Friday, April 19, 2013

Whole Foods Feasting: Light and Lemony Cookies

I'm changing the name of my sponsored Whole Foods posts from Whole Foods Friday to Whole Foods Feasting so I can change the posting date when it makes sense to do so. Nothing else is changing though.

I think the best tool for mixing cookie dough is a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can start the process with a hand mixer, but at some point the dough will probably be too stiff for the mixer to handle, then you'll need to switch to hand mixing.

The great thing about living in Colorado is that even in summer, the temperature usually drops enough to do a little baking in the evening. And a batch of cookies doesn't take long to bake, so the oven doesn't have to be on for a long time.

Light and Lemony Cookies

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon water (as needed)

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attacment, cream the butter and sugar. Add the salt. lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat until incorporated.

Add the flour and mix it in. If the dough doesn't hold together, add water as needed, a teaspoon at a time. I added a tablespoon.

Gather the dough together and wrap it in plastic, or put it in a plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight.

When you're getting ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm up a bit as the oven preheats.

Use a teaspoon-sized scoop or small spoon to portion the dough into balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between them. They won't spread a lot, but they will spread a little. Flatten the cookies with the palm of your hand.

Bake the cookies at 325 degrees until you see that they're lightly browned at the edges - about 15 minutes.

Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes about 36 small cookies.

This post was sponsored by Whole Foods.
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