Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Lemon Nut Cookies

Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Intermediate
Yield: about 36 cookies


Ingredients

* 1 1/4 cups pine nuts, toasted
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup cornmeal
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus 1 cup for rolling
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest, plus 2 teaspoons
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions

In a food processor, pulse together the nuts, flour, cornmeal, and
salt until finely ground and smooth.


Using a hand-held or stand mixer, beat together the butter and 1/2 cup
powdered sugar in a medium bowl until light and creamy. Add the lemon
juice, 1 teaspoon zest, and vanilla and beat to combine. With the
mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 batches until just
combined; be careful not to over-mix. Chill the dough in the
refrigerator for 30 minutes.


In a shallow bowl, combine the remaining sugar with remaining zest. Set aside.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Transfer the dough onto cookie
sheets and bake until firm and very pale golden, about 12 to 15
minutes.


While the cookies are still warm, roll each cookie in the sugar
mixture. To achieve a solid coating, roll each of the cookies a second
time in the sugar mixture.

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