Lemon Ginger Cookies

 

1⅔ cups flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp.  ground allspice

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ cup finely chopped/minced crystallized ginger, divided

 

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, allspice, and salt. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, then stir in 2 Tbsp of the crystallized ginger.

Roll the dough into scant 1-Tbsp balls and lightly press a few pieces of the remaining crystallized ginger onto the tops. Chill the dough balls for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place dough balls on lined baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake for 11–13 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the centers still look soft. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

This recipe can be found here.

Crispy Ranch & Lemon Roasted Sprouts

 

1½ lbs Brussels sprouts

⅓ cup oil olive oil

3 tsp. ranch seasoning powder

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

⅛ tsp. red pepper flakes

½ tsp. zest of lemon

3 tsp. fresh lemon juice

⅓ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

 

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut off the hard ends of the brussels sprouts. Remove any yellow outer leaves.

Cut in half. Rinse under cold water. Drain and dry well on a kitchen towel.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, ranch powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

Add in Brussels sprouts. Using your hands, toss and coat the sprouts well in the seasoned oil mixture.

Transfer to 2 large baking sheets, with parchment paper. Oil the parchment paper well with vegetable oil. Place facing the cut side down on the sheet about 1½-2 inches apart. Discard any fallen out leaves.

Bake in oven 18-25 minutes.

With 5 minutes remaining, add the almonds.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and salt.

This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Almond Crumble Bars

 

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup butter

1 large egg

1 cup chopped almonds

 

Lemon Filling:

14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

4 Tbsp. lemon zest (zest of 2-3 lemons)

½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)

2 large egg yolks

 

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with parchment paper or foil and grease with cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter one Tbsp. at a time and mix until the ingredients resemble fine crumbs. Add the egg and mix until incorporated.

Press 2/3 of the mixture onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is starting to lightly brown.

While crust is baking, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Gently pour over the semi-cooked crust while still warm. Spread evenly with a spatula.

Crumble the remaining crust evenly over the top of the lemon filling. (Squeeze crumbs together in hands for bigger chunks.) Sprinkle almonds on top. Bake at 375° for an additional 20-25 minutes until the top is lightly brown and the filling is set in the center.

Cool on a rack to room temperature. Then chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until cold. Lift bars out of the pan. Cut and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from here

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

 

1 cup butter, softened
2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
¾ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, eggs, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping tsp. of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Pull Apart Rolls

 ROLLS

12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp butter, melted

 

GLAZE:

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice (more or less)

 

Cut rolls in half and place cut side down in a greased 9x13" pan. Drizzle with the melted butter. Mix lemon zest and sugar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle HALF of the lemon-sugar mixture over the rolls.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise till doubled. Since the dough is still cold, it can take 2-3 hours.

 

Preheat oven to 350°.

Sprinkle the remaining lemon-sugar mixture on top of the rolls. Bake at 350° for about 20-25 minutes.

 

Whisk together glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over rolls while still warm.

 

NOTES

-If you can't find frozen roll dough in your area, you can use homemade dough and it works just fine.

-If you like lots of icing on your rolls, double the icing recipe.

This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Shortbread

 

1½ cups (350 g) butter,

2¼ cups (350 g) flour

2 large pinches salt

Zest of 2 small lemons

1 cup (140 g) powdered sugar, sifted

2-4 Tbsp. sugar, for topping

 

Have ready a 9X13 pan, lined with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl mix soft butter with powdered sugar, salt and lemon zest.  Mix well so there are no lumps.

Add flour, mixing until it is smooth, well combined and no dry spots remain.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, scattering small amounts on the bottom.

With your hand, lightly pat the dough until it covers the whole surface. Make sure the edges are covered. Make it as even as you can.

Bake shortbread for 40-45 minutes, until top is dry, it has puffed a little and is beginning to color.

Let cool 10 minutes on a wire rack and carefully cut into sticks with a pizza cutter.

Let cool completely, lift off the pan with the aid of the parchment paper and carefully break each piece.

Keep in airtight cookie jars or tins.

This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Lemonies

FOR THE BARS

 ¾ cup white chocolate chips

 ½ cup butter

 2 large eggs

 ¾ cup granulated sugar

 ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

 pinch salt

FOR THE GLAZE

 2 cups powdered sugar

 1/3 cup lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency

 1 Tbsp. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8-X-8-inch pan with foil, spray and set aside.

FOR THE BARS:

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter.  Immediately add the white chocolate and stir until smooth.  Let sit for a minute. Add the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and whisk until combined.  Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined.

Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.

Bake 27 - 28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Set aside and make the glaze.

FOR THE GLAZE:

In a medium bowl, add powdered sugar, lemon juice, and whisk until smooth. Glaze should be fairly thin and easily pourable. Add sugar or lemon juice as needed.  Evenly pour glaze over bars, smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place. Evenly sprinkle with lemon zest.

Allow bars to cool in pan uncovered for at least 2 to 3 hours, (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up.

NOTES

Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

This recipe can be found here.

Pound Cake Cookies

For the Cookies:

1 cup sugar

Lemon zest, from one whole lemon

11 Tbsp. butter

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

For the Glaze:

1¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In large bowl, stir together the sugar and lemon zest until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant. Add butter to the sugar and beat until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix until combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough onto leaving 2 inches between each.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden. Rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing. Let cool completely.

For the Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and milk. Spoon or pipe glaze over cookies. If desired, immediately sprinkle cookies with sparkling sugar.  Allow glaze to harden before serving.

Notes

Refrigerate leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.



This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1½ tsp. freshly grated lemon zest

1 tsp. ground coriander

2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

¾ cup salted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1½ tsp. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 300°

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, lemon zest, coriander and poppy seeds. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until the mixture forms a grainy paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg yolks, egg, and lemon extract. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until cookies are slightly brown along the edges.  Immediately transfer the cookies with a spatula to a cool surface.

This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

1½ cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 lemon, zested

Preheat the oven to 375°

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. 

This recipe can be found here.

Lemon Sandwich Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1½ cups sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking powder

2¼ cups flour

Lemon frosting:

½ cup butter

2½ cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

yellow food coloring, if desired

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat in well. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until well incorporated.

Roll cookies in 1/2 inch ball and place on greased cookie sheet. Space cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart from each other. Press cookie balls down slightly and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges of cookies.

Lemon Buttercream

Combine ingredients for frosting and beat until smooth and creamy. Spread frosting on a cookie and place another one on the frosting side of cookie to make a cookie sandwich.

This recipe can be found here.