Easy
Lemon Sugar Cookies From Dorie Greenspan
- Prep time 20 minutes
- Cook time 14 minutes
- makes 60 cookies
Author Notes
I was just finishing a book signing in Chicago when Katje Sabin, a woman I’d met eight years earlier at another signing, handed me a folded piece of paper. When I returned to my hotel and opened it, I discovered that it was the best kind of present: a recipe. The handwritten note said, “This is currently my favorite cookie—thought you might enjoy!” And I did. Lots. The cookies get their strong, bright lemon flavor from zest and freshly squeezed juice, and their homey good looks from the cracks and ridges that develop as they bake. The recipe that Katje gave me turned out a very pale, chewy cookie, but I discovered that by keeping them in the oven a little longer, I could get a cookie that was both crispy and chewy. Play around and see what you like best.
STORING
These keep in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Packed airtight, they’ll be good for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Excerpts from Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan, published by HarperCollins Publishers, copyright © 2016 by Dorie Greenspan, Photographs © 2016 by Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca —Food52
Ingredients
-
2 3/4 cups
(374 grams) all-purpose flour
-
1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
-
1/2 teaspoon
baking powder
-
1 or 2
lemons
-
1 1/2 cups
(300 grams) sugar
-
8 ounces
(2 sticks; 226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks
-
1/2 teaspoon
fine sea salt
-
1
large egg, at room temperature
-
1 teaspoon
pure vanilla extract
-
sugar, for dredging
Directions
- Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Finely grate the zest of 1 lemon and squeeze the juice. If you don’t have 1/4 cup, squeeze the juice from the second lemon.
- Put the sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer. Using your fingertips, mash and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is moist and fragrant. If you’re working with a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment.
- Add the butter and salt to the bowl and beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla and lemon juice.
- Turn off the mixer, add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until they’re almost incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the rest of the flour and beat on low speed until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
- Pour some sugar into a bowl. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out level portions of dough or use a teaspoon to get rounded spoonfuls. Roll each portion into a ball between your palms, drop into the sugar, roll it around to coat and place on the baking sheets. These cookies spread dramatically, so make sure to leave about 2 inches between them.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back at the midway mark. If you bake them for 8 to 10 minutes, you’ll get pale cookies that will be chewy; bake them for 12 to 14 minutes, until they’re barely golden around the edges (the bottoms will be lightly browned), and you’ll get cookies that are chewy in the center and crisp around the edges. The cookies will be crackle- topped and too soft to lift from the baking sheets.
- Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies cool completely before you move them.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, always using cool baking sheets.
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