Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies Food

MEYER LEMON SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Spray or butter a 9" pie plate. Cut out a piece of parchment and line the pie plate.
• You can make this one of two ways (both ways are easy, one is noisy). If you have a food processor (like this), add the flour, sugar, and butter and pulse around 20 times. Alternatively you could blend it for 10 seconds in the processor. Stop, then add the lemon zest and juice. Pulse a few more times until it's all mixed together. It should look a bit wet at this point.
• If you don't have a food processor or don't want to wash one, you can use a pastry cutter like this. I often use this instead if I bake during nap time because it's the quiet option and we live in a small house. It's more of an arm workout but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In this case, put the flour, sugar, and butter into a bowl and use the pastry cutter to mix everything together. The butter should be in teeny pieces by the time you're done and the dough should look slightly wet. Add the lemon zest and juice and use the pastry cutter briefly to mix them in so it's uniform.
• In either case, dump out the dough (it will just look like crumbly bits at this point) into your prepared pie plate. Press very firmly into the parchment-lined dish. Really press it down. This will help it hold together and will cut nicely for you after it's baked.
• Put the pie plate with the shortbread dough in the freezer for 20 minutes. This chills the dough so it doesn't puff up as much while it's baking and keeps its shape. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350F.
• After the chill time, remove the pie plate from the freezer and prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake at 350F for ~35 minutes, until it starts to lightly brown.
• When you take it from the oven, immediately cut it into 16 wedges while it's still hot. This will making slicing it much easier before it firms up more. Let it cool completely in the dish, then remove and devour. Or bite daintily. Whichever.

MEYER-LEMON SHORTBREAD WREATH COOKIES

Steps:

• Cookies: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with zest on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in confectioners' sugar until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute more. Reduce speed to low. Beat in lemon juice and salt, then flour, until combined. Divide dough in half, transfer each to plastic wrap, pat into disks, wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days (or freeze up to 1 month; thaw in refrigerator before using).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Working with one disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a scant 1/4 inch thick. Stamp out rounds with a 3-inch cutter, preferably fluted. Transfer to prepared sheets, 1 inch apart. Use a 1- to 1 1/4-inch plain round cutter to stamp out centers of 3-inch rounds. Gather scraps; roll out again, stamping out more wreaths. Repeat with remaining disk. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Bake, rotating sheets and rack positions halfway through, until set and pale golden on bottoms, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week before decorating.
• Glaze and Decorations: Brush herbs with egg white; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Transfer to wire rack; let stand until stiff and dry, at least 1 hour or, loosely covered, up to 1 day. In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. One at a time, dip cookie tops in glaze; lift and tilt slightly for a few seconds, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Transfer to wire rack; decorate with sugared herbs and candies. Let stand until set, about 2 hours. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, between sheets of parchment, up to 2 days.