Let the Christmas Cookies Begin: Lemon-Iced Cookies

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It's raining hard here, which means it's really almost Christmas in San Francisco. Isabella and I did some Christmas window shopping this weekend. Ingredients for Christmas cookies are showing up in our kitchen; Christmas tree is being purchased tomorrow.

Above is a picture of Noel's version of Gran Fran's lemon-iced cookies. Delish! Noel's an excellent baker, so I left the documentation to her. My cookies never quite look as good as hers, though they do taste delightful.

I wanted to share a recipe, but also these gems of Christmas-pictures past of the Claro kids. These were on Facebook already, so I figured my siblings can't complain about me posting them here....

 The little one in the grey dress is me. Kind of looking like a crazy monkey. I think there is at least one picture of each of my sisters wearing this dress. I know there are shots of me in the dress with the cherries Noel is wearing, and the blue dress Danielle has on. I never had the pleasure of wearing the funky heart-printed one Nicole has on, nor Chris' very awesome plaid pants.

How about those late '70's collars? I see tinsel on that Christmas tree. No idea Gran Fran used to allow that, must note for future Christmas

Gran Fran wrote a wonderful post that evokes memories of grandmas getting ready for Christmas in their community. The recipe for her lemon-iced cookies was included in the post. They're a wonderful addition to your traditional Christmas cookie repertoire.

And, finally, a picture of my daughter and her two local cousins enjoying some sparkling cider (no, it's not beer) at Thanksgiving dinner. These are who I bake for these days. Not too shabby, huh?

So let's start this Christmas season off right and get some baking done!

(All pictures are cookies made with standard all-purpose white flour. You can replace white flour with Gluten Free Pantry's All Purpose Flour Mix)

Angeletti –Lemon-Iced Cookies

Cookies

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use Gluten Free Pantry's All Purpose Flour Mix)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing

  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  •  2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Colored sprinkles (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Sift togther flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and granulated sugaruntil fluffy
  4.  Add eggs one at a time; mix well after each addition.
  5. Mix in vanilla.
  6. With mixer on, gradually add flour mixture; beat until dough comes together.
  7. Gently roll bits of dough into  1 to 1-1/2 inch ballsand placeon lightly buttered or parchment-lined baking sheet.
  8. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. To cool cookies, transfer them to wire cooling rack set over a sheet of waxed paper.
  9.  In a medium bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice to form a smooth glossy icing.
  10. When cookies are cool, dip tops in icing and return to wire rack.
  11. Shower with colored sprinkles if desired. Let cookies remain on wire cooling rack until icing is firm.