ENGLISH AFTERNOON TEA~LEMON MELT AWAY COOKIES

These cookies may be my all time favorite. I make them about 1 inch wide, so they are a perfect bite of sweetness, with a lemon tang.

Tea parties are best if dishes can be made ahead, requiring as little last minute preparation as possible. These lemon cookies are perfect. The dough can be made up and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days. The cookies can be baked and frozen for a month or so. After icing them, they will keep in airtight tin for a day or two.
Actually they are very good iced for a week or so, but I recommend icing them no earlier than a day ahead for a special occasion.

Lemon Melt Away Cookies

~

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Lemon Frosting, (see recipe below)

In a large bowl at low speed, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and mix until fluffy. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, beat well. Add flour and cornstarch into butter mixture, mix well until blended.

Divide dough in half and shape each half into 8"x1" roll. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 1 to 2 hours. (I found that this dough will keep for a few days. I haven't tried this, but I think you could probably freeze these rolls. That way you could bake one roll and save the other one for another day.)

~

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a sharp knife, cut each roll into 1/4 inch slices. Place on cookies on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned, top should not brown. Remove from oven, carefully remove baking sheet and cool on wire racks. When cool spread top of cookies with Lemon Frosting.

~

Lemon Frosting

~

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

~

Combine butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and confectioner's sugar, stir until mixed.

Additional lemon juice may be needed to get frosting thin enough.

Yields 4 dozen cookies