Lemon Meltaways

The best laid plans…I usually try to figure out what I am going to bake each week so I can pick up all of the ingredients at the store when I do my shopping over the weekend. Tuesdays are usually easy, since it’s whatever the Tuesdays with Dorie selection is. I have so many cookie cookbooks and I’ve usually got a couple of cookies that I want to make waiting in the queue.

What I always forget is that I’m usually tired by the time I get home on Thursday. I’m not usually home on Wednesday evenings so I make cookies Thursday night. Somehow I forget (every week) that by the time we get home from work Thursday and make and eat dinner, it’s 7 o’clock. Not so late for some folks, but we get up fairly early in the morning so we don’t really do late nights.

I was going to make these lemon cookies that I’ve been drooling over for some time now: cute little lemon cookie sandwiches. I was rereading the recipe and I realized that by the time I made the cookies, let them cool, making the filling, put the sandwiches together, and get everything photographed, it would be way too late! I still wanted to make something with lemon, so I searched through my cookbooks and found a couple of lemon alternatives.

I decided to make Lemon Meltaways, which started out as Lime Meltaways. I have made these before and they are so good, the perfect tea cookie. Their only downfall is that you will inevitably get a load of powdered sugar down the front of your shirt when you eat them. It’s a risk I’m willing to take!

¾ cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar, divided

Zest of 2 lemons

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon vanilla

1-3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, mix butter and 1/3 cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla and mix until fluffy. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl and stir on low until combined.

Divide the dough into 2 halves and roll each half into a log, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the logs into ¼ inch thick slices. Place the slices on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake until barely golden, about 12-13 minutes. Cool for 8-10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar in a large resealable plastic bag.

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies