Lemon-Cream Sandwich Cookies

Lemon-cream sandwich cookies. A buttery, melt-in-your mouth cookie filled with sweet-tart lemon buttercream, rolled in sanding sugar. Pretty, easy to transport, and delicious. I would be making lemon sandwich cookies.

They turned out just as I had imagined them – buttery, ever-so slightly crumbly cookies, with the delicious sweet lemony tang in the filling. They are the kind of cookies I would serve at tea, or a baby shower, if I wasn’t 22 and hosted things like teas and baby showers. Piping the dough through a frosting tip presented a bit of a challenge, as the dough was too thick for my bootleg ziploc baggie frosting method and burst right through it. But I really wanted them to be pretty, so I got dirty and used my hands to push the dough through the frosting tip one cookie at a time. I was a mess. It was worth it. They would also be just as good just dolloped on the pan, if you weren’t inclined to strive for rosebud cookie glory. Next time you want a subtle, elegant cookie to add to your cookie tray, I would definitely recommend trying these out.

Lemon-Cream Sandwich Cookies

Makes 10 sandwiches.

• 1 stick salted butter, room temperature
• 7 TBS sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1/4 tsp orange extract
• 1 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 stick salted butter, softened
• 2-3 c. powdered sugar
• 2-3 TBS lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a large bowl, cream together 1 stick butter with sugar.  Add egg yolks one at a time, beating between additions.  Beat in extract.  Beat in flour and salt until fully incorporated.  Dough should be the consistency of a soft clay – workable with some stretch, but not runny.  Spoon dough by the tablespoon onto baking sheet, or pipe through a large frosting tip into a rosebud.  Cookies will spread a fair amount in the oven, so do not place too close together.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until tops are just beginning to turn golden brown, then remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
2. In a medium bowl, beat butter until creamy.  Add powdered sugar a half cup at a time, beating to fully incorporate between additions.  When frosting is stiff but workable.  Add lemon juice and beat until incorporated.  Test for flavor, adding more lemon juice if necessary.  Add more powdered sugar until frosting hold soft peaks.  Spread a spoonful of frosting on the bottom of a cookie, then press another cookie evenly against the center to create a sandwich.  Roll in sanding sugar if desired.  Serve at room temperature; refrigerate any leftovers.