Phyllis Diller's Lemon Refrigerator Cookies

Icebox cookies are the ultimate make-ahead move: mix the dough, roll it into logs, refrigerate overnight, and slice off thin rounds whenever you want fresh-baked cookies. These lemon ones are bright with fresh juice and zest, with chopped nuts adding crunch throughout.

Using both butter and shortening in the dough gives you the best of both worlds. Butter brings flavor, shortening keeps the cookies from spreading too flat. Together they produce a cookie that’s crisp at the edges with a slightly tender center.

The overnight chill firms the logs solid enough to slice cleanly into thin, uniform rounds. Cutting them right out of the fridge while they’re still cold gives you the sharpest edges.

Pro Tips

• Roll the logs tightly in waxed paper and twist the ends like a candy wrapper. Loose wrapping means flat-sided logs and oval cookies.
• Slice a full quarter inch thick. Thinner slices burn at this high oven temperature.
• The dough logs keep in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for months. Slice off only what you need.
• Pull the cookies at 8 minutes if your oven runs hot. They should be barely golden, not brown.

Variations

• Dip half of each cooled cookie in melted white chocolate for an elegant finish.
• Roll the dough logs in coarse sugar before refrigerating for a sparkly, crunchy edge on every slice.
• Swap lemon for lime juice and zest for a lime icebox cookie variation.