As I have told you all before, I have a crazy food memory in which I can practically remember everything I have eaten at most events in my life. Can I remember a phone number or where my keys are…uhhh nope! It’s funny how selective memories can be, but I guess it shows my love for all things food.
Where were we? Oh right, when I think of Christmas as a child, all the cookies my mom made around the holiday time come to mind. I can remember the peanut brittle, the chocolate crinkles, the peanut butter cup blossoms, the Mexican wedding cakes, the cut-out cookies, the buckeyes and endless more. As I grew up and learned how to bake, I started taking on more baking around the holidays and emulated the same tradition my mom had in my own place. The whole Christmas cookie process of planning, sharing, giving and of course, eating has become quiet an obsession of mine and really how our 12 Days of Christmas Cookies started here at 2s2c.
I have shared most of the above recipes that I remember growing up with, but there was one cookie missing that I couldn’t put my finger on. I kept remembering a round puffy lemon cookie with lemon glaze. It was driving me crazy that I couldn’t find the recipe in any of my family cookbooks. When I asked my mom, she remembered where it was from: a school fundraiser cookbook she had bought over 30 years ago. Alas, here is how we came to cookie number eight on this year’s countdown- the Italian Lemon Drop cookie (i.e. the Lemon Anginetti.) I have updated some of the ingredients to more modern ones since the original recipe included melted Crisco and 3 tablespoons of lemon extract!
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- Zest from one lemon
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- pinch of salt
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 7 tsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 2 tsp. lemon extract
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1-1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the bowl of your mixer add sugar and lemon zest. Mix for 1-2 minutes to infuse the sugar with the lemon flavor.
- Add melted butter to lemon sugar and combine. Mix in eggs and salt.
- In a separate bowl sift together flour and baking powder.
- In measuring cup mix together milk, lemon extract and vanilla extract.
- Mix in ⅓ of flour mixture to butter followed by ⅓ of milk mixture. Repeat process ending with milk and stirring until all ingredients are combined.
- Line baking sheets with non-stick baking mats or parchment paper. Roll dough in balls the size of walnuts. The dough may be sticky so make sure your hands are well floured. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are firm to touch. Let cool on wire rack.
- To make glaze- whisk together 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Continue to whisk until smooth, adding more lemon juice as needed. If glaze gets too thin add additional confectioners’ sugar. Dip each cookie top in glaze and let excess drip back into bowl. Place on parchment paper and let dry completely before putting away. Can be store in air tight container for up to three days or frozen up to 3 months.
