Lemon Icebox Cookies

Submitted by Mysterygirl

"We just tried this recipe this year for the first time and it was probably the biggest hit of the cookie tray."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 72 cookies

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup butter, softened (no substitutions)
• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon, rind of

• LEMON ICING

• 1 1⁄2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 -4 teaspoons water

• Topping

• 1⁄3 cup shelled pistachios or 1/3 cup shelled natural almonds, finely chopped

directions

1. Combine flour, and cornmeal in medium bowl.
2. Beat butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in egg yolks, lemon juice and lemon peel until well blended.
4. With mixer at low speed, beat in dry ingredients just until combined.
5. Divide dough in half.
6. Shape each half into a 10-inch log.
7. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, 1 hour.
8. (Can be made ahead. Cover and freeze up to 1 month. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before slicing).
9. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
10. Unwrap and cut each log into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
11. Arrange slices 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
12. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until firm and golden at edges.
13. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely.
14. Make Lemon Icing: Whisk confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and 3 teaspoons water until smooth and spreadable, adding remaining 1 teaspoon water to thin icing if necessary.
15. Spread tops of each cookie with icing; sprinkle with pistachios.
16. Let cookies stand until icing is set, 15 minutes.

Reviews

[Lennie]

The flavour of these cookies is outstanding (even the raw dough is yummy); unfortunately, I had a bit of trouble with the preparation. I made up this dough just before Christmas, but ran out of time to have them baked in time for the big day. No worries, I thought, as the dough can be frozen for up to a month. But when I tried to slice the frozen dough just recently (after letting it sit at room temp for the 10 minutes) to have them prepared for New Years Eve, I had major crumbling. It was impossible to slice them at a 1/4-inch thickness (every slice crumbled); I had to slice them at 1/2-inch, and I still lost about one slice to crumbling for every slice that cut clean. I ended up with only about 20 cookies, which I baked longer (17 minutes) due to their thickness. The good news: the taste is just wonderful! The icing and the pistachios add a nice touch and extra flavour, but I like these plain too! Except for the difficulty with cutting the frozen logs, I found these cookies easy to make and I really like the texture of the cornmeal in the cookies. I will make these again, but I don't think I will let the raw dough stay in the freezer!