Merry Citrus!

I'm an admitted chocoholic when it comes to cookies (well, why stop there?) but I am a sucker for a pucker too!

Lime-Glazed Cookies

For the past few years, I've been obsessed with Lime-Glazed Cookies. It's another Martha Stewart recipe that I find dependable and delicious. I love how the cookies and the icing boast green flecks of zest. It's another slice and bake cookie too — perfect at this busy time of year — but they're shaped rectangularly, so that adds a nice twist too.

Lime Meltaways

Because I'm celebrating 20 years of Our Cookie Journal this year with 20 types of cookies, I decided to make another lime favorite, Lime Meltaways — again from Martha! — that always reminds me of my eldest niece, Michelle, back home.

I can remember squeezing more lime juice than the recipe calls for and making her a limeade with the leftovers before we started making the cookies. She always favored them (I've even mailed them to her from abroad), so I made them in her honor and thought fondly of her and the lovely times we shared when she was a girl. (The next day, I called her and we had a nice long-distance chat!)

Logs o' Lime

Fortunately, Lime Meltaways are another easy slice and bake cookie too. I made the dough the day before and rolled it into logs, which I wrapped in parchment and paper towel tubes and stashed in the fridge overnight.

Look at all that zest!

The delicate, zest-studded coins produced are cooled on wire racks, then — while still warm — coated in confectioner's sugar. They're so light and airy (there's cornstarch in the dough) that they literally melt in your mouth. Take care shaking them in the powdered sugar though — there can be casualties (which, of course, must be eaten immediately!).

Lime Meltaways

I always tend to make one lime-flavored cookie for the Christmas cookie tray but one year tried Citrus Slice 'n Bake Cookies from a recipe that Mom shared with me from Land O' Lakes. They're easy to make and the logs are rolled into colored sugars. They look very pretty and taste yummy.

Citrus Slice 'n Bake Cookies

But I saw an interesting recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies at Lauren's Latest blog that looked very appealing. Again, confectioner's sugar is used but these are coated before baking.

Roll Lemon Crinkles in powdered sugar

Crinkles can be baked right away, as the dough is rolled into balls, like Peanut Butter Cookies. I was mixing doughs together after dinner, though, so I wanted only to clean up, stow the doughs, and get to bed. The next day, I was raring to go and cranked out four dozen Lime Meltaways and four and a half dozen Lemon Crinkles. The kitchen was fragrant and fresh and I couldn't wait to sample both types!

I tend to heap in the zest...

The Lime Meltaways were just as glorious as ever — tangy little clouds of lime that went down a treat with a cup of tea. And the Lemon Crinkles surpassed my expectations. The sugar created a crisp exterior and the centers were lovely and chewy. The heaping tablespoon of lemon zest made them zingy and satisfying. It was impossible to have only one — but I froze the rest!

In the freezer they go...

Either of these cookies would make a perfect addition to your cookie tray — or repertoire, if you can't squeeze them into your busy schedule at Christmastime (even thought they are a snap to make). So I have a classic and a contemporary making the cut, with Lime Meltaways as Cookie No. 5 and Lemon Crinkles as Cookie No. 6 on my list of 20 Christmas cookies to celebrate 20 years of Our Cookie Journal.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

1994 - Just the Fax

Here’s the cover page of the fax from 

the Land O’ Lakes Test Kitchen. 

The grease spot came later.

As we promised ourselves last year, we’re determined to use Lisa’s cookie gun this round. But after vainly searching through magazines at her house for the Chocolate Butter Cookies recipe, I decided to just call the Land O’ Lakes Test Kitchen because we knew it was their recipe. 

They very nicely agreed to fax it to my number at the newspaper on Dec. 5 — we had to venture out for more supplies again anyway! We needed (Land O’ Lakes) butter, lemon and powdered sugar for the Lemon Spritz Cookies.

With fax in hand, I mixed up the dough for a double batch and Lisa used her gun to press out 12 dozen Chocolate Butter Cookies. (We preferred not to use the almond extract.) The gun made it easy and it went quite smoothly. Dubbed a “rich, chocolate butter cookie with endless possibilities”, we simply stuck with the basic recipe and used it in the cookie press. The variations look interesting though.

The Lemon Spritz Cookies weren’t very popular for some reason. We used a “Joy” spritz, adding 3 teaspoons of ginger, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and the zest of one lemon. They looked good — Lisa used her gun — but they were dry and not lemon-y enough (probably should’ve scratched the ginger too — that seems like a lot!). We yielded 11 dozen from a double batch.

Spritz Cookies

Sift together:

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

Cream together:

3/4 c sugar

1 c butter

Add:

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Stir in the flour. Beat well, then chill. Put dough through cookie press onto an ungreased cookie sheet. The dough should be pliable, but if it becomes too soft, re-chill it slightly. Bake about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven until lightly browned.