Lemon Shortbread Cookies

My grandmother passed away this year and I was beyond blessed to get her recipe boxes. In one of the boxes I found this recipe from a dear friend of hers. I love lemon and so does my husband so I had to try these. They came out wonderful!

Shortbread cookie Ingredients:

¾ cup butter or margarine at room temperature

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon of grated lemon rind

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup corn starch

Optional: Granulated sugar

Lemon icing Ingredients:

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

3 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

Shortbread cookie Directions:

Beat butter and confectioners’ sugar until blended and smooth. Beat in the lemon rind

Mix together flour and corn starch in one bowl

Add the flour bowl little by little to the butter bowl until smooth

Make dough into a flat ball shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 2 hours

Take the dough out of the fridge and let it defrost a few minutes. Form the dough into a log 11 inches long and about 1 ¾ inches in diameter. If the log is too long, you can cut it in half and make two logs at 5.5 inches long

Optional: roll the dough log in granulated sugar, regular or colored if you wish. I rolled some of mine in yellow granulated sugar

Wrap the log(s) in wax or parchment paper and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut dough into ¼-inch thick cookies or use fun cookie cutters

Place one inch apart on cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown

Cool on rack

Lemon Icing Optional:

In a large bowl use a spoon and gradually blend the lemon juice into the powdered sugar. For every ¼ cup of powdered sugar, add one teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice. I liked the way the icing looked smearing it all over the top of the cookie but you can drizzle the icing as well. The icing will harden after a few minutes on the cookie.

Recipe from the kitchen of Wilma Price