This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
While I am wrapped up with feeding an infant, changing diapers, feeding an always ravenous preschooler, putting in a Toy Story DVD, chasing the aforementioned preschooler while holding the aforementioned infant, and all the other insanity that comes along with a new baby, my foodie friends are taking turns in the Cupcakes & Kale Chips kitchen. Make sure you head on over to Pinterest, too, where I will be pinning all of these awesome recipes on my Guest Posts board, plus my Inspiration boards!
Today I’d like to introduce Coleen from The Redhead Baker, who is bringing some bright and buttery Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies!
I think these sound heavenly! You can find Coleen on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Take it away, Coleen…
Hi, I’m Coleen and I’m really excited to fill in for Brianne during her “maternity leave”! I’m the blogger behind The Redhead Baker, which is a food blog 90% of the time, with occasional posts about my son and my dogs, and a food-related giveaway here and there.
My heritage includes both Irish and Scottish roots (with a blog title like The Redhead Baker, are you surprised?). My grandparents brought my mother to America in 1972, so I grew up around Scottish accents, tartan fabrics, bagpipes, crumpets, cock-a-leekie soup, fish and chips, “tatties” (potatoes), “neeps” (mashed rutabaga), and shortbread biscuits (cookies).
All of these things were so normal to me that it shocked me when friends had never heard of shortbread, nor tasted it. Most who had heard of it considered it a Christmas cookie. Shortbread used to be expensive to make or purchase, and was reserved for special occasions such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve and weddings. Scots now enjoy shortbread year-round.
Its availability isn’t the only thing that has changed. The traditional recipe is often altered, its shape has changed, and flavors are added. Seeing as how we’re in the middle of Meyer lemon season, I can think of no better way to brighten a chilly day than with a cookie with bright citrus flavor. Meyer lemons are thought to be a cross between regular lemons and mandarin oranges. They are a deeper shade of yellow, and have a sweeter, less tart flavor.
Shortbread is supposed to be crumbly, so don’t overmix the dough. While traditionally baked in a wooden form with an impression of a thistle, it can be baked in a round or square cake pan and cut after baking, or rolled out and cut with cookie cutters prior to baking. It is baked at a low temperature for a long time, because overall browning is not desirable in shortbread.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar / 80 grams
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups 1:1 gluten free flour / 222 grams (recommended: King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer mixer. Beat on medium speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the gluten free flour, lemon zest, and salt. Mix on low speed until it is combined into a thick dough and all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed.
- Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper .Remove the dough from the bowl and press it into the baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 300℉.
- Remove the shortbread dough from the refrigerator and mark lines for cutting the shortbread into 2x2-inch squares. Dock the top with a skewer or fork tines.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 300°F for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and quickly score the shortbread along the marked lines with a sharp knife. Return to the oven for another 25-30 minutes until the edges are golden and the center is no longer wet looking.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Then turn out onto a flat surface, like a cutting board. If needed, cut the shortbread again at the score marks. Allow to cool completely before serving.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
Categories:
Thanks Coleen! Sounds and looks super-yummy!
Want to see lots more yummy food from me and my friends, and cute pictures of my kids?
Follow me!
Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | Bloglovin | Instagram | StumbleUpon
Or have Cupcakes & Kale Chips delivered to our Inbox by entering your email in the box on the left sidebar.
You had me at MEYER, Coleen! Yummilicious!
I love a good lemon cookie! Pinning!