Lemon - Raspberry Sandwich Cookies
Cookie-mania! I just made 4 different types of cookies, including the raspberry - lemon sandwich cookies that won the poll. The idea is from Martha Stewart, but I did not use her lemon cookies because the reviews about them weren't too kind. I used Nigella Lawson butter cut-out cookies and added freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest to the dough and they came out wonderful! They have a lovely light lemon taste to it and the lemon does not overpower the jam. Besides raspberry-jam, I also made some sandwich cookies with apricot, strawberry and home-made grapefruit cream which is delicious! Rating: 4 out of 5! Here are the recipes:
Lemon Cookies recipe: adapted from Nigella Lawson's 'Butter Cut-Out Cookies'
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup soft unsalted butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 2/3 cups cake flour, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C (it really has no purpose doing this now because the cookie dough will need to lay at least 1 hour in the fridge).
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving toward moussiness, then beat in the eggs, vanilla and lemon juice.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, mix gently but surely (I suggest using a dough hook attachment on your mixer). If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough.
- Halve the dough, form into flat discs, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. (when the hour has passed and I'm ready to use the dough, I start preheating the oven)
- Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place a disc of dough on it, not taking out the other half until you've finished with the first, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that.
- Roll it out to a thickness of about ¼ inch (0.6 cm). Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 – 12 minutes, by which time they will be lightly golden around the edges. Cool on a rack and continue with the rest of the dough.
Grapefruit Cream Filling recipe: Martha Stewart - Baking Handbook
Ingredients: (this is the entire recipe, but I halved it for myself and doubled the grapefruit juice)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
Instructions:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Beat in the honey.
- Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a small bowl, cover and set aside until ready to use.
I assigned each different shaped cookie to a particular flavor. So that I did't get confused!
I had a grapefruit that was lying in my kitchen for weeks, so I decided to also make home-made grapefruit cream filling! How beautiful is this grapefruit sliced down the middle.
The sight of these delightful cookies makes me swoon :)
Raspberry and strawberry jam.
Apricot jam (my favorite).
Grapefruit cream filling.
Lemon Cookies recipe: adapted from Nigella Lawson's 'Butter Cut-Out Cookies'
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup soft unsalted butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 2/3 cups cake flour, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C (it really has no purpose doing this now because the cookie dough will need to lay at least 1 hour in the fridge).
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving toward moussiness, then beat in the eggs, vanilla and lemon juice.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, mix gently but surely (I suggest using a dough hook attachment on your mixer). If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough.
- Halve the dough, form into flat discs, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. (when the hour has passed and I'm ready to use the dough, I start preheating the oven)
- Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place a disc of dough on it, not taking out the other half until you've finished with the first, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that.
- Roll it out to a thickness of about ¼ inch (0.6 cm). Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 – 12 minutes, by which time they will be lightly golden around the edges. Cool on a rack and continue with the rest of the dough.
Grapefruit Cream Filling recipe: Martha Stewart - Baking Handbook
Ingredients: (this is the entire recipe, but I halved it for myself and doubled the grapefruit juice)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
Instructions:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Beat in the honey.
- Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a small bowl, cover and set aside until ready to use.
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