When life hands me lemons, I make…baked goods!
But seriously, is it just me or does the concept of a “lemon” seem a little more open to interpretation here in the Ecuadorian sierra? I find all kinds of light green objects declaring themselves to be “limón” or “limón sutil” on the supermarket shelves. While they are fine and citrus-y, they are not the yellow lemons of my kitchen of yore.
A few days ago though, I was gifted two actual lemons! I should have photographed them prior to use, but you’ll just have to trust me that they were yellow and spheroid, and I was very excited to zest and test.
The result was a sugary cookie suffused with lemon flavor. And I think the oats helped give it a denser, chewier interior.
Yield: 16 cookies
Ingredients / Brands Tested
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
Nutri Mantequilla Sin Sal - 1 cup minus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar + additional sugar for tops before baking
Supermaxi brand - 1 large egg, at room temperature
Supermaxi brand – grande - 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 3/8 cups plus 6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
Harina Buena y Barata Harina de trigo fortificada para todo uso Especial Para Panadería y Pastelería - 1/2 cup oats
YA Avena en Hojuelas - 3/4 tsp. baking powder
La Reposterita/Levapan Polvo para Hornear - 1/8 tsp. table salt
Cris-Sal Sal de Mesa
Directions
Because you’ll need to refrigerate the dough for a while, don’t preheat the oven quite yet.
Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Add gradually to the creamed mixture, beating slowly until fully incorporated.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for approximately two hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Take tablespoons of dough and shape them into balls, placing them approx. 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. [I use silicone liners.]
Coat the bottom of a drinking glass with cooking spray and dip it in granulated sugar. Use the glass to gently press the cookies to flatten them. Re-coat the base of the glass in sugar as needed.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool.
Alas, I don’t have much advice on storage and staying power — these were a hit with my testers!
Altura Bakes 