Grandma's Lemon Cookies

For the family Mother's Day get-together, I made these delicious lemon cookies. Mom told me that the recipe is from her mother. The cookie dough is a classic Italian cookie that is heavy on egg. The lemon flavor comes the glaze. And dipping the cookies into the glaze, rather than spreading the frosting, is a classic technique. These cookies were a hit and may make it into our cookie rotation.

The recipe calls for using lemon extract for the frosting, but I did not have lemon extract on hand. Instead, I used some lemon juice and lemon zest. And the cookies could be easily modified by using different flavors in the glaze, such as vanilla, anise, or mint.

Grandma's Lemon Cookies 

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 baking powder
• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Lemon Frosting

• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 tsp. water
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Preheat over to 350. Sift flour with baking powder. Work butter in a bowl until creamy. Add sugar and beat until well-blended. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat well. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well after each addition. Drop slightly rounded teaspoons of dough two inches apart on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Prepare the frosting by mixing together the ingredients, until thick and smooth. Dip tops of cooled cookies into lemon frosting and let dry. Enjoy!