Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies

Reading my blog roll today I was pleasantly surprised to see a gorgeous photo of a stack of Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies. I was instantly intrigued. I could almost smell the citrus. Spring was in the air.

So I put down the cup of coffee and dove in. Before long you could smell lemon throughout the house.

The result is one incredible cookie!

These are crisp on the edges, chewy in the middle
and big enough to hold with two hands!
Cheers to after-school snacks - here's hoping I didn't set the bar too high !

This recipe was featured today on One Perfect Bite.
With Mary's permission, I am reposting the recipe here and sharing the love !

HERE WE GO !!!

This recipe calls for the zest of two lemons.
I love how Mary adds the zest to the rolling sugar for that extra kick !


The dough came together in a snap; a rich heavenly dough laden with butter and fresh lemon juice and zest. I will admit that yes, I ate raw cookie dough today.
Trust me, you would have too !

Balls of chilled dough rolled in lemon infused sugar


Now to figure out what to use to press them down into 1/2 inch deep circles. I tried a glass and that didn't work. It left strange indentations. A saucer was too large. And then I saw it. This little plastic gadget the kids use to make egg sandwiches.


It worked !!! Perfectly pressed and ready for the oven !

These are truly beautiful and won't last long !

RECIPE as posted on One Perfect Bite

Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar, divided use
Zest of 2 large lemons, divided use
1 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
1) To make lemon sugar: Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon lemon zest in the bowl of a mini-food processor. Pulse until lemon zest is incorporated into sugar. Pour into a small bowl and stir to break up any clumps. Set aside.
2) To make cookie dough: Combine flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with reserved 1-1/2 cups sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Add lemon extract, lemon juice and reserved lemon zest. Add flour mixture, one cup at a time, blending well after each addition, until all flour is incorporated.
Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
3) To bake cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape dough into balls using 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll in reserved lemon sugar. Bake in batches of six cookies per 18 x 13-inch baking sheets. Place balls of sugar coated dough on cookie sheets. Press down with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup until cookie is about 1/2-inch thick. Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes. Remove tray from oven. Let cookie sit on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Yield: 24 saucer-sized cookies.

ENJOY !!!!!!