Lemon Orange Sour Cream Cookies - December 13, 2009
It's a busy social week this week as I have lunch and dinner with different friends nearly every day this week. I like to bring goodie bags of things I've baked for my friends whenever I see them so I have a mountain of baking to do. I'm somewhat prepared by having cookie dough in my freezer ready to bake off at the last minute before a social gathering and I have brownies baked in the last few days that I've already cut up, packaged and have in the freezer, also ready to go at a moment's notice. But still, I have more baking to do. This morning I woke up early before church to tackle this recipe. It's from the 2nd of Rosie's Bakery's cookbooks that I got recently called Chocolate-Packed, Jam-Filled, Butter-Rich, No-Holds-Barred Cookie Book. With that title, what's not to love?
In any case, I decided to give this recipe a try to contrast with the chocolate treats I've already baked. The recipe contains sour cream which past experience tells me this will make a cakey cookie. And so it did. I didn't have any oranges in the house but plenty of lemons so I used lemon zest and made it an all-lemon cookie. I baked the first batch for precisely 10 minutes which is what the recipe calls for. It seemed to be a bit early to take out but I always err on the side of underbaking. Good thing too because once they were cool, they tasted perfect. I left the last cookie sheet in there a minute or so longer and they were overbaked. The thing with cakey cookies is they don't necessarily taste dry but their flavor definitely seems to bake out of the cookie. So don't overbake these.
I also ran out of the glaze since I treated it more as a frosting - once it cools, it thickens/hardens. So if you make this, double the glaze recipe for 1 cookie recipe. Either that or I just had a heavy hand with the frosting. The cookies themselves weren't too lemony but the frosting was and added a nice touch. These cookies are pretty fragile though so once again, not suitable for mailing.
Lemon Orange Sour Cream Cookies
The Cookie
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cake flour
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons grated orange zest
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons sour cream
The Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease them with vegetable oil.
2. Sift both flours, the baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a small bowl and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla in a medium-size bowl until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl.
4. Add the egg and mix on medium speed until blended, about 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl.
5. Add the sour cream and mix on medium-low until blended, about 8 seconds.
6. Fold in the flour mixture by hand. Then blend with the mixer on low speed for 5 seconds. Scrape the bowl with the rubber spatula, and mix on low speed until the batter is smooth and velvety, 10 seconds. Give the batter a stir or two with the spatula.
7. Drop the batter by large rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
8. Bake until the cookies have puffed up, are firm to the touch and are just beginning to turn golden around the edges, 10 minutes. Let the cookies sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Then slide the sheet of parchment onto the counter (or, using a spatula, carefully transfer each cookie to a sheet of aluminum foil or waxed paper on the counter), and let them cool further.
9. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium-size bowl. Add the butter and lemon juice, and beat vigorously with a whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
10. Once the cookies have cooled, drop generously rounded ½ teaspoons of the glaze onto each cookie and spread with small butter knife. Allow them to sit until the glaze hardens, about 2 hours (or pop them into the refrigerator for 1 hour).
11. If you plan to eat the cookies that day, leave them sitting out. To store them, place them in an airtight plastic container with plastic wrap, parchment, or waxed paper between the layers. Store them in the refrigerator if you plan to eat them the next day. Otherwise, place the container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Bring the cookies to room temperature before eating.
Makes about 24 cookies
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cake flour
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons grated orange zest
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons sour cream
The Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease them with vegetable oil.
2. Sift both flours, the baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a small bowl and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla in a medium-size bowl until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl.
4. Add the egg and mix on medium speed until blended, about 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl.
5. Add the sour cream and mix on medium-low until blended, about 8 seconds.
6. Fold in the flour mixture by hand. Then blend with the mixer on low speed for 5 seconds. Scrape the bowl with the rubber spatula, and mix on low speed until the batter is smooth and velvety, 10 seconds. Give the batter a stir or two with the spatula.
7. Drop the batter by large rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
8. Bake until the cookies have puffed up, are firm to the touch and are just beginning to turn golden around the edges, 10 minutes. Let the cookies sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Then slide the sheet of parchment onto the counter (or, using a spatula, carefully transfer each cookie to a sheet of aluminum foil or waxed paper on the counter), and let them cool further.
9. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Place the confectioners’ sugar in a medium-size bowl. Add the butter and lemon juice, and beat vigorously with a whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
10. Once the cookies have cooled, drop generously rounded ½ teaspoons of the glaze onto each cookie and spread with small butter knife. Allow them to sit until the glaze hardens, about 2 hours (or pop them into the refrigerator for 1 hour).
11. If you plan to eat the cookies that day, leave them sitting out. To store them, place them in an airtight plastic container with plastic wrap, parchment, or waxed paper between the layers. Store them in the refrigerator if you plan to eat them the next day. Otherwise, place the container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Bring the cookies to room temperature before eating.
Makes about 24 cookies
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