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Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies

January 26, 2011 by Jennifer Che 14 Comments

Meyer Lemons
When life gives you Meyer lemons, makes lemon cookies!

I first discovered Meyer lemons last April when they seemed to pop up in every food blog under the sun. A cross between a normal lemon and a Mandarin orange, Meyer lemons are also sweeter, less tart, and have a beautifully floral aroma. They also have a pretty orange colored peel, which could explain why they were such popular decorative plants in China (way before anyone knew the fruit actually tasted good!). Click here to see some cool side-by-side photos of Meyer lemons next to normal lemons.

Why did I decide to make these cookies? Well, a number of reasons: it was the holidays; I had just gotten this really cool letter press stamp and I was dying to try it on some non-leavened cookies; and my friend had some Meyer lemons on hand.

Stuck with limited ingredients in my tiny urban kitchen, we found a simple butter cookie recipe which only involved a few basic ingredients (to which we added our cool citrus twist!).  It was so good, I decided to make it again in January for a Boston bloggers cookie swap (more on that later!).

I love this recipe because it’s so versatile. You start with this really basic butter cookie recipe and essentially tweak it slightly by adding different sorts of flavors. The cookbook gave examples of add-ins like orange zest, ginger powder, nuts, coconut flakes, or chocolate. The sky’s the limit here. Maybe matcha? Or black sesame for an Asian twist?

Of course Meyer lemons work beautifully, creating a shortbread cookie that’s actually not that tart and also not too sweet. Light, buttery, and slightly fragrant with the floral scents of Meyer lemons – perfect for a simple, afternoon tea.
Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies
You’ll need about two Meyer lemons to get enough zest for this recipe. I’d recommend chopping the zest a bit  to ensure that the zest bits are small enough to spread out evenly throughout the cookie.
Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies
No stand mixer? No need! Mix in the lemon zest with the butter and sugar, and cream away!

It’s hard to ensure that your cookies are the same thickness without using special equipment with nicely raised edges. I improvised by using chopsticks, but you can probably use anything that is the right thickness on either side (e.g., thick rulers, thin books, CD case?). In all honesty, I felt that the chopsticks were too thick, and my cookies turned out a bit thicker than I would have liked. I just need to find thinner chopsticks!
Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Work quickly, because the dough slowly warms up and becomes harder and harder to handle! This becomes especially difficult if you are trying to cut out many cookies! Using a really thin spatula helps tremendously!
Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Again, I whipped out my cool letter press stamps that I bought in Japan (the same ones I used to make my personalized Thomas Keller Oreos). Aren’t these cool? I’m really tempted to make conversation hearts next! [update – I believe Williams Sonoma sells similar ones here]
Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Bake, cool, and eat!

Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies
adapted from The Joy of Cooking

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp Meyer lemon zest, finely grated
1 cup superfine sugar (or process regular sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds)
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg yolk
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter, lemon zest, sugar, and salt in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed. Add in the egg yolk until well blended, and then the egg and the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add in the flour until just combined. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to two days).

Preheat oven to 375°F, placing the two racks on the upper third and lower third of the oven. Working with one batch of dough at a time, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Use either a well floured surface or a Silpat liner and plastic wrap. Cut out shapes using cutters, trying to use up as much dough as possible. The dough should only be re-rolled out once. Alternatively, if you don’t have a cookie cutter, scoop cookie dough with a small ice cream scoop and roll out and flatten by hand.

Bake 2 sheets at a time until the cookies are slightly golden brown at the edges (about 6-8 minutes). If your cookies are thicker than 1/8 inch, you may have to bake for longer. After baking, immediately transfer to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.

Muir Glen Gift Box
It’s not to late to enter the Giveaway for a beautiful gift box of reserved tomatoes from Muir Glen! Giveaway ends This Friday, January 28th, 2011.

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All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Baking, Cookies, Dessert, Recipe Tagged With: baking

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Comments

  1. Katie says

    January 27, 2011 at 6:20 pm

    I love that cookie stamp!! These cookies look so good. I love Meyer lemon…

    Reply
  2. FunandFearlessinBeantown says

    January 27, 2011 at 9:25 pm

    OMG, the cookie stamp is ADORABLE! When am I getting some TUK-stamped cookies sent my way? 😉

    Reply
  3. Mr A says

    February 23, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    very cool recipe and the stamp is just kitchen gadget-licious. Though your hotlink to Amazon’s version is too big for cookies (I just bought one) and the letters are for cakes. Where did you get yours? Am thinking of heading down to a craft shop…

    Reply
  4. Hermissenda84 says

    May 8, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    I just made these last night and they turned out fantastic. I made them into sandwich cookies filled with strawberry jam. Thanks for the awesome recipe.

    Reply
  5. jentinyurbankitchen says

    May 8, 2011 at 6:56 pm

    Thanks so much! Glad you liked it. And the strawberry jam addition sounds like a fantastic idea!

    Reply
  6. Raz says

    December 17, 2011 at 9:10 pm

    I’m living in Japan now, and I just picked up a very similar stamp set (mine is a scalloped rectangle) last night. I was searching for recipes and found this. I think I will try it with yuzu since they are in season now!

    Reply
  7. Judy says

    January 6, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    I have a Meyer lemon tree growing in a pot on wheels outside my garage.  We bring it in when nights dip below mid-30’s, so in the winter it’s in and out.  We just harvested our first lemon — it was the size of two.  The second is about ready to be picked.  I made Greek lemon chicken and potatoes with the first and have been looking for something for the second.  Maybe this is it, but I need to get one of those cool stamps first!

    Reply
  8. jentinyurbankitchen says

    January 6, 2012 at 4:28 pm

    I just found out they might have some fresh yuzu at a Japanese market near my house, so maybe I’ll try the same thing! Thanks for the AWESOME idea!!!

    Reply
  9. jentinyurbankitchen says

    January 6, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    Aww . . so lucky that you can grow Meyer lemons. Alas, they would die in New England. Best of luck with the cookies, or whatever you do with them!

    Reply
  10. oil of lemon says

    January 19, 2012 at 2:38 am

    Lemon oil is a good remedy for the increasing the luster of dull skin. It is astringent and detoxifying in nature, and rejuvenates dull skin. Its antiseptic properties help in treating pimples and various skin disorders. Lemon is also recommended for oily skin.

    Reply
  11. June says

    February 13, 2012 at 6:34 pm

    I have tons of (Gulf Coast Texas-size) Meyer Lemons right now and have been making lots of Meyer Lemon-Bourbon Marmalade. I’m gonna use your Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies & sandwich them with ML marmalade. Sound good?

    Reply
  12. jentinyurbankitchen says

    February 13, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    Sounds fantastic! Man, I haven’t even bought any Meyer lemons this winter!!

    Reply
  13. Jeanne Williams says

    December 6, 2018 at 1:55 am

    I will make these cookies tomorrow. I went to Aldi’s supermarket yesterday and they had them for $2.50 a bag. Each bag had 5 lemons, so I bought several plus some regular lemons. I can’t wait. I love all things with lemon. I will let you know

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies- And a Gadget Recommendation… | branching out… on a limb says:
    May 15, 2015 at 12:37 am

    […] recipe hails from a great travel and food blog, TinyUrbanKitchen.com. I love it when bloggers mention where they originally found a recipe, and she respectfully credits […]

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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