The December issue of Bon Appetit Magazine is a treasure chest of wonderful holiday recipes. I plan to try most of them before the season ends and my first choice is these lovely little Lemony Slice-and-Bakes. If I could make only one Christmas cookie it would be some variation of shortbread. The addition of egg yolks in this recipe produces a shortbread that has a rich flavor and finer texture than recipes that are flour, sugar and butter only, and the addition of lemon zest is a snappy contrast to the sweetness of the frosting. A few weeks ago I bought a little bottle of gold sanding sugar at Williams-Sonoma and think it is the perfect decoration for these elegant yet simple cookies.
Lemony Slice and Bakes
: Bon Appetit Magazine
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 large egg yolks
- ICING:
- 1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
- Sanding sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk flour and salt in a medium bowl.
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed beat butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolks, beat just to blend. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and beat, occasionally scraping down sides, just to blend.
- Divide dough in half; roll each half into a 10″ long log about 1-3/4″ in diameter. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm about 1 hour. Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Unwrap dough log. Using a sharp, lightly floured knife, cut log into ¼” thick rounds. Transfer to prepared sheet, spacing 1″ apart.
- Bake until cookies are firm and golden brown around edges, 16-18 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with remaining log using cooled baking sheet and new parchment paper.
- ICING:
- Whisk sugar and 2 tablespoons juice in a small bowl, adding more juice by ½ teaspoonfuls if too thick. Spread or drizzle icing over cookies. Decorate as desired. Let stand until icing sets, about 20 minutes.
Notes
Cookies can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature. Logs of cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
The recipe suggests that, in order to keep a nice cylindrical shape to the logs they should be put into cardboard paper towel tubes to chill or freeze. Bad idea. The dough is easy to shape and slice. Who thinks up these kinds of directions???? If you love shortbread and like the idea of a great cookie that can be made ahead and baked as needed I hope you will give this recipe a try. My family gives it a big thumbs up.
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{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my gosh do these look good. I can not wait to make them this weekend. Thank you for the great receipt.
YUM!! These are almost too pretty to eat, almost! I love that gold sugar, so…….lovely!
The Café Sucré Farine recently posted..Perfect Glazed Carrots & Cranberries
Those are beautiful and man do they look good!
Ramona recently posted..Did you make half a pie?
I just love dishes that are lemony and these cookies sounds perfect for Christmas and the rest of the year. The sanding sugar was a perfect addition.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted..Orecchiette Pasta With Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
As always, the world ‘lemon’ in a recipe title drew me in. These look very good. I’ve never heard of gold sanding sugar, but it is very pretty.
They look like they taste so fresh!
Monique recently posted..Soul Food #118~And Rudolph~
I would love these. They look fabulous. Lemon anything and I am in!
Carol @There’s Always Thyme to Cook recently posted..Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies
Cathy, you have a winning recipe there, and it looks beautiful. I also read about putting the dough in a paper towel roll and I thought to myself that it sounded like a lot of trouble and a mess!!!!
Susan recently posted..My favorite German cookie….Wiesbader Brot
Cathy, these sound great. I think I’ll take this recipe with me to my son’s for Christmas and make them with my granddaughter, Mariah, she loves to bake and I love that she loves it!!
Those look absolutely AMAZING and I a a BIG lemon junkie, so I have bookmarked this recipe! Thanks so much Cathy!
Karen
Karen recently posted..What to do with a Cuddle of Chocolate Truffles! Day Fourteen on the Advent Calendar and a Chocolate Truffle Tree
We used to call them refrigerator cookies and I love having them in my fridge;. This is one recipe I have never seen before; they look fabulous. Anything lemon and I’m hooked. I have never heard of sansding sugar, but love the name.
Rita
I’m on my way to the kitchen as we speak. I love lemon and love having cookie dough in my freezer.
Beverly@Beverly’s Back Porch recently posted..Cookie Swap Brunch and Eggnog Punch
I love shortbread! I bet the addition of egg really makes the texture delightful…and they are so pretty
Hope you are having a wonderful week
Magic of Spice recently posted..What’s for breakfast? Quince Paste, Pear and Delice Cheese Crostini
Cathy, your cookies look great and I wish I had one right now! This is my favorite type of Christmas cookie and the gold sanding sugar looks great on them! Love your “inner peace” on FB; lol!!!
The cookies are beautiful Cathy, they look great with the gold sanding sugar:@)
These are amazing and I love ANYthing with lemon. I will make these to go with all the other cookies I’ve made for gift giving. I don’t have the golden sanding sugar…maybe I can get it at a bakery or such.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
xo bj
bj recently posted..Comforts of Home
I can almost taste them
Larry recently posted..Texas Rv Trip – Wrap-Up
I love lemon cookies…and bars…and tarts…and desserts in general. I really believe that I need some of these in my life very soon!
Heather @girlichef recently posted..Banana Pancakes w/ Butter Rum Banana Maple Syrup
You temptress. I went over to view the Bon Apetit issue, online, and wanted to make everything. I didn’t renew my BA subscription, only because I need to trim down paper clutter– and, it seems, you can get the magazine online for free. Wink, wink. These are beautiful cookies. I MUST bake this weekend! I haven’t even gotten started.
Foodiewife recently posted..Pumpkin Bundt Cake (Only 2-Ingredients)
I have the gold sanding sugar from Williams and Sonoma that I purchased several years ago in San Francisco!
Love anything with lemon, so I am sure I would love these cookies. And they would be perfect with tea, I just know they would. Happy baking!
Marilyn recently posted..Christmas Cup of Tea
The gold sanding sugar really takes these to the next level. Beautiful cookies!
Bonjour Cathy,
ANother winner Cathy. Thank you for posting all these delicious recipes. Definitely going to be trying this one out soon.
Are you ready for Christmas. Hope you and your family have a wonderful time together!
Mimi
I love the cookies but especially the gold sanding sugar. I’m heading to WS to get some too.
ciaochowlinda recently posted..Baccala Mantecato and Lidia’s Holiday Special
These little gems sound fantastic and look beautiful! Love that gold sanding sugar. I so agree on the shortbread cookies – my favorite!
Susan recently posted..Icicle Ornament Cookies~
Unleash the lemony goodness! Wow… I hope you don’t mind but I’m so inspired I’ve included this post in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. Thanks for sharing and MOAR please
Javelin Warrior recently posted..Food Fetish Friday
Paper towel tubes?? You’re so right… who thinks of this stuff?! These are the most elegant little cookies I’ve ever seen with the gold on them!
Karen recently posted..Jalapeno-Cream Cheese Swirls
Paper towel tubes? Snort… too funny! But love lemon, and these cookies look luscious! Why don’t we make more lemony treats for the holidays? Love the recipe…they are so tempting and pretty!
Jamie recently posted..GARLIC HERB BRAID: Homebaked Bread for the Holidays
Wow, I love lemon and the cookies look amazing! I will have to find some of the Gold Sanding Sugar. That’s a new item to me and I’m already thinking of a million uses. Thanks for the recipe.
Mary recently posted..Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings