I woke up this morning with a sudden craving for something sweet and tangy. As I lay in bed, my mind wandered to the delicious lemon cookies that I had tasted at a party last weekend. They were the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness, with a crumbly texture that melted in my mouth.
I couldn’t get the thought of those cookies out of my head. I wanted them, needed them, and couldn’t wait any longer to taste them again. So I got up from bed, put on my clothes, and headed straight to the kitchen.
As I rummaged through my cabinets, I realized that I didn’t have any lemon cookies. My heart sank, and my mouth started to water even more. I decided that I couldn’t let this craving go unfulfilled, so I quickly searched for a recipe online and went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients… but decided to really quench my thirst for cookies and create a spin on them.
Martha Stewart came through. I adapted the recipe slightly to make cookie sandwiches… Go big or go home right? Anyways, you can stick to the original if you just want cookies (booooring) or kick it up a notch and try my cookie sandwich version
What we’re cooking ~ Crispy lemon cookie sandwiches
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (2 to 3 lemons)
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter (make sure 1 is at room temperature)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over low heat; cook until reduced by half.
- Add 1 stick butter; stir until melted.
- Cream remaining stick of butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed.
- Mix in egg and lemon butter. Mix until pale, about 3 minutes.
- Mix in vanilla and zest.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix completely. Refrigerate dough for 30 – 45 minutes.
- Pour remaining 1/2 cup of sugar on a plate. Roll spoonfuls of chilled dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; roll them in sugar.
- Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Press each with the flat end of a glass dipped in sugar mixture until 1/4 inch thick. Bake until just browned around bottom edges, 8 to 9 minutes.
Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. mascarpone cheese
2 Tbsp butter (at room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon zest (2 lemons)
1 Tbsp milk (only if your filling is particularly dry or sticky)
Cream together both cheeses, butter, and powdered sugar, adding milk if necessary. Add lemon zest and vanilla. Mix well. Spread 1 Tbsp of filling between two completely cooled cookies. Refrigerate sandwiches until ready to serve.
Note: if you’re serving these for guests, make sure you refrigerate at least one hour before serving so the filling firms up completely.
