Lemonade Cookies

 

My friend, Kim, shared these super yummy, tart yet sweet, cookies with me recently. She brought them to a friend's holiday party and we all wanted to know what fancy bakery she bought them from! We were thrilled to learn that we can make them ourselves AND that they are incredibly simple! Yay for that! The cookie part just melts in your mouth while the lemon icing gives the cookies a pop of flavor. They are hard to resist and impossible to just eat one. A perfect cookie for the holidays and yet, with its refreshing taste, a perfect cookie in the summertime, as well. 

Please note that these are truly called Limoncello cookies and are made with, well, Limoncello! Since I don't drink alcohol and never have any in my house, I made them without the liquor. I have had them both ways and they are equally delicious. So, do as you like!!! Thank you, Kim!!!

Cookies:

1 stick room temp butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 whole egg

4 tablespoons lemon zest (I used two lemons)

1 1/4 cup flour

 

Icing:

1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

5 Tbl Limoncello plus 1 Tbl lemon juice

OR

5 Tbl lemon juice (this is what I used)

Preheat oven to 350F

 

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and salt with a mixer until fluffy. Combine butter mixture with lemon zest and egg. Add flour slowly and mix until blended (dough will be sticky). Place dough on parchment paper or plastic wrap and form into a 10 to 12" log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours or longer. If you are short on time throw it in the freezer for 45 minutes. (I froze my cookie "log" for four days before I baked it!!! I took it out of the freezer about an hour and a half before I sliced it- they turned out great).

Slice log into 1/2" thick circles and bake on a silpat or greased cookie sheet for approx 12 to 13 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cooling rack to ice.

For the icing:

Combine confectioners' sugar, limoncello (if using) and lemon juice. Submerge cookies upside down into icing and then set on a wire rack to harden. I had extra icing so I drizzled it over the top of the already iced cookies! Extra yummy-ness!

One batch made around 15 cookies....you can easily double the recipe for more!!