Separating eggs and then only using the whites, leaves behind the dilemma of what to do with the egg yolks. This is that recipe. My sister shared this recipe from the cookbook A Feast of Ice and Fire. It’s a great recipe having a full bodied lemon flavor and being not very sweet, despite the 2 cups of sugar in the recipe. However, it doesn’t affect the flavor to reduce the sugar slightly to 1 1/2 cups. As a rule reduce sugar 25% up to 30%, but no more or the texture and flavor will suffer (King Arthur Baking). The cookies are amazing; lightly crunchy on the outside but inside is tender and moist, just like a cake. Cookies that cross genres between cake and cookie are sometimes called tea cakes.
Lemon Cakes
Yield: 24-30 cookies
2 ½ cups/300g flour plus more as needed
2 cups/400g granulated sugar (My sister reduces the sugar to 1.5 cups/150g)
6 tablespoons/84g unsalted butter
Grated zest from 2 lemons
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup/38g confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ teaspoons milk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking sheet (I use a baking stone, so I don’t bother greasing it. Alternatively, you could use a parchment paper lined baking sheet).
In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter, then add the lemon zest, whole egg and yolks. Mix thoroughly, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is no longer sticky and can be shaped by hand. (If the dough seems crumbly, add a little water or lemon juice until the dough comes together. I usually have to add the juice of 1 lemon to make it come together.)
Scoop the dough into balls about 1 inch across. Roll and place them on the prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart, giving them room to spread as they bake. Alternatively, use a 2 inch scoop for a larger cookie.
Bake for 15 minutes until the tops are just slightly golden. Allow the cakes to cool for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.
Mix the confectioners sugar and milk to a smooth consistency. Once the cakes have cooled, use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cookies, or, dip the tops of the cookies in the icing. Let dry about 10 minutes before serving. The cakes must be thoroughly cooled for this step or the warmth of the cookies will melt the icing.
My icing lines are very rough because the consistency wasn’t right. I was in a hurry and I should have known better; drizzling requires patience. I should have practiced drizzling lines from the tip of a teaspoon on a piece of parchment or waxed paper. Then adjusted the consistency by adding more milk or lemon juice to thin, or a spoonful of sugar to thicken it.
Foodie Joanie 