Lemon Meltaways

Lemon Meltaways ~ Light and buttery, this lemon-sized cake is truly delicious! Easy to make and a little lemon bite!
Do you think if I post a bright lemon recipe, spring will come early? Maybe not but it's good to dream. This estimate calls for -4 degrees tomorrow night, we have about 7 inches of snow on the ground and cold surfaces enter. 

I really don't complain because we all hope to get good snow this year. Now that we have snow - I'm ready for blooming dogwood trees, small tomato plants in the garden, peaked asparagus from frozen ground and I can't wait to go camping and kayak again! It seems like it's a very long winter. But who wants to talk about flu when there is a good cake, lemon, melting in the mouth to share?!?

Light and buttery, these lemon bite-sized cookies are a real treat! Easy to use and perfect cure for craving when you need a little something sweet.

Course: Cookies, Dessert
Servings: 3 dozen
Author: Tricia

Ingredients

For the cookie dough:

• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 lemon tablespoon zest, packed - about 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, about 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• For the lemon glaze:
• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest for garnish if desired

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add 1/2 powdered sugar and beat cup until light and fluffy.

Add 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Gently blend on low until incorporated, scrapping down sides with a spatula as needed.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt. Whisk together.

Add the creamed butter and lemon mixture to the flour in four batches. Medium low blend until each is incorporated.

Place the cookie dough in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
To bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop a level spoonful of dough using a 1-inch cookie scoop. Roll each into a tight ball and place two inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet.

If you want to make cookie discs, press each dough ball to the desired thickness using the flat glass covered with a small piece of wax paper.

Bake for 13 minutes at 350F until lightly browned around the edges. Slide the parchment paper and baked cookies onto a wire rack to cool.

Repeat with a new piece of paper paper placed on a cooled cookie sheet. Cool cookies completely if using a glaze. If covering in confectioners' sugar, allow the hot cookies to be cool for a minute then toss in 1 cup of powdered sugar to coat. Cool completely on the wire rack.

To make the glaze, mix together 1 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Add more lemon juice or sugar as needed to reach desired consistency. Spread on each cookie and garnish with lemon zest if desired.

Allow the glaze to fully set then store cookies in a cool place or refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

Prep time does not include 1 hour chilling time for the dough.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living

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