Christmas is around the corner and it’s time to wrap up the gifts, get the nice china, spread flowers around the house and start preparing the food for the dinner on the 24th – I want to make as much as I can in advance so I can enjoy myself on Christmas Eve and relax having a glass (or two, or four) of champagne. ;)
I hope you have enjoyed the Christmas series this year and I also hope it’s inspired you to bake for your family and friends – as the last post of the series, I chose lemon cookies (surprise, surprise) that look beautiful and taste even better.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and thank you for keeping me company throughout the year. xx
Lemon burst cookies
slightly adapted from here
1 ¾ cups (245g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons limoncello – optional; I used homemade
½ cup (70g) powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, rub granulated sugar and zest together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and cream together butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well. Add vanilla and limoncello. Mix again.
With mixer on low speed, mix in flour mixture only until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie, roll into balls and then roll balls generously in powdered sugar – the more you cover the dough, the more beautiful the cookies will look.
Place on baking sheets 5cm (2in) apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until puffed and bottoms are golden brown.
Cool on sheets for 2 minutes, then slide the paper with the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 40
My meyer lemon tree is loaded with lemons and these would be the perfect cookies to make with them!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Patricia!
ReplyDeleteMaking these today! By the way, do you have to flatten the balls slightly or do they spread out?
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas
Merry Christmas, Dear Pam!
ReplyDeleteHi, Jane! Do not flatten the cookies, they'll spread in the oven. Merry Christmas!
They did! And they are gorgeous! I had some gold edible glitter and added that while they were still warm and am now bagging them up as Christmas Presents. Thank you so much, I was really stuck for a last minute gift idea. x
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear you like the cookies, Jane! Thank you for letting me know how they turned out for you! Love the edible gold touch. xx
ReplyDeleteMerry Xmas, Pat. I managed to cook with my husband's help and my celery mousse, the coconut and marzipan cake, the chocolate mousse and your lovely crystallized ginger cookies are ready. Tomorrow I'll just have to make farofa to stuff the turkey, prepare the ham, a lentil salad and 7 grains with cashew nuts and pecans. I hope you have a lovely night with your husband. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Dear Patricia!! All the best for you and your family! kisses Evi
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and thank you for all your wonderful posts during the year. I have so enjoyed reading them and trying out the recipes. Gabriele
ReplyDeleteDear Marise, I'm surge your meal was delicious! Thank you for being here. <3
ReplyDeleteDear Evi, thank you and Merry Xmas! xx
Dear Gabriele, thank you for your kind comment! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the blog. xx
Dear Marise, I'm surge your meal was delicious! Thank you for being here. <3
ReplyDeleteDear Evi, thank you and Merry Xmas! xx
Dear Gabriele, thank you for your kind comment! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the blog. xx