Glazed Lemon Cookies

 I know I've said this a million times, but it's true! My BIGGEST recipe request is always for anything lemon. So when I was trying to think of different ideas for cookies, I thought "let's see if I can find a really good lemon cookie." And here it is! No, it's not my own. It's from Everyday Food from a few years ago, but it's FABULOUS. It's the perfect texture. Light and fluffy on the inside, a little crispy around the edge, and just the right chew. It also has a HUGE lemon flavor with just the right amount of vanilla to balance. This recipe only makes about 2 dozen, so you might want to think about making several batches. They go quickly!! Serious yum.


2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled) 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 large egg 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture.
 Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle cookies with Lemon Glaze and let set.

Lemon Glaze

 2 cups confectioners' sugar 
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest 
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
 
In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice until smooth.

 Tips:
Always zest the lemons (preferably with a Microplane tool) before juicing them. For orange- or lime-flavored cookies, substitute the zest and juice of those fruits.
I used more lemon zest in both the cookies and the glaze, just because I always like a bigger punch of lemon. I also used a little less sugar in the glaze because I wanted to be able to pour it rather than spread it over the cookies. I placed the rack of cookies over a tray, and then let the glaze drip through.