I want to make buttery lemon cookies. I started with a recipe from a magazine. I can't remember
which one, but the recipe seemed fairly standard consisting of butter creamed with sugar, egg,
vanilla, flour, lemon zest. These were refrigerator cookies so the dough was rolled into a log and
refrigerated overnight. I was pleased with the result as far as ease of preparation, texture,
butteriness, crumb. They didn't have the intense lemon flavor I was hoping for.
I decided to make them again tripling the amount of grated lemon zest. I couldn't find the recipe
I used the first time (had written it on a scrap of paper in the library) so I used the recipe for
refrigerator cookies in Joy of Cooking tripling the lemon zest. The dough is in the refrigerator
as we speak.
Question: To get an intense lemon flavor on the cookies, instead of pressing them in granulated
sugar before baking, might I brush them with lemon juice mixed with sugar? I'm thinking the flavor
would be right, but I'm worried about them burning on top. Or is there some other reason not to do
this that I haven't thought of? I've got 3 naked lemons sitting in my fridge with no zest on them.
--Lia