Hey Santa - Bonus Recipe

A special bonus post for my fellow friendly blogger, Rosie Hawthorne of Kitchens Are Monkey Business fame, who requested my recipe for Lemon Snowdrop Cookies. This is a recipe that I found in Taste of the South magazine and it is from Chef Tyler Brown of the Capitol Grille at the Hermitage Hotel.

Lemon Butter Filling:

2/3 c. sugar

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 tbsp. lemon zest

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons softened butter

Cookies:

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 c. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter for filling. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for approximately 10 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice for cookies, beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add flour and salt, beating until combined.

Using a 1 tsp. measure, roll dough into balls. Place on prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until firm. Let cookies cool.

Spread half of the cookies with filling and top with remaining cookies. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

I should note that we didn't like these as sandwich cookies because they were too thick. Instead, I put the filling on the tops of the cookies and dusted them with the sugar and we liked this much better. I think the next time I make them, I will make them like jam thumbprints and make a little indentation in the center to hold the filling.