Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Sometimes you want to leisurely spend your day baking, then there are others you just don’t have time to wait for ingredients to come together. These shortbread cookies are one of the simplest and quickest recipes, taking just a few short minutes to blend. Shortbread is a basic, yet classic cookie to serve at any gathering, but with Spring upon us, I’ve been favoring refreshing flavors, especially lemon. I love the combination of sweet and sour flavors that lemon desserts lend.

This recipe is very versatile too, swap out the lemon for whatever your favorite spring flavor is, or make it into a tart shell, filled with say lemon curd and fresh fruit. These are perfect treats to set out on an Easter Sunday setting like this. I’m not a frosting or icing person, finding the flavors too artificially sweet, but I still wanted to add some color to my eggs. This tip from Martha Stewart was simple and created lovely crackled light rose and yellow tops, that will shine up any table this season. Buttery melt in your mouth cookies, with a tangy twist that are sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients {Makes about 20 – 3″ cookies}

2 sticks {1 cup} – Unsalted Butter {cold, cut into cubes}

2 cups – Unbleached All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup – Powdered Sugar {measured, then sifted}

1/2 teaspoon – Salt

1 tablespoon – Pure Lemon Extract {or juice}

Zest of a Lemon

Recipe {Adapted from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones}

In the bowl of a mixer, combine all the ingredients and mix on low-speed, the increasing to medium until dough comes together and is smooth {about 2 minutes}. Turn the dough onto a piece of plastic, and shape into a 1 inch thick disk. Refrigerate at least an hour, or overnight.

Pre-heat the over to 350 degrees, with racks in the first and third level, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough, on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies using your cutter until the dough is used up. For each color, place an egg yolk in a small bowl, than add food coloring to desired shade, stirring until combined {add water a little at a time to achieve a paler shade}. Brush over tops of cookies. Place the cookies 3/4 inches apart onto the baking sheets and bake, rotating halfway, until lightly golden {about 12 to 14 minutes}. Allow to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until cooled completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.