Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Glittering Lemon Sandwich Cookies

Once I stared baking from the Gourmet Cookie Book, I couldn't stop with just one cookie. As I flip back through the book again now, I don't see any cookies in it that I don't want to try. This next one I baked is the second to last cookie in the book, and it's from a 2008 issue of the magazine. The glittery, sparkly little butter cookies sandwiched with a lemon buttercream just had to be tried. They're made with a straightforward dough with no surprises, and the hardest part of making these was rolling the dough into little balls to be coated with sanding sugar. The very next day after baking these, I found a similar recipe from which I learned that if you chill the dough for a bit, rolling it into balls is much easier. I'm set for next time. Each cookie is tiny, made with just barely a teaspoon of dough, but when they're sandwiched together they're just the right size.

To start, flour, cornstarch, and salt were whisked together and set aside. Butter and confectioners' sugar were mixed until fluffy, and lemon zest and vanilla were added. The flour mixture was mixed in until the dough formed. At that point, I should have chilled the dough for at least 30 minutes. Had I done so, rolling teaspoons of it into balls and then coating them in sanding sugar would have been a breeze. Since I didn't chill the dough, I had sticky cookie dough all over my hands and repeatedly had to stop and wash my hands and start again. I rolled half the cookies in plain white sanding sugar and the other half in sugar in confetti colors. The sugared balls of dough were placed on baking sheets and baked for about 12 minutes. When they were cool, the filling was made with confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, corn syrup, and softened butter. The buttercream was placed in a plastic bag, the corner was snipped, and filling was piped onto the flat sides of half the cookies before they were paired up and sandwiched.

I think these dazzling, little treats look a lot more complicated than they really are which is one reason I liked them. Another reason is that the tart lemon flavor in the smooth filling is a nice contrast with the sugary, crunchy cookie coating. They're festive and eye catching, and this is a cookie I know I'll be making for many more occasions to come.


21 comments:

  1. Lisa,
    These are some of the prettiest cookies I have ever seen! What a gorgeous presentation. I am so not a cookie baker, wish I had the patience.
    Merry Happy!

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  2. Truly adorable cookies you have here, and very sparkly indeed! I love that Gourmet cookie book, too. It's a gem.

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  3. Another amazing cookie recipe. I like the way you decorated your cookies.

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  4. Those sandwich cookies look divine! I bet they are addictive.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. As much as I love to bake, I'm not a huge fan of making cookies. Especially ones that take lots of hands-on time and are very small. Kudos to your for making these beauties! I wish I had the patience!

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  6. These are so beautiful! I love them!

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  7. Wow, so lovely! Great cookies for Christmas celebrations, sparkling. And happy holidays!

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  8. The thought of all this lemon has me drooling uncontrollably! THese are so adorable!

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  9. These are adorable! I love the Christmas colored sparkly ones. I'll bet they taste great too. I love anything with lemon. Have a Merry Christmas!

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  10. Lisa, these are amazing and gorgeous and so much fun! What lovely cookies!

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  11. Lisa, these cookies look fabulous, so delicate and festive, perfect for the Holidays...love anything that has lemon :-)

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  12. Those sandwich cookies look absolutely delightful!!

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  13. Wishing you and your love one a wonderful Christmas Lisa!

    Your cookies look beautiful and sparkle.

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  14. THey look so happy and festive! And they are lemony!

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  15. You said it - these are festive indeed! The pictures immediately made me smile. What a beautiful recipe - thanks for sharing and happiest of holidays Lisa!

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  16. These are so glittery and gorgeous! I wonder what it would be like doing this with macarons? I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Lisa and one full of wonderful treats :D

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  17. dainty and lovely! these'd be perfect for a shower nosh or really, something even more classy and formal. nice!

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  18. Very pretty and love the glitters too! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ♥

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  19. I love the sparkles - how festive! Merry Christmas :)

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  20. I want the Gourmet Cookie Book. I also want to come over to your house for cookies and cocktails. And I don't think that I can wait until Christmas rolls around this year, either.

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