Tea Time: Lemon-Coconut Sables

These cookies are lemon-coconut perfection! They have that perfect crumbly, tender shortbread texture. The tartness from the lemon helps balance the rich butter and coconut well, and overall the cookies are just entirely delicious. They're also a breeze to mix up quickly, although they do require some chilling time in the fridge.

Lemon-Coconut Sables (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 (heaping) tsp sea salt
2 large egg yolks
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut, toasted until golden brown

1. Beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy.

2. Rub the granulated sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the lemon sugar to the butter along with the powdered sugar and sea salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the egg yolks until the mixture is uniform.

3. Pour the flour into the mixer and pulse the mixer at low speed in very short bursts until the flour is just incorporated. Cover the mixer with a towel if needed to prevent the flour from spraying out into the kitchen.

4. Add the coconut and mix until just incorporated - be careful not to overwork the dough!

5. Split the dough into two batches and roll each half into a log about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours, until very firm.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/3-inch thick cookies. Place onto baking sheets covered in parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Bake the cookies 17-20 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom and edges but still pale on top.