Lemon Thins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you enjoy afternoon tea or coffee, I think you'll really like these lovely lemon cookies. They are ridiculously easy to make, though I have heard some complaints about the dough being difficult to work with. I have a "work around" that will put an end to that argument and allow you to enjoy these cookies anytime you have a yen for them. The original instructions for this recipe, which, by the way, comes from an old issue of Gourmet magazine, called for rolling the dough into a log and refrigerating it overnight prior to slicing cookies for baking. If you use a knife on the chilled dough, the slices end up looking like amoebae and you won't get the lovely slices you are looking for. Years after first working with this dough, I learned to avoid this problem by using buttonhole thread or dental floss to cut through the log. That, however, is not my work around. I generally don't bake cookies unless our grandsons are visiting. They like to help. I'll say no more because I'm sure you get the picture. In order for them to help, it was necessary to change the way these cookies were formed and I fell back on the old roll it and pat it of nursery rhyme fame. Everyone is given a teaspoon and, following an earnest discussion as to what constitutes a heaping teaspoon and how to form a ball, they roll and pat to their heart's content. It's not elegant, but it is efficient and it works beautifully if the dough is well-chilled. They really are delicious and if you are a lemon lover you'll really like these cookies. Here's the recipe.

Lemon Thins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1-1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners' sugar for dusting the cookies

Directions:
1) In a bowl with an electric mixer cream together shortening, butter and the sugar. Add vanilla, lemon extract, lemon zest and the juice. Beat until mixture is smooth.
2) In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and blend well. Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed until well blended. Form mixture into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 to 24 hours.
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into balls and place about 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten balls slightly with palm of your hand. Bake cookies in batches until edges are just golden, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer cookies to racks to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. Yield: 5 dozen cookies.

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