Lemon Button Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
These simple, lemon cookies need no embellishment. They are a good accompaniment to fresh fruit, ice cream and sorbet.
Sandwich them with jam or pastry cream for a fancy presentation and a new look. Meyer lemons, a cross between lemons and oranges, provide a more intense flavor. If they are unavailable, use lemon and orange juice.
4 tablespoons butter at room temperature, plus more for buttering baking sheets
¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice, or 1 tablespoon each fresh lemon and orange juice
11/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Grated zest of 1 large lemon, or 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until the mixture is light-colored and thick. Don’t rush this process. The eggs should have lots of air beat into them. Beat in the lemon juice (or lemon and orange juice).
3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sprinkle one-third of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula. Gradually fold in the remaining flour and then the zest.
4. Drop the batter by teaspoonfuls on the baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown. The cookies should remain pale looking. Let cool on the baking sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack.
