Lemon Tea Cookies

  Desserts

These sandwich cookies taste rich and buttery and have a lovely lemon filling. The recipe has been in our family since the 1950s, when my mother got it from a French friend in her club.

Lemon Tea Cookies

Average Rating: 5

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 25 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
YIELD: about 4-1/2 dozen.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

  • FILLING:
  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 4-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 2 drops yellow food coloring, optional

Instructions

  • 1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Gradually add flour and mix well.
  • 2. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a 14-in. roll; reshape each roll into a 14x1-1/8x1-1/8-in. block. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  • 3. Unwrap dough and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle half the cookies with nuts, gently pressing into dough.
  • 4. Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
  • 5. In a small bowl, cream the butter, lemon juice and orange zest until fluffy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar until smooth. Tint yellow if desired. Spread about 1 teaspoon filling on bottoms of the plain cookies; place nut-topped cookies over filling.

Nutrition Facts

1 each: 70 calories, 4g fat (2g saturated fat), 12mg cholesterol, 32mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate (5g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.

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