Monday, April 9, 2012

Secret Recipe Club: Zesty Lemon and Almond Sticks

This month, my partner for the Secret Recipe Club was the lovely blog Barbara Bakes, full of absolutely scrumptious treats!  Since I had signed up to bring cookies to church on Easter, I decided on Barbara's lime and almond sticks.  I love citrus as a spring flavor, and the addition of almonds made the cookies extra tender, which I really like in a shortbread-type cookie.  Best of all, I was able to make the dough a week ahead and pop it in the freezer, making my Easter weekend a lot less hectic! Although I intended to make these cookies with the original lime flavoring, I didn't make it to the store due to a giant rainstorm, and ended up using lemons from our backyard instead.  The Meyer lemons added a lovely floral citrus flavor, but I definitely want to try lime next time.  Either way, these were a big hit and everyone loved them.  Thanks for a great recipe, Barbara.



Zesty Lemon and Almond Sticks (adapted from Barbara Bakes, original recipe here, and Martha Stewart)
Makes 3-4 dozen cookies (depending on size)

2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 T plus 1 tsp lemon zest
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup almond meal

1. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, confectioner's sugar, salt, and lime zest until combined.  Add the butter and process until sandy.  Add the yolks and lime juice and pulse until the dough comes together.  Add the almond meal and pulse until combined.
2. Divide the dough in half and form into two logs.  Gently press each log into a rectangle and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Freeze until firm, about 2 hours (or up to one month).
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.  Slice the rectangular logs into 1/4-inch thick slices and arrange on the baking sheets, about one inch apart. Bake about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown.  Cool on wire racks.


23 comments:

  1. These look delicous! Great choice for SRC!

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  2. Looks delish! And must taste so refreshing :-)

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  3. I've been looking for some "do-partially-ahead" cookie recipes; slice and bake definitely fits the bill. I'll be trying these soon (maybe with lemon AND lime, since I've got both in the fridge.)

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  4. These do sound like a lovely spring cookie! Meyer lemons in the yard???? Yea, I'm jealous!

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  5. I love how simple this is-tasty too I bet with Meyer lemon (or limes). Great pick this month.

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  6. yummy! I bet those were awesome flavors!

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  7. These look tasty-I love lemon and butter cookies~

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  8. Love lemon flavor this spring. Great looking cookies!

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  9. I would probably eat every one of these myself if I made them and wouldn't even consider sharing with Grumpy!

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  10. Anything lemon is wonderful in my book. Great SRC pick!

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  11. I can't tell you how jealous I am that you have a lemon tree in your backyard. Meyer lemons sound like a fabulous change in the recipe. Perfect for Easter. Thanks for the sweet comments about my blog.

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  12. Seriously jealous of your lemon tree. And these lovely treats. I bet the flavour is out of this world.

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  13. We used to live in AZ and loved having lemons so fresh and accessible. LOVE this kind of cookie--they are addictive for me though. ;)

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  14. I told this same thing to Katrina--you and her thumbnails both gave me a heads up as to whose blog I would find when I clicked them. I'm starting to recognize your photo styles (and foods styles)! LOL! These sound so good and definitely "spring-timey" with the lemon flavor. Anything lemon reminds me of sunshine!

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  15. I used to buy babies like this one. I love lemon cookies!

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  16. Barbara's blog is always full of delicious treats! And these cookies are no exception. I love lemony desserts.

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  17. a lemon tree? how neat! these cookies look fantastic.

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  18. What a perfect Easter treat! I love making lemony desserts at Eastertime. They look awesome.

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  19. We have a lemon tree too, makes making lemony treats so easy, these look yummy!

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  20. I wish I had a lemon tree! That said, love the almond paired with lemon - they look fantastic! Great SRC choice!

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  21. I love lemon anything and almond too so these would be a hit for me...Of course I'd love them with lime too. Great looking cookie.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my SRC recipe this month: Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad.

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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  22. Lemon and Almonds!1 What a great combo.

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