I am casting my memory back to the day of the Royal Wedding in the not-so-distant past. It was grey and depressing, just like today. A good day to bake and try to make life taste better!
Perhaps I should always make a recipe right after I watch the show that inspired me to want to make a treat in the first place. I loved the idea of Claire Robinson’s Lemon Pie Cookies. Cookies that taste like lemon pie? Genius! I printed out the recipe and then a week or so later, tried to remember how she made them. Yeah… right…
I did not need many cookies because I was making some other treats that day so I divided the recipe in half. I creamed 1 sick (half a cup) of unsalted room temperature butter with 1/2 cup of icing sugar and 1/4 tsp of salt until smooth.
I added the juice of one lemon and the zest of half a lemon.
I added 1 cup of flour, half a cup at a time.
Until everything came together. Then you are supposed to roll the dough into a log and chill for an hour.
The problem? She did not say anything about the size of the cookies when it comes to width which threw me off completely. So much so I even (gasp) forgot to take photos of me rolling the batter into a log and then later cutting the cookies! Yes, they were supposed to be 1/4″ thick disks but if you look at the photograph of her cookies, you will see they are quite wide. Mine are not! And, hers seem to be much thinner than mine. So frustrating.
You are supposed to bake these in a preheated 350F oven for 20 minutes but mine were done in 10 so the bottoms of the first batch got a little scorched when I looked in on them after 15 minutes.
I went ahead and made the filling. I creamed together 2 ounces of cream cheese with 1/2 cup of icing sugar and zest from half a lemon. It was very thick so I added a little lemon juice.
This one was from the “good” batch that did not get scorched. I dipped the bottom-side into the lemon filling and sandwiched it with another cookie.
These were the prettiest of the bunch and they did end up being worthy of a royal wedding. In fact, we also nibbled on these while watching the Canadian election drinking tea!
Delicate and stunning, had the instructions for these cookies been better they would have gotten a perfect rating. If I had followed the baking instructions, these cookies would have burned. I can not forgive crappy instructions so I give these cookies four out of five wooden spoons.
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Tori says
Yum!! I like lemon, but the friend I’ll be living with in June is a lemon fanatic! I will have to make these for her as a thank you for bringing me to the airport…
Debra She Who Seeks says
Now I want something lemony.
AvaDJ says
These are so darn pretty on your dessert tray, truly fit for a Royal occasion. I just love lemony stuff, so good. Gasp!! I think Claire lost count and her 5 ingredient fix is now 6 with this recipe…LOL!
I don’t know if this helps, but Martha Stewart recommends saving your paper towel rolls for refrigerating cookie dough logs. You stuff the logs into the tube to get even sized cookies with no flat bottoms. I’ve tried this but had frustration trying to get that soft dough into the tube. Maybe you’ll have better luck if you decide to try it.
Suzie Ridler says
Hope your friend likes them Tori!
Debra, me too, reminds me of sunshine.
Ava, isn’t that tray pretty? Thank you for that! Claire does not include salt as an ingredient, it’s one of her freebies. The zest and the juice of the lemon come from one item. Sneaky eh?
OMG, that is a FANTASTIC suggestion! I am so going to use paper towel rolls for that. Thank you Ava!! Martha is such a genius.
Kristina says
that is a GREAT tip using the paper towel roll! (we call them doot doots at my house, from my brother and I sticking it up to someone’s ear and saying DOOT DOOT when we were kids…)
these look wonderful – thanks for sharing, I will be making these!
JavaChick says
These look lovely! Wonder if I could sneak them past my husband – he doesn’t like cream cheese.
Suzie Ridler says
Kristina, I know, genius right? And doot doot, too funny. JavaChick, you could always make them with yogurt instead perhaps? Like a thick Greek yogurt maybe?
Pam says
I looked at Claire’s picture, and your’s looks even better. I do not even like lemon, but this recipe even made me want to try them.
Tournesol says
These look great, definitely going to try them soon, a pretty summer cookie!
megan @ whatmegansmaking says
I love lemon flavored cookies. these look so good, especially with that filling!
Jennifer - Own Your Food says
Suzie,
I was just looking around for a cookie recipe to make tonight, and I think this one might be it! It looks great, thanks for sharing!
Suzie Ridler says
Thank you so much! I am glad I managed to make them work and wow, mine are prettier than Claire’s? High praise, thank you! Megan, you will love these then and Jennifer, enjoy making them tonight. I will be with you in foodie spirit. š
Magic of Spice says
These look so delicious!
Shannon Riley says
These look so great! š