Slice and Bake Lemon Crisps. Thin, crunchy, buttery, and melt in your mouth, these cookies rely on their intense lemon flavor and delightful texture to shine among other more dazzling cookies. Don't let their simple appearance fool you, they are a crowd pleaser and you'll see them disappear fast! Based on a vintage recipe found on 'Canadian's Living Country Cooking' bestseller.
Song of the day: "When You Wish Upon A Star" - Vera Lynn, Cynthia Erivo
Is there still some room for more home-baked cookies before Christmas? If so, I would highly suggest these lemon crisp cookies. Their "naked" beauty will conquer the most refined palates. Moreover, they are easy to make and require very few staple ingredients. Ready to bake?
Crispy Lemon Cookies
By and large, citrus is probably my favorite flavoring. I often add it to my baked goods since it takes away a bit of the sweetness and lends a bright, fresh flavor to almost anything. For example, in these cookies, the lemon juice and zest provide the main flavor to brighten a buttery sugar cookie. That, and similarily, a touch of ground ginger, another flavor I love.
How to make the dough
- First, in a bowl or large piece of parchment paper, sift the flour with the baking soda, ginger, and salt. Next, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter and the sugar until creamy and smooth. After, beat in the egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and blend until fully incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Next, shape the dough into a cylinder, about 1-¾ inches (4 cm) in diameter.
- Wrap the log in plastic and place in the freezer until very firm, from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Slice
- After the chilling time, with a sharp knife, cut the cylinder dough into very thin slices.
- Place the slices on the prepared baking sheets, leaving some room in between the cookies.
- Optional, sprinkle the top with cane sugar and/or grated lemon zest. I did some with sugar and others with both sugar and lemon zest.
Keep the rest of the log in the fridge while you bake the cookies. Or, if you slice up the whole log and arrange the cookies on the trays, keep the trays in the fridge until ready to bake.
And bake
- Lastly, bake in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until very lightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then place on a rack to cool completely.
- Place on a tray and enjoy. Or, to store, place them in an airtight container. You could also give some away, like we did, or freeze.
Cookie delivery!
This recipe makes many cookies, I forgot to count but I'm guessing about 40 cookies. That gave me the opportunity to pack some and deliver to some family and friends, I brought some to my hair salon, and finally, froze a few in an airtight container. Overall, these cookies are addictive, their crispiness and lightness accompanied by that fresh joyful citrus flavor leave you wanting more.
Wish Upon A Star
Christmas is going to be definitely different this year. However, we can always dream of better things and better days. It doesn't matter where we are, or who we are, let us wish, and dream. "If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme...When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."
Merry Christmas!
Slice and Bake Lemon Crisps
Slice and Bake Lemon Crisps. Thin, crunchy, buttery, and melt in your mouth, these cookies rely on their intense lemon flavor and delightful texture to shine among other more dazzling cookies. Don't let their simple appearance fool you, they are a crowd pleaser and you'll see them disappear fast! Based on a vintage recipe found on 'Canadian's Living Country Cooking' bestseller.
- Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
- Yield: 40 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup ( 125 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (250 g) cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp organic lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- a sprinkle of cane sugar and lemon zest on top, optional
Instructions
- Sift the flour with the baking soda, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter and the sugar until creamy and smooth.
- Then, beat in the egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and blend until fully incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Next, shape the dough into a cylinder, about 1-¾ inches (4 cm) in diameter. Wrap the log in plastic and place in the freezer until very firm, 30 minutes/1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190°C) and line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- After the chilling time, with a sharp knife, cut the cylinder dough into very thin slices. Place the slices on the prepared baking sheets, leaving some room in between the cookies.
- Optional, sprinkle the top with cane sugar and/or grated lemon zest.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until very lightly browned. Leave the other prepared baking sheets in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then place on a rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container, or freeze.
Notes
This recipe makes for a lot of cookies, around 40 or so. They make a wonderful gift and they also freeze well in an airtight container.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Dessert, cookies
- Method: Baking
Keywords: cookies, lemon crisps, dessert, Christmas, canadian living, easy, delicious, butter
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Sharon says
A lovely light cookie! It was perfect for adding to the cookie trays given out this Christmas to counteract all of the chocolate. 😉
★★★★★
Thanks! Yes, they are so crisp and light, they balance well all the other decadent cookies 🙂
NANCY says
what a lovely lemon cookie! I love anything lemom flavour and this zesty one is no exceptioN!
★★★★★
Lemon flavored baked goods are my favorite! These cookies are truly lovely, thank you!
Vanessa says
Yum! I love lemon baked goods so having these ready to go in the freezer is a very good thing!
★★★★★
Thanks! I love them too! Ands yes, having the dough ready in the freezer is a great thing 🙂 .
Julia says
I'm a huge fan of any kind of lemon desserts and my tree is full of lemons right now! Pinning these for later, thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!
★★★★★
The lemon adds such a great flavor! Everybody loved these. Thank you!
★★★★★
Colleen says
I am a sucker for sweet, lemony things and I love slice and bake cookies, so these cookies are going on my list for the next baking day. Thanks for the recipe and Happy New Year!
★★★★★
Thanks! The texture is amazing, so light and crisp, and that lemon flavor, yum! Hope you try them!
Kayt says
Yum!
★★★★★
Colleen says
Hmmm. I have that very vintage Canadian Living cookbook here on my lap. This recipe is identical to the recipe in those pages (with the exception of asking for "organic" lemon zest and "fresh-squeezed" lemon juice as opposed to "lemon juice"). So kind of not "based on" the Canadian Living recipe.... It is, however, a recipe well worth repeating! I have made it many times and it is terrific.
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. At least we shared where we worked the recipe from, as we see lots not mentioning their sources. So happy you like the cookies, they are very scrumptious!
Have a wonderful day!