Limoncello Cookies

Hello and welcome to dessert of Lemon Christmas...Limoncello Cookies! 

Lemon Christmas started as the story of stuffed grape leaves (Domathes) passed down through the generations of my neighborhood, as told by my Aunt Connie. To my total elation, it became a five hour cooking spree with my Aunt Connie, culminating in a dinner of Domathes with Lemon Sauce, Lemon Risotto, Lemon Chicken, Lemon Roasted Broccoli, and Limoncello Cookies! 

Thanks to Uncle Dick for the Limoncello Cookie request, and thanks to in sock monkey slippers for the wonderful recipe!                                                     

The Recipe: Limoncello Cookies

·         1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

·         1/4 teaspoon sea salt

·         1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         1/2 cup granulated sugar

·         1 large egg, at room temperature

·         2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or paste

·         1/2 Tablespoon grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)

·         1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

·         5 Tbs Limoncello

·         1 Tbs lemon juice

·         2 washed and sliced lemons (to make Candied Lemon Slice Garnish)

·         2 cups granulated sugar

·         2 cups water

·         2 to 3 large lemons, for 24 slices

The Process: Dough

1. Put salt and flour in a medium bowl.
2.  In another bowl, mix the butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy (about 2 minutes). 
3. Add the egg and mix until combined.
4.  Next, add vanilla and lemon zest to the bowl with butter, sugar, and egg.
5. Slowly mix in the flour/salt combo. Don't overmix! 
6. Pour the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and tightly cover. Refrigerate overnight. 

   Candied Lemon Wheels (prepare the night before!!!): 

1. Wash and cut slices of lemon to about 1/8 inch (the smaller the better!!) and remove all seeds. 
2. Bring water and sugar to boil in a pot. Add a little lemon juice from the ends of the lemons. 
3. Fill pot completely with lemon slices and boil on medium-high for about 30 minutes. (Wait until they appear to be candy coated and somewhat orange. You'll find that the more slices you put in at once, the more they become saturated and the faster they will cook. )
4. Allow to dry overnight on parchment paper. 

 

Baking and Decorating:

1. PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350 degrees F (176.6 degrees Celsius)
2. Allow dough to loosen. 
3. HEAVILY flour a sterile surface, your hands, and a rolling pin. 
4. Roll out the dough to approximately 1/3 inch thick. 
5. With a 2 inch diameter round cookie cutter, cut dough and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until the edges start to golden. Repeat with the remaining dough.
7.  Once baked, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before icing.

Icing: 

1. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, Limoncello, and lemon juice. Stir until fluid but thick. 
2. Ice with a pastry brush. 
3.  Decorate with a candied lemon wheel.  Allow the icing to set for at least 10 to 30 minutes.

Calories:

Flour- 569 calories

Sea salt- 0 calories

Lemon juice- 0 calories

Powdered sugar- 700 calories

Limoncello- 30 calories

Granulated sugar- 1950 calories

Lemons- 45 calories

Butter- 815 calories

Egg- 72 calories

Vanilla Extract- 12 calories 

_____________________________________

TOTAL: 4193 calories

This recipe made about 40 cookies, so each cookie plus the lemon wheel had 104 calories. More comments on the lemon wheel below...

What went right:

            The cookies themselves were absolutely delicious!!! In my personal opinion, the icing was better when combined with the cookies and fully dried, but everyone else seemed to like it on its own as well. And as you can see, they are gorgeous on a plate ;) 

What went wrong:

            The lemon slices are ridiculously difficult to eat, so we ended up taking them off the cookies and tossing most of them. Additionally, the calories really should be edited because much of the granulated sugar was still in the sugar bath and tossed by the end of the lemon candying process. 

What I would do next time:

            As discussed in light of the candied lemon slice issue, we decided the cookies would look just as good if the lemon slice decoration only covered a portion of the cookie, as shown to the right. 

Would I do this in college:

             There are a few things keeping me from doing this in college. Namely being under 21. Also not having a lot of time. I would gladly make the batter, however! The plain cookies are just as good as the iced cookies, and would have a much lower calorie count as well. 

Overall, a great cookie and a delicious end to a perfect meal!!