Sunday, April 26, 2015

Lemon Jammies


As I was filling these cookies, I started thinking to myself, "This is tedious."  Then I thought, "Oh, this must be what Raymond feels like when he's making cookies."  Then I read his post, which begged for a cookie-free month.  Finally, I thought, "This book may be just a teensy bit heavy on the cookie chapter."  It's an interesting side effect of the bake-through.  When I read the table of contents and leafed through TBB, I definitely did not think, "And who's going to eat all these cookies?"  Whereas a cake or pie seems to disappear within 24 hours, the cookies hang around.


They're easy enough to put together.  I'm always happy when I see that I can make dough in a food processor because I know it's going to take me only about five minutes.  This is not the tedious part.


And I know it's going to be a plain, simple butter cookie livened up with a fair amount of lemon zest.  All is happiness so far.


The dough comes together nicely.  It looks so creamy and rich that you could eat it alone if you were a cookie dough kind of person.


And it rolls out nicely too.


I started having trouble when it turned out that the counter with the rolled-out cookie dough was directly in the brilliant spring sun, causing them to droop, lose their shape, and generally refuse to remain intact.  I gave up, pummeled it back in a ball, and stuck it back in the refrigerator.  Then I moved the  dough mat to the shade.


From there on out, everything was fine.  It was just a little ... tedious.  I got 38 cookies instead of 36, which means I cut out 76 cookies, and half of those had a scalloped hole cut out of the middle.  It was surprisingly hard to get that hole centered, so a fair number of my cookies were askew.  I finally made a mark in the middle of the cookie and went from there.  That helped, but it still wasn't perfect. 


Then I had to match cookie halves with each other, trying to match them by color and size.  Some of them stretched out on the way to the cookie sheet, and there was no matching half.  I had book club at my house tonight, and I was running out of time.  (Fortunately, I'm in more than one book club, and book clubs are excellent places to get rid of cookies or other things that you don't want around the house tempting you).  To save time, I didn't make the buttercream, or even make my own lemon curd. I bought Stonewall Kitchen lemon curd, which was surprisingly good.  I thought that raspberry jam would be pretty, so I used that on half the cookies.


My cookies' scallops don't match up perfectly with each other.  I'm tempted to go look at Rose's cookies, but I'm not sure I want to see how perfect they are.


The raspberry does look pretty, although it makes it look more like a Christmas cookie, and, honestly, the ones with the lemon curd are better.  They are so good that they made me forget my earlier complaints about tedium.  My book club was crazy about them.  I put out a plate of the dattelkonfekt too, and people ate them, but no one raved about them.  You know how sometimes people say, "Did you really make these yourself?"  And you modestly say, "yes, it was nothing."  And then people tell you how fabulous and amazing you are?  It happens now and then.  And I must say, it makes you feel quite good.  Good enough that you are not going to complain about the cookies being tedious to make and instead vow to make them again.  Very soon.

28 comments:

  1. I love how your cookies look with more of the filling showing! Now I wish I had used the same cookie cutter in my drawer. Well, they were easy enough to make so next time I will follow your lead. I think Apricot jam with a dusting of powdered sugar would be good, too.

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  2. Your cookies look perfect. Can't tell you had trouble with them and found them tedious. and like Vicki, I too like how cookies look with more filling showing. I always see Stonewall lemon curd in supermarket and wonder if they are good and I should buy a bottle to try. Now that you mentioned it is good, i will buy it! :) It's not exactly cheap here..like $7 a bottle, i think.

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    1. Faithy,
      I think the lemon curd cost $12 at my supermarket! That's how lazy I was feeling.

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    3. $12 over there? Then it should be more expensive here...maybe I missed out the 1 in front of the 7. Rose's buttercream is nice too, lemony and light. It didn't soften the cookies when I put them in the fridge even after 2 days, the cookies still crisp and buttercream still smooth. The buttercream didn't curdle in my fridge..and one thing good is i can use it out of the fridge immediately as it also didn't harden.

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  3. I find the rolling and cutting more tedious than the filing, but maybe that's because I can sneak some filling while doing it! Your cookies look so pretty with the scalloped edges! It is nice to get recognition for baking, isn't it?

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    1. I can never describe rolling dough as tedious because I think and fret too much while I'm doing it. Doing the filling is probably more mindless than tedious, and I usually enjoy mindless occupations.

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  4. I had the same problem and found that i had to trick my eye but placing the cutter a little above where i thought it should be. the answer will be a "double" cutter--one that has the center cutter part attached so it's placed exactly right! but i don't think they make them with scalloped edges which is my fav look.

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  5. Rose, the one I didn't use but should have is called a Linzer cookie cutter. Several companies still make them according to Amazon. Is this what you mean by "double" cutter or is that something different?

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  6. Rose, the one I didn't use but should have is called a Linzer cookie cutter. Several companies still make them according to Amazon. Is this what you mean by "double" cutter or is that something different?

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  7. Vicki,
    I found these from Williams-Sonoma.

    http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/linzer-cookie-cutters-set/?pkey=ccookie-cutters-pancake-molds%7Ccookie-cutter-sets%7C&cm_src=cookie-cutters-pancake-molds||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

    Do they look like the ones you have? Some of the ones on Amazon come in two pieces, and the reviews say the center part comes loose so you still don't get a good cut, but the W-S ones are all one piece. I think I'll get them for next time.

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    1. Mine are from Wilton. http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Linzer-Sandwich-Cookies. I like them better cos they have a plunger where you can push the dough out if it gets stuck..and you can have interchangeable centers.

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    2. sorry..the correct link should be : http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=2308-3800

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    3. I used the same Linzer cutter as Faithy as well.

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    4. ב''ה

      Aha, so that's how its done!

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  8. Your cookies look amazing. Love that so much of the filling is visible. I made these at Christmas and they were a hit! Wonder what they'd be like with a chocolate or hazelnut filling...

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  9. wow Marie--you are a great sleuth! i looked under sandwich cookies and window cookies and found nothing. i ordered and just so you all know: they are having issues with their site and it's supposed to be free shipping so be sure to call rather than to order on line. it's on sale as well!

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  10. Hi Marie, I love your beauty shot at the top of your post. Really pretty! You should feature it in your roundup! No joke. It's funny that you say that cookies hang around the house and no one eats them. I find the opposite. Anyway, I too love when others appreciate my (tedious) work. Great post.

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  11. Marie, your cookies looks beautiful. I also love how big the center is and how even they are.

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  12. I love your disarming sincerity! Tedium can a issue with repetitive tasks, even in our beloved kitchens. I think your cookies were worth every ounce of patience. Look at them, gorgeous things!

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  13. Marie, No mine are in two pieces. I like these William Sonoma better. Thanks.

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  15. funny, we seem to eat the cookies fast and the cakes stick around for days. go figure! if you have time, please stop by and see my post.

    http://www.butteryum.org/roses-alpha-bakers/2015/4/27/lemon-jammies

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  16. All round aweseome! they are on my catch up week list. Need to stop having a social life and get back to baking!!!

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  17. Marie: beautiful cookies! Like everyone else, I love the way you can see so much of the filling in yours. I usually go way overboard, make huge batches of things, creating massive amounts of work (and messes) for myself when baking. Wouldn't you know, the ONE TIME I didn't do that, I could kick myself--this recipe is fantastic and it made way too few cookies! I am being stingy with them, they are so good, I am reluctant to share them around with my usual tasters! I made lemon curd but next time will try the buttercream. I was going to use my Linzer cutters but couldn't find them at the critical moment (sigh). Story of my life...

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  18. I want to express my heartfelt grattitude to you for inviting me to join the Alpha Bakers. This has been an incredible road to travel. Just in my world it has touched so many people in such amazing ways-especially the students I teach everyday at school. At Spoons and Spice I bought a Linzer Cookie Cutter that Rose was referring to in her comment. This one does have a scalloped edge with the changeable centers. I didn't use it because it is a bit smaller than 2 1/4 inches. I did use the center cutouts. Your cookies are absolutely beautiful! Hugs to you :)

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  19. ב''ה

    Posted!

    http://greensteinsbakery.blogspot.com/2015/04/greensteins-bakery-baking-bible-lemon.html

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  20. ב''ה

    I'll have to try these with lemon curd next time. Yours look so good!

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