Henny Penny Farmette

As a farm kid, I loved summer. I grew up in central Missouri where the three months after school let out featured long, lazy days, often punctuated by intense heat, sudden storms, and lots of bugs. My brother and I spent hours skimming rocks over the pond, playing hide and seek in the woods, and digging for worms or catching grasshoppers to take fishing. When tired, ice-box cookies and cold lemonade or sweet tea would revive us.

I arrived in Northern California in my early twenties, leaving behind my brother and our carefree Midwestern summers. Although I grew to love the mild climate of the San Francisco Bay Area, I missed those days when a glass of cold drink and an ice-box cookie could rejuvenate me like nothing else.

Now that I own a small farmette and it is summer here, I have re-created the tastes of my youth with fresh lemons from the citrus trees I grow. The icebox cookie recipe is a variation that cooks have been baking since before I was a girl in the fifties and sixties. It’s my pleasure to share these recipes with you.

Lemon Icebox Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1Tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I use Meyer lemons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar in the mixing bowl.
3. Add the egg and beat until fully mixed in and then addd the zest, juice, and vanilla.
4. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture to make a soft dough.
6. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape into two logs measuring about two-inches thick.
7. Wrap both logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for four hours or overnight.
8. Cut the cookie logs into rounds that measure about 1/4 inch each.
9. Place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until the edges turn a golden brown color.
10. Remove the cookies from the oven; transfer to a wire rack until cool. To make the glaze, mix 1 cup sugar with 2 to 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice and drizzle over the top of the cookies. After the glaze has hardened, store baked cookies in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze the dough to cut and bake later.

Tags: cookies, lemon, Missouri