Lorraine Bodgers Lemon Shortbread 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 & GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and grease a 22cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft. Beat in the sugar, then stir in the lemon zest and ginger.
• Stir in the flour and work with your hands to form a soft dough. Tip into the tin and press into an even, flat layer with your fingers. Prick all over with a fork and bake in the oven for 40 mins until pale gold. Cut into wedges then leave to cool completely in the tin. Remove from the tin and dust with caster sugar to serve.

LEMON SHORTBREAD SQUARES

Steps:

• Make Classic Shortbread dough, beating 1 teaspoon lemon zest with the butter. Mix 2 cups confectioners' sugar with the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Spread over the finished shortbread and sprinkle with yellow decorating sugar. Slice into squares.

LORRAINE BODGER'S LEMON SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Stir the flour and salt together. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the lemon rind and mix.
• Add the flour and salt mixture and beat until thoroughly blended.
• Press the dough into an ungreased 8-by-8-inch baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly colored but not brown. Cool thoroughly before cutting into 2-by-1-inch bars.

LEMON SHERBET JAMMY DODGERS

Steps:

• In a food processor, whizz the butter, flour and a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and lemon zest and whizz again. Add the lemon juice and egg yolk and blend until clumps of dough form around the blades. Keep blending, using the pulse button, until larger balls of dough have formed. Tip out the mixture onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring it together in a smooth ball - don't overwork it or it will be tough. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces and pat into flat discs, then wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Remove the dough from the fridge 15 mins before you're ready to roll it. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Unwrap 1 piece of dough and roll it out to the thickness of a 50p piece. Use a 6cm cutter to stamp out discs (you should get about 15) and transfer to a baking sheet using a palette knife.
• Unwrap and roll out the remaining dough to the same thickness. Stamp out 15 discs and transfer to the second baking sheet. Use a small round cutter (about 1cm) or the end of a piping nozzle to stamp holes from the middle of 15 of the biscuits. Loosely cover the trays with cling film and chill for 15 mins. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Bake the biscuits for 15 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Place the butter, sugar and half the lemon curd in a bowl. Mash together, then blend with an electric hand whisk. Transfer to a piping bag and snip off the end, making a 1cm opening. Place the remaining lemon curd in another piping bag and snip off the end to make a slightly smaller hole. Dust a little sherbet over the biscuits with a hole in the centre.
• Pipe blobs of lemon filling in a ring shape onto each whole biscuit, leaving space in the centre to fill with lemon curd. Fill the middles, then sandwich a sherbet-dusted biscuit on top of each one. Store in a biscuit tin for 3 days.

JAMMY DODGERS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in egg yolk, water and extract until mixture forms a ball. , On a lightly floured sheet of parchment, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Transfer dough and paper to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes. Cut with a lightly floured 2-1/2-in. round cookie cutter. Using a floured 1-in. round cookie cutter, cut out centers of half of the cookies. Place solid and window cookies 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. , Bake at 325° until edges are lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Dust window cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread 2 teaspoons jam on bottoms of solid cookies; top with window cookies.

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.