Lemon Shortbread Truffles Food

LEMON-BUTTER SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sift or whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
• Place butter in a large mixing bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until very creamy. Add confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and flour mixture; mix until well combined.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into rounds using a round cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are light brown on the bottom but still very light on top, about 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
• Whisk melted butter and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Add lemon zest and whisk again. Whisk in confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time. Add more lemon juice if necessary for a thin consistency.
• Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze and transfer to a wire rack placed over waxed paper or parchment paper. Allow cookies to sit until glaze has set, about 2 hours.
• Store cookies in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper.

LEMON SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Beat butter, sugars and salt until blended; beat in lemon zest. Gradually beat in flour. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Let dough stand at room temperature 5-10 minutes to soften slightly. , Preheat oven to 325°. Roll each portion of dough between two pieces of waxed paper to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut dough with a floured 1-1/2-in. heart-shaped or other cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets., Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, 7-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For glaze, mix confectioners' sugar, lemon peel and lemon juice until smooth; spread over cookies. Sprinkle with colored sugar.

LEMON SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in upper third. Sift flour and salt into a bowl; set aside. Put butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl. Gradually add sugar; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in lemon zest and juice.
• Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture all at once; mix until just combined.
• Halve dough, and shape into disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 2-inch fluted cutter. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Bake until pale golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

LEMON SHORTBREAD TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with aluminum foil or parchment paper; set aside.
• Place the softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat on medium-high until smooth and creamy. Add the melted white chocolate and mix on low until smooth.
• Stir in 3/4 cup of the cookie crumbs, lemon curd, lemon zest and food coloring, if using. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for an hour, until firm enough to scoop.
• Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls and set the balls on the lined baking sheet. Put the sheet in the freezer to harden the balls for about 20 minutes--don't freeze, just firm enough to hold their shape when dipped. This step will, also, help coating to set.
• While waiting for the truffles to firm up, prepare the candy coating by melting it in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Stir until melted and smooth.
• Once the coating is melted and the truffles are firm, dip each one in the candy coating and place it on the lined baking sheet. If desired, decorate the tops with extra shortbread crumbs, crushed lemonhead candies or slivers of lemon zest while the coating is still wet. Repeat until all truffles are dipped.
• Refrigerate the tray until the coating is set, about 10 minutes. Store truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.