glazed lemon cookies

I know food bloggers are supposed to have the whole holiday thing way under control. Months ahead of time you are supposed to start putting together holiday themed boards on Pinterest (Turkey stuffing in August anyone?) all leading up to that perfect Christmas/Easter/4th of July recipe several weeks before the actual holiday.

The problem is that I’ve never been good at holiday planning.

I’m the one frantically paying for overnight shipping 3 days before Christmas and if I didn’t have a special birthday app on my iPhone none of my friends (or family for that matter) would still be talking to me.

Which kind of explains the heart shaped cookies you are seeing here on the blog today. 2 full days after Valentines Day.

Or, if you prefer (and here I am truly getting a jump on things) 363 days before Valentines Day 2016.

I know that I should probably have filed away this recipe to use next January (yes, that’s when hearts start showing up everywhere). But it was just so delicious that I had to share it now.

We were invited to a dinner party on Saturday and although I was told specifically it was not a Valentine’s themed anything, I couldn’t help but think of something pink and love filled. After even a minute spent on any social media feed on February 14 you pretty much think it’s a law that all deserts must be some pretty pastel shade of pink. (and chocolate and raspberries don’t hurt either)

So I just bowed down and embraced it. I dug out my heart shaped cookie cutters. I pulled down my bag of powdered sugar. And that’s when disaster stuck. No food coloring. None. Not even a lone little bottle of green or blue, much less red or pink.

I did, however, had 4 kilos of lemons to deal with.

And so what was going to be 2 dozen pretty – but fairly run of the mill – frosted sugar cookies, became ever so much better – but slightly less sexy looking – lemon cookies.

Since I was veering off course anyway, I decided to use whole wheat farro flour instead of regular all purpose. This not only made the dough a bit easier to handle, but gave the finished cookies a richer, nuttier taste and texture.

The frosting is more of a glaze than true frosting, and so will never look as perfect as all those hearts on Martha Stewart’s Valentine’s Pinterest Board.

You can, of course, make these cookies in any shape you want to, even if it’s not Valentine’s day. But you want to know something? Even though the dinner party I went to had nothing at all to do with Valentines Day, and was full of important, real journalists who report on real important news every day, you want to know what they said when I placed my platter of hearts in the center of the table?

“Awwwww.”

Everyone likes a heart shaped cookie. Even when it’s not Valentines  day. And even more when they taste as good as these.

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glazed lemon cookies

Prep 1 hour, 30 mins

Cook 10 mins

Total 1 hour, 40 mins

Author Elizabeth

Yield 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup / 220 grams butter (I use slightly salted butter because I like my cookies a bit salty)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest, grated finely
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups / 300 grams whole wheat farro flour
• For glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Using an electric beater, beat the butter , sugar, zest and salt until creamy.
2. Add the egg, vanilla and baking powder and stir until just combined.
3. Divide the dough in half, and form two flat disks. Wrap in plastic and chill for an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
5. Line two cookie sheet with parchment
6. Take one disk of dough out at a time. Roll out, on floured surface, and using a cookie cutter cut into desired shapes. Repeat with remaining dough and scraps.
7. Bake 10 minutes or so, until the edges just start turning golden. Be careful not to over cook.
8. Remove and cool on a rack.
9. Mix the powdered sugar with lemon juice, zest and vanilla.
10. When the cookies are completely cool, glaze.