Lemon Glazed Cinnamon Spice Cookies
Makes about 20 medium-to-large cookies, or 40 small cookies...
Lemon Glazed Cinnamon Spice Cookies bring back the smells, tastes, and images of the holiday season for me. This cookie packs a lot of flavors into one bite. The cookie itself is not very sweet, which allows all of the other flavors to stand out. The nutty flavor of whole wheat flour, the rich warm butter taste, cinnamon and the extra twist of allspice. A lemon glaze hits the roof of your mouth first, and as the cookie breaks up in your mouth, all of the other flavors blend with the lemon, for a truly delicious cookie experience.
Whole wheat flour is something Mãe began using later in life, as she discovered that you can usually replace regular flour with whole wheat entirely, and get the extra nutrition and depth of flavor that comes from the wheat chaff. Honestly, why would you throw the chaff away? The only thing to consider with whole wheat for cookies is the texture of the chaff. It does add a sandy texture to the cookie. If you prefer regular flour, simply swap out the whole wheat. Or tweak the ratio to your taste.
When I made these cookies as a kid, I did not use whole wheat flour. I used 100% regular King Arthur unbleached flour. And the cookies always turned out great. I also used about 30% more sugar. As a kid, I just couldn't get enough sugar. In my thirties, I've really stopped eating sweets unless they are something truly special, or a dessert that I make myself at home. Dialing down the sugar allows all of the flavors to shine. The icing is so sweet, that it really is best to have a hearty less sweet cookie to balance.
The lemon icing is a huge part of the overall flavor blend of these cookies, but you don't necessarily have to use lemon. If you don't have lemon juice, you can use water instead. Again, the lemon taste on the surface of the cookie adds dimension... Water icing isn't going to do that. One tip that Mãe always told me is to keep lemons in the house at all times. If you're not in that habit, maybe start today? You'll be amazed at the things you begin to use it for. It's really a flavor enhancer.
If you're feeling creative, you can try other tart juice extract for your icing base. I recommend pomegranate or cranberry juice. But make sure to get unsweetened 100% cranberry juice (this can be hard to find, but I'm seeing it more and more). You can get a nice reddish color for the icing with these juices, which is perfect for the holidays.
Some people like their holiday spice cookies to have a hint of molasses flavor. They may not even know that the flavor they are craving is molasses, but it is a very typical ingredient in cinnamon spice cookies. Personally I find molasses to be a bit too pungent, and a little to musty to mix well with lemon, but for those of you who like the traditional holiday cookie taste, maybe try substituting some part of the corn syrup with molasses.
One problem I run into with cookies of any kind is finding the rolling pin. For many years, my husband and I lived in Brooklyn, and we had a tiny L-shaped kitchen without much storage space. I simply couldn't afford to keep a rolling pin in any of my kitchen drawers. Everything in those drawers had to be accessible for everyday cooking. If I ever decided to make cookies, when it came time to roll out the dough, I could never find the rolling pin, which is how I learned to use a metal bottle!
Another thing I never have lying around, which every cookie recipe of my youth seemed to want us to use, is a wire rack for letting the cookies cool. Wire racks are ideal because they allow the cookie to cool without getting "damp" on the bottom. This makes for a more uniformly crunchy cookie, and it really is the recommended way to cool your cookies. But if you don't have a wire rack, don't let that discourage you. I use a cutting board and position the cookies off of the edge a bit, and rotate them.
The last thing that scares people away from making cookies is cookie cutters! When I lived in Brooklyn, I decided on a whim that I was going to bake holiday cookies, and I went to four different stores looking for cookie cutters. It was a two and a half mile walk round trip. I finally found one (and one only) cookie cutter option at the Gristedes in Brooklyn Heights. It's just not something that most stores have lying around. If you don't have cookie cutters, just use a drinking glass and make round cookies!
I've always shied away from holiday cookies because I remember them being a lot of work and a lot of specialized tools needed. Basically if you have a cylindrical water bottle or a wine bottle in the house, and a baking sheet, you're all set. Everything else you can improvise. Don't have precise measuring spoons? Just use your dinner spoons. Don't have measuring cups? Just estimate using a coffee mug. If you find yourself in the holiday spirit, there really is no reason not to make something delicious.
Dinner parties around the holidays are a great occasion to make these. People show up with bottles of wine, or holiday gifts that you hope comes with an gift receipt. Who has time or space for more junk in their home? But if you show up with these cookies, you'll bring something that is delicious, and reminds everyone of the homemade holiday cookies of childhood. And what are the holidays about if not childhood nostalgia?
Give the Gift of Homemade Cookies!
Mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl, starting with the flour. Ideally sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and allspice into the bowl (sifting helps eliminate clumps). Stir in the brown sugar.
*Note on Spices: Don't have allspice lying around? You don't need to use allspice. You can use cinnamon only, or add some or all of the flavor components of allspice, like nutmeg and cloves (or not add these at all). Cinnamon is the only must!
Cut up the butter and drop it into the dry ingredients. Using your fingertips, rub the butter chunks into the dry mixture, until it looks like fine gravel.
Beat the egg and the corn syrup or melted honey together with a fork.
Pour the egg and syrup mixture into your bowl of dry ingredients. Mash and knead everything together into a ball of dough. Put the dough into an airtight container or a plastic bag and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Use a floured roller to roll the dough out thinly onto a floured surface (about 1/4 inch thick). If you don't have a roller use a water bottle or wine bottle. Cut out your cookies with fun and decorative cookie cutters.
Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes.
Using a spatula, take the cookies off of the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack or on folded paper towel if you don't have a wire rack. Wait until the cookies cool completely before you put the icing on.
These cookies are also delicious without any icing.
Start with 1 cup of confectioners sugar in a mug, and add the lemon juice. I use a sift to catch the seeds, but you can squeeze the lemon out into a bowl first and pick out the seeds. Mix with a butter knife. Keep adding sugar until the icing is gooey...the stiffness of wet concrete.
Working quickly, scoop icing out with your butter knife and twirl. Apply the icing goop starting on the edges of your cookie and working your way to the center. Icing will drip a little bit as you let it harden. Wait 10 minutes before serving.
Wait until the icing is completely hardened before you stack the cookies. The outer layer of this icing will harden and feel smooth to the touch, but that doesn't mean it is dry through and through. If you stack these cookies before your icing fully hardens, they will become glued together.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl, starting with the flour. Ideally sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and allspice into the bowl (sifting helps eliminate clumps). Stir in the brown sugar.
*Note on Spices: Don't have allspice lying around? You don't need to use allspice. You can use cinnamon only, or add some or all of the flavor components of allspice, like nutmeg and cloves (or not add these at all). Cinnamon is the only must!
Cut up the butter and drop it into the dry ingredients. Using your fingertips, rub the butter chunks into the dry mixture, until it looks like fine gravel.
Beat the egg and the corn syrup or melted honey together with a fork.
Pour the egg and syrup mixture into your bowl of dry ingredients. Mash and knead everything together into a ball of dough. Put the dough into an airtight container or a plastic bag and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Use a floured roller to roll the dough out thinly onto a floured surface (about 1/4 inch thick). If you don't have a roller use a water bottle or wine bottle. Cut out your cookies with fun and decorative cookie cutters.
Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes.
Using a spatula, take the cookies off of the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack or on folded paper towel if you don't have a wire rack. Wait until the cookies cool completely before you put the icing on.
These cookies are also delicious without any icing.
Start with 1 cup of confectioners sugar in a mug, and add the lemon juice. I use a sift to catch the seeds, but you can squeeze the lemon out into a bowl first and pick out the seeds. Mix with a butter knife. Keep adding sugar until the icing is gooey...the stiffness of wet concrete.
Working quickly, scoop icing out with your butter knife and twirl. Apply the icing goop starting on the edges of your cookie and working your way to the center. Icing will drip a little bit as you let it harden. Wait 10 minutes before serving.
Wait until the icing is completely hardened before you stack the cookies. The outer layer of this icing will harden and feel smooth to the touch, but that doesn't mean it is dry through and through. If you stack these cookies before your icing fully hardens, they will become glued together.