Lemon Cooler Cookies

Several years ago I was on a vacation and looking for a snack in the gift shop of wherever I was.  Who knows where I may have been, but I bought something labeled 'lemon cooler cookies'.  They were delicious, if just a bit pricey.

When I got home, I looked at the ingredient list on the package and then set about to find a recipe.  My computer records show that the recipe was written up in May of 2009.  To the best of my memory (joke), I never made the cookies.

Since I have been trying to clean up all my recipe files, I decided to make them and see how they turn out.  MMM. Two bites of buttery sweet lemon. 

When I went online to look for the source of the recipe, I could not find it.  Every recipe I saw had more ingredients and used shortening, which the following recipe does not.  I think these would be wonderful with tea.  The picture shows the cookies rolled in powdered sugar, but I think next time I would just do a heavy sprinkling, once when they come out of the oven, and once again when they cool. 

Lemon Cooler Cookies
Makes 18 cookies, depending on scooping ability

Ingredients :

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 lemon, all the zest plus juice from ½ of it
1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Fiori di Sicilia or 1/4 tsp. lemon extract

Directions:
1. Adjust oven to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, confectioner’s sugar and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and extract.  Mix with hands to form a dough.
3. Drop cookie dough by generous teaspoons onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake until cookie bottoms are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
5. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  When cooled, sprinkle again with powdered sugar.