Friday, January 16, 2009

Lemon Meltaway Cookies

I was looking for a fast and yummy treat to bring to a friend who had just had a baby. Lemons are very plentiful here this time of year, so I've been baking and cooking with them a lot (you might have noticed). I love lemon! I saw this recipe online a while ago and have been wanting to make it ever since- this was the perfect excuse! This is a Taste of Home recipe, and comes to us via Allrecipes.com. I added more juice to the frosting, and also added a little natural lemon extract to both the cookies and the frosting. I left out the food color. Instead of refrigerating for 2 hours, I froze the dough for about 40 minutes. These cookies have a shortbread-like texture and taste- they are wonderful!

Lemon Meltaways from Allrecipes.com

3/4 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy; beat in lemon juice. Combine the flour and cornstarch; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Shape into two 8-in. rolls; wrap each roll in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
2. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-12 minutes or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Remove to wire racks to cool.
3. For frosting, in a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and food coloring if desired; beat until smooth. Frost cooled cookies.

11 comments:

Alisa said...

Yumm!! But is there a substitute for cornstarch? I don't know where the heck to find that around here...

What a Dish! said...

I have no idea about that- you can sub flour for cornstarch in gravies and things like that, but these would be different. I'd probably just use a regular shortbread cookie recipe and add lemon flavor. Or have Marilyn bring you some cornstarch!

Shelby said...

Dishy these look delicious! Is that the sun I see on those cookies? I'm so envious! We have been having way below zero temps here and not much sunshine!

What a Dish! said...

Yes HoneyB, it is sun! While we have lots of rain here, we seem to have an equal amount of sun, for which I am thankful!

Anonymous said...

Dishy, what a wonderful looking little recipe; certainly right up my alley. I already have a number of sweet things going on in my kitchen, but I just know that this recipe is going to be one that I'll be preparing very, very soon. I love lemon, too, so will follow your lead. Thanks for sharing your tweaks. They all sound great. And I love that gorgeous blue dish!

Alisa said...

Good idea! I should add it to the list of my mail, canning jars, and perhaps wheat flour...hehehee....

:-)

Lawsy Mercy said...

Yum-O! Those look great! I need to make up a bunch soon. You are lucky to be near lemons. They are very expensive to buy here right now.

Linda said...

Dishy, those are mouth-watering, and I need to make them for my Mom--she loves lemon too!

What is natural lemon extract? Is it like McCormick's or is that a TJ's item?

What a Dish! said...

Granny, my extract happens to be TJ's, but I'm sure McCormicks' is good too- by natural extract I just meant to use one that contained lemon oil in the ingredients, instead of artificial lemon flavoring.

Linda said...

You just had to rub that in about TJ's, didn' you? :o)

Roland said...

To Alisa and Jared, below is a link to a comprehensive ingredient substitution page courtesy of landolakes. Cornstarch is one of the ingredients listed.

http://www.landolakes.com/tips/Substitutions.cfm