Lemon Snowflake Cookies
Submitted by rainy1961
Lemon snowflake cookies with a tender lemon-zest dough rolled thin, cut with fluted cutters, and decorated with lemon royal icing piped into snowflake patterns. A beautiful holiday cookie.
YIELD
36 servingsPREP
2 hrsCOOK
10 minREADY
2 hrsThese lemon cookies are built for decorating. A tender, citrusy dough made with fresh lemon zest and lemon extract rolls out thin and cuts into fluted rounds that bake up crisp with barely golden edges. The royal icing pipes into delicate snowflake patterns that harden into a glossy finish.
Cream of tartar in the dough works with the baking soda to give these cookies a fine, even crumb without any puffiness. You want them flat and smooth so the icing has a clean canvas. Chill the dough for the full two hours. Warm dough spreads during baking and loses its sharp, fluted edges.
The royal icing needs a good 7-10 minutes of beating to reach the right stiffness. It should hold a firm peak when you lift the beater. Too thin and it runs off the cookie; too thick and it won’t pipe smoothly through a small round tip.
Pro Tips
- Roll the dough to an even ⅛ inch thickness. Uneven rolling means some cookies are crispy while others are still soft in the middle.
- Flour the rolling pin and work surface lightly. Too much flour toughens the cookies and dulls the lemon flavor.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing. Warm cookies melt the icing on contact and it slides right off.
- Cover unused icing with a damp paper towel while you work. Royal icing crusts over fast once exposed to air.
Variations
- Add a drop of blue food coloring to the icing for an icy, wintry look.
- Dust finished cookies with edible glitter or sanding sugar before the icing sets for sparkle.
- Use orange zest and orange extract instead of lemon for a citrus variation that pairs beautifully with the same icing technique.
Ingredients
Directions
For cookies, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy.
Add egg, milk, lemon zest, and lemon extract; beat until smooth.
In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; add to creamed mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours or until dough is firm.
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out dough to ⅛ inch thickness.
Use a 3 inch diameter fluted edge cookie cutter ot cut out cookies.
Transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For icing: beat confectioners sugar, water, meringue powder and lemon extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer 7 to 10 minutes or until stiff.
Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip.
Comments
These are such pretty cookies--I love the light blue and white and silver combination! And the lemon flavor sounds very tasty too! :)