I found myself with some free time the other day.  And a strong desire for lemon dessert.  It’s not something I’m proud of, but I instantly marched to the pantry and did a quick assessment.

We did have a lemon, a lime, some flour.  Yep, I was ready.  Then came the recipe hunt, which brought me to Martha Stewart’s Lemon Brown Sugar Cookie recipe.  And Giada’s Lemon Glaze that she uses on a different cookie recipe.

The result was lemony magic.  Well, sort of.  I’ll admit that this cookie recipe is a bit non-traditional.  The result was actually like lemon shortbread magic more than traditional cookie magic.  The cookies are a bit more crumbly and delicate than your average sugar cookie, but the flavor is so good!  They’re not too sweet, not too tart.  Just right.

 
My advice?  Make these for a bite of summer, then don’t tell your family.  They make a perfect (not quite healthy) snack.

Hannah’s Lemon Lime Brown Sugar Cookies with Lemon Glaze

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or self-rising if you prefer puffy cookies like I do)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon and lime zest
• 2 eggs
• Glaze recipe (see below)

The Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

How to Put It All Together

Stir together the flour and the baking powder.  Cream together the butter, sugar, and lemon and lime zest in a large bowl until light.  Beat the eggs, then stir in the flour mixture thoroughly.  Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and form the dough into a disk.  Wrap the dough and chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter (or a glass if it’s handy).

Bake for 5 to 8 minutes (or a little bit longer if your oven is a bit on the cool side like ours).  You want the cookies to have a tiny bit of color, but they won’t necessarily turn golden like some cookies.  Remove from the baking sheets and cool on racks.  Let them cool completely before glazing.

When you do want to glaze them, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl until smooth.  Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to spread.  Let the glaze harden before stacking the cookies for storage (in the fridge overnight is a good glaze-hardening option).