Brrrrr, baby it’s cold outside today, so I decided to brighten and warm up my day by baking these delicious lemon tea cookies! They are airy and soft and have just the right amount of that great lemon taste that compliments your favorite cup of tea (or coffee).

This is an easy recipe to prepare. Not many ingredients, just please try to use organic lemons since you will be using the zest. They freeze well, that is if they are not all gone by then, and they make a pretty presentation. The lemon glaze soaks up in the cookies to give it that extra lemony goodness, but not overbearing.

The taste brings me back to the Amalfi Coast in Italy where the lemons are the size of grapefruits and the taste is not like any other lemons in the world. The way the sun reflects from their bright yellow skin intertwined with their dark, green leaves just within your reach to pick and enjoy! You can feel the warmth of the sun on this beautiful yellow fruit and as you slice into it, the juice is just overflowing with great taste! Even though these cookies do not contain the infamous Amalfi Coast lemons, the lemon zest from the organic lemons I used is as close as I can get to the taste.

So next time you feel like transcending to a warm climate, bake yourself these delicious lemon tea cookies, pour a cup of your favorite tea (or coffee), put on some Italian music and relax!

And as always, Enjoy!

LEMON TEA COOKIES

Makes: 2 ½ dozen cookies

Ingredients:

Need 3 lemons total

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup milk

1 3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

For the Glaze:

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Zest 2 of the lemons to get 1 tablespoon zest

Slice the 3 lemons and squeeze the juice, straining to remove any seeds

Stir 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice into milk and set aside

In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside

In a large bowl beat butter for 30 seconds then add sugar and beat until fluffy

Add egg and lemon zest and beat again

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk beating after each entry

Spoon on to a parchment lined cookie sheet either with a teaspoon or a

1 ½” cookie dough scooper leaving 2 inches in between cookies

Bake for 12-14 minutes

Remove at once to a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath the wire rack and brush with glaze (twice) immediately

Allow to cool and dry for at least 30 minutes.

FOR THE GLAZE Stir Lemon juice into sugar slowly until combined (stir again before each glazing)