This is a great Valentine’s recipe if you like the taste of lemons, the cookie is a little tart with the icing giving it a sweet taste.
Puffed Heart Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
1 recipe Royal Icing or Lemon Glaze (recipe below)
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat 3-inch heart shape pans* or 3-1/2-inch muffin top pans with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Step 2
In a small bowl stir together flour and baking powder; set aside.
Step 3
In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in lemon peel.
Step 4
Using about 2 tablespoons batter, spread into the prepared heart-shaped pans or muffin top pans. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges is golden. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack; cool completely.
Step 5
Spread half the cookie tops with white Lemon Glaze and the other half with pink Lemon Glaze, or frost all one color. Let stand on a wire rack until icing is dry. Transfer some of the icings to a pastry bag fitted with a writing tip or a small self-sealing plastic bag with a small corner snipped off to pipe initials if desired. Makes about 20 cookies.
These cookies were made in Heart Cookie Treat Pans from wilton.com. The pans have a slot for inserting lollipop sticks, but the batter is thick enough that it will not run out of these grooves. If you do not have this pan or a madeleine or muffin top pan, add 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel to the dough. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 3 hours or until easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out dough with 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutters. Bake as above.
Royal Icing
Ingredients
1 16 ounces package powdered sugar (3-1/4 cups)
2 tablespoons meringue powder (with cake decorating supplies at crafts stores)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup of warm water
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
Directions
In a large mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, meringue powder, and cream of tartar. Add water. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined; beat on high speed for 7 to 10 minutes or until sugar mixture is very stiff. Add lemon peel. Cover bowl with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap; refrigerate up to 2 days. Makes about 5 cups.
Recipe and Picture from Midwest Living
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