Lemon Melting Moments

Lemon Melting Moments - made November 10, 2012 from Itty Bitty Kitchen

My mom's lemon tree is literally spilling over with lots of juicy lemons so I need to ratchet up the lemon baked goods.  Loved the picture of these on pinterest so I made these as a pre-holiday baking experiment in case I want to serve it at Thanksgiving or my dessert parties.  As always with sandwich cookies, you want to make them small since you or your guests will be eating two cookies as one.  The dough was easy to make and great to work with, not too dry or sticky.  I portioned into small balls, flattened each with a fork and froze them first.  They don't spread when they're baked and I wanted them chubby so I didn't flatten them too thin.

I liked these cookies.  They were crisp but not hard and the crisp wasn't the snap of a shortbread or dry but just good chewing.  The lemon filling complemented the butter cookie nicely but note that you may need to let it set a bit before you use it to sandwich the cookies.  The filling is more like a glaze when you first mix it but unless you want it really sweet, refrain from adding more powdered sugar until it firms up.  Then it should be okay to use as filling.  If you're serving a "high tea" this holiday season, these would be good to have with your tea.

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

Filling:
1 cup confectioners sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
juice of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
   
2. In a large bowl cream the butter, salt and sugar until light and fluffy on a medium setting, roughly 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and  incorporate the vanilla and lemon zest, scraping down the sides as you go. Sift the flour and cornstarch into the mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
3. Take small portions of the mixture and roll into balls, continue until you have 24-30. If you want them to be as even as possible, roll out the mixture until it forms a log then use a clean knife to section into 30 pieces.
4. Place them on a baking tray lined with wax paper, gently press on each piece with a fork until it has left an imprint. You can also press on them gently with your fingers, if you do not wish to leave an imprint. (You can also chill the dough at this point, if so, don't preheat the oven until you're ready to bake.)
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Let them cool completely.
6. For the filling beat the sugar, butter and lemon juice on a medium setting until incorporated. Use the back of a spoon, or a knife to ice one side of the cookie then sandwich them together. Try to find two which are similar sizes.