Lemon Basil Curd Butter Cookies From The Cookie Book Food

LEMON BASIL BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Process basil and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until blended.
• Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, beating well.
• Add lemon juice and egg, beating until blended.
• Gradually add flour and basil mixture, beating until blended.
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
• Flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Cool on wire racks; garnish if desired.

LEMON CURD COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in pecans. Divide dough in half; shape into logs. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, 1-2 hours., Preheat oven to 350°. On a floured surface, roll each portion to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. fluted round cookie cutter. With a floured 1/2-in. round cookie cutter, cut out centers of half the cookies. Place solid and window cookies 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool., For filling, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan. Stir in lemon juice until smooth. Over medium heat, cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to pan. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly until mixture reaches 160° and coats the back of a metal spoon, about 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat; stir in butter and lemon peel. Pour into a bowl; cover surface with plastic wrap. Chill 2-3 hours (mixture will be thick)., Spread 1 tablespoon filling on bottoms of solid cookies; top with window cookies, pressing down lightly. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate.

PETITE LEMON CURD COOKIES

Steps:

• Prepare cookie dough:
• Follow recipe for basic butter cookies, forming dough into 2 balls (instead of a log) and flattening each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Make lemon curd:
• Simmer lemon juice, zest, sugar, butter, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Lightly beat yolks in a small bowl, then add 1/4 cup lemon mixture, whisking. Add yolk mixture to remaining lemon mixture, then reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, then cover surface with plastic wrap and chill while rolling out dough.
• Roll out dough:
• While oven preheats, roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into a 9-inch round (slightly less than 1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, chill on a baking sheet until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutter.
• Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Dredge warm cookies in confectioners sugar until coated and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Make more cookies in same manner.
• Transfer lemon curd to pastry bag or plastic bag (snip an 1/8-inch opening in a corner of plastic bag). Put 1 cookie upside down on work surface and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon lemon curd onto cookie, then top with another cookie, right side up, to form a sandwich. Make more sandwiches in same manner.
• Just before serving, sift some remaining confectioners sugar over tops of sandwiched cookies.

FIVE-SPICE CRANBERRY MOONCAKE COOKIES FROM THE COOKIE BOOK

Steps:

• To make the Five-Spice Filling, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the cranberries, cherries, brown sugar, water and five-spice powder and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, stirring frequently for about 6 minutes, or until the cranberries have popped and most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool completely.
• In a food processor fitted with the blade, add the walnuts and run the machine until they are finely chopped. Add in the chocolate and pulse several times until the chocolate is finely chopped and the mixture is blended. Finally add in the cooled cranberry mixture and pulse the machine to combine. Place the mixture in the fridge to firm up some more while you make your cookie.
• To make the cookies, in an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar and mix on medium until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and add in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, making sure to completely blend the first before adding the next. Add in the vanilla and blend for 1 minute more, again scraping down the sides and bottom.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour, all-purpose flour and sea salt. Add to the butter mixture and run the machine for 1 minute more or until just blended. Separate the dough into 23, roughly 3-tablespoon-sized (42-g) balls. It's messy. Sorry.
• To assemble, cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Press your thumb in the center of the cookie dough ball and make enough space for the filling. Put about 1 teaspoon of filling in there and then press the dough over to enclose it. It's ok if the dough gets stained from the cranberries, it looks pretty once baked and I actually found myself purposely making it happen. Just make sure the actual filling is encapsulated by the dough.
• Lightly flour a clean surface as well as the dough ball and the mooncake mold. Press a 5 3/4 x 2 1/2-inch (14.5 x 6.5-cm) mold, or cookie stamp, down on the dough ball until it meets some resistance. Gently tap the mold on the counter to release the mooncake cookie and place on the prepared baking sheet leaving 11/2 inches (3.7 cm) between cookies. Freeze the cookies for 1 hour or refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 17 to 18 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet.
• To make the glaze, once the cookies are cool, in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and orange juice. Invert the mooncakes into the glaze, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Scrape the side of your finger over the surface of the mooncake to remove any excess glaze.
• Buy the book! https://www.amazon.com/Cookie-Book-Decadent-Bites-Occasion/dp/1624146376/.
• Buy the mooncake mold! https://amzn.to/2Kzfbx7.

LEMON CURD COOKIES

Steps:

• Measure the oats, cream and lemon curd into a small bowl and mix until combined. Cover the bowl with clingfilm until ready to use.
• Mix the sugar and butter with the lemon zest for a couple of minutes until fluffy, then add the flour and ground rice, mix until you have a soft dough.
• Roll into a cylinder about 5cm by 20cm long and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least an hour until firm.
• Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4-5, line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and slice the dough into 1cm discs. They may crumble as you cut them but you can just press the dough back together again. Space them well apart as they will spread a bit.
• Spoon a teaspoon of the oaty/lemon mixture on each circle of dough and spread it to the edges.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cookies have just risen and the tops are browning, you may need less time - keep your eye on them. Cool for a few minutes until placing on a wire rack to go cold.

LEMON BASIL CURD BUTTER COOKIES FROM THE COOKIE BOOK

Steps:

• To make the curd, place the granulated sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade and pulse several times to combine. Add in the powdered sugar, eggs, egg yolk and lemon juice and run the machine for 30 to 60 seconds or until combined. Add in the flour and run the machine for 30 seconds more.
• Strain the mixture into a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the basil and butter and stir constantly for 6 to 8 minutes or until thickened. Strain once again if the mixture developed any lumps and immediately place in a small, heat-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap, directly on the surface of the curd. Place in the fridge to chill completely.
• To make the cookies, if your butter isn't super soft, heat it in the microwave on high for 5 to 10 seconds. In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle, add the butter, powdered sugar and lemon zest and run the machine on medium for 4 minutes or until smooth. With the machine on low, add in the egg, egg yolk, milk, vanilla and salt and run the machine on low for several minutes more. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so that everything is incorporated. The mixture may look curdled. Dump in the flour and run the machine on the lowest setting until the dough comes together.
• Place a silicone baking mat on the counter and then place a piece of parchment paper on top, lightly flouring it. Set the dough on top and sprinkle with a bit more flour. Rub some flour over your rolling pin and roll the dough to 1/4-inch (0.7-cm) thickness. Use the parchment paper to transfer it onto a baking sheet and chill in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Grab a 1 3/4-inch (4.5-cm) round cookie cutter and a 1 1/4-inch (3.3-cm) round cookie cutter. Cut as many 1 3/4-inch (4.5-cm) circles out of the dough as you can. Re-roll the scraps and cut as many from that dough. Use the 1 1/4-inch (3.3-cm) cutter to cut smaller circles out of half of the 1 3/4-inch (4.5-cm) circles. Place all of the cookies, including the small circles from the cut-out cookies, on the prepared baking sheets with 1 1/2 inches (3.7 cm) between each cookie, and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8 to 9 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet. To assemble, for the larger cookies, smear some curd on the solid circle and top with an 'O' shaped cookie. For the smaller cookies, smear some curd on one cookie and top with a same-sized cookie.
• Buy the book!
• https://www.amazon.com/Cookie-Book-Decadent-Bites-Occasion/dp/1624146376/.