I must confess, I have a real weakness for lemon flavored anything. When I saw this recipe on Pastry and Beyond the other day for a Lemon Slice-And-Bake Cookie, I immediately printed it out. Slice and bake cookies are some of my all time favorite cookies to make and to bake!
Why you ask? Because they are usually very simple to put together. Also, you can keep the unbaked logs in the freezer for quite a while giving you cookies on tap, ready to bake as and when you want them.
I also love the texture of Slice-And-Bake cookies. They are somewhat of a cross between a sugar cookie and a short bread. Not quite as crisp and crumbly as a shortbread, but not quite as soft as a sugar cookie either.
These were quite plain and so I added a sprinkle of demerara sugar to the tops prior to baking. This added a nice crunch when they were done. You could rub a bit of lemon zest into the demerara (turbinado) sugar as well for even more lemon flavor.
I also chose to add an optional icing sugar lemon glaze to the finished cookies. Oh my but it was a lovely touch. Dressed them up very nicely and added even more lemon flavor! A couple of these and a nice hot cup of whatever floats your boat and you will be in lemon heaven! I guarantee!!
Do note that the dough needs to be well chilled prior to slicing and baking. This can be done by chilling the dough in the refrigerator for four hours or in the freezer for 40 minutes. I did the latter. Worked beautifully. Quite simply delicious!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE LEMON SLICE-AND-BAKE COOKIES
Just a few baking cupboard ingredients and about 4 to 5 medium lemons for the zest. Squeeze the juice out of them all afterwards and freeze it in ice cube trays, ready for whenever you need a TBS of lemon juice!
For the cookies:
- 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup +1 TBS (130g) butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 TBS (30g) lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (18g) freshly grated lemon zest (2 TBS packed)
- 1 large free range egg
- demerara sugar to sprinkle (optional)
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- lemon juice to thin
Do NOT use self raising flour for these cookies. They need no leavening. There is no baking soda or baking powder needed.
I use salted butter. I cannot be bothered to keep both unsalted and salted butter in the house and so I buy salted because it is what I use most often. It is easy enough to cut back on the salt in any recipe to make up for it. I buy PC salted butter and it is not very salty at all.
There is no such thing as unwaxed lemons where I live. I always scrub my lemons really well before I use them to get rid of any wax and insect debris.
Again I use organic free range eggs. They do not taste any different than regular eggs, but I like to think I am helping chickens out by doing so. I refuse to support the caged hen industry. I would rather pay more for my eggs.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON SLICE-AND-BAKE COOKIES
These are relatively simple to make. You can do the dough up ahead of time and keep it chilled in the refrigerator for up to three days prior to baking. You can also freeze the unbaked dough for up to two months, and of course the baked cookies will also freeze well.
Measure the granulated sugar and lemon zest into a bowl. Rub them both together with your fingertips until the sugar smells all lemony and fragrant.Add the butter and cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until thoroughly combined and then the lemon juice.Slowly beat in the flour until completely incorporated. Mix well together.Divide the dough in half and then shape each half into a log which is 2 inches wide and six inches long. Wrap tightly in plastic cling film and chill for four hours or overnight. Alternately you can place in the freezer for 40 minutes until firm.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
Using a sharp knife cut the logs crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place onto the baking sheet leaving some space in between. Sprinkle a bit of demerara sugar over each.Bake in the preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes until just beginning to color. Turn off the oven and leave for a further 5 to 6 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
Remove from the oven. Leave to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before lifting off to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cold, whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice to give you a thin glace icing. Flick this over top of the cookies. Leave to set completely before storing in an air tight container. They will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.
The unbaked dough will keep frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 2 months.
I was really pleased with both the ease of preparation of these cookies and the taste of the finished cookies. The cookies themselves are loaded with plenty of lemon flavor and have a beautiful crisp snap to them.
I added a sprinkle of demerara sugar to the cookies prior to baking for some crunch and a sweet lemon glaze because I thought they would taste even better. It was a good call because I ended up with an incredibly moreish lemon cookie that went down ever so nicely with a hot cuppa!
Are you like me and you love, Love, LOVE the flavor of lemon? If so might I tempt you with these other lemon delights?
LEMON KISSES - This isTHEperfect lemon cookie. These cookies are crisp, buttery and full on lemony! Wowzah wowzah! Pucker up because these cookies are going to slap you with a lovely lemon kiss! They are so simple to make and bake as well. The recipe is one I adapted from a little BBC Good Food Book, entitled Easy Baking Recipes. Two crisp buttery cookies, sandwiched together with lemon curd and drizzled with a lemon drizzle icing. Scrumptious!
MARY BERRY'S LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE - Nothing beats a nice thick slice of a Lemon Drizzle Cake with a hot cuppa on a cold drizzly day. And when you are talking about Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Cake you know you are talking about the best Lemon Drizzle cake ever! This is one of those cakes that improves upon standing. If you can leave it overnight without cutting into it so much the better. Its hard to do that though coz its just so darned good. I always want to cut into it right away!
Lemon Slice-And-Bake Cookies
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinInactive time: 4 HourTotal time: 4 H & 25 MThese are crisp and buttery and loaded with plenty of lemon flavor. I added a sweet lemon glaze to dress them up a bit. Delicious!Ingredients
For the cookies:- 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup +1 TBS (130g) butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 TBS (30g) lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (18g) freshly grated lemon zest (2 TBS packed)
- 1 large free range egg
- demerara sugar to sprinkle (optional)
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- lemon juice to thin
Instructions
- Measure the granulated sugar and lemon zest into a bowl. Rub them both together with your fingertips until the sugar smells all lemony and fragrant.
- Add the butter and cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until thoroughly combined and then the lemon juice.
- Slowly beat in the flour until completely incorporated. Mix well together.
- Divide the dough in half and then shape each half into a log which is 2 inches wide and six inches long. Wrap tightly in plastic cling film and chill for four hours or overnight. Alternately you can place in the freezer for 40 minutes until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
- Using a sharp knife cut the logs crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place onto the baking sheet leaving some space in between. Sprinkle a bit of demerara sugar over each.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes until just beginning to color. Turn off the oven and leave for a further 5 to 6 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven. Leave to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before lifting off to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cold, whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice to give you a thin glace icing. Flick this over top of the cookies. Leave to set completely before storing in an air tight container. They will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.
- The unbaked dough will keep frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 2 months.
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