Hanukkah cut-out cookies

½ cup unsalted butter (one stick) at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking powder

1. Beat butter until creamy using electric mixer. Add in sugar, egg, lemon juice and rind vanilla; beat.
2. Sift flour and baking powder by hand, working dough into a ball. Form three balls and flatten them into circles. Wrap each circle in plastic wrap and freeze 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Flour work surface and rolling pin, and roll dough out to a thin sheet.
5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until edges of cookies start to brown.
6. Let cool 5 minutes before moving them with a spatula to waxed paper. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before frosting.

1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. lemon juice
½ tsp. vanilla
2 to 3 tsp. milk
1 to 2 drops blue food coloring (optional)

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk sugar, lemon juice and vanilla together.
2. Gradually add in milk until frosting is thick enough to spread.
3. Stir in food coloring, one drop at a time. If frosting gets too runny, add more sugar.
4. Pour into plastic bottle and drizzle onto cookies. Decorate with zig-zag lines, polka dots or any other design you choose.
5. Let cookies set for 30 minutes before placing in a plastic wrap-lined tin.

BY ELIZABETH VASSAL ON 12/11/2009 8:00:00 AM

POSTED IN cookie, winter holiday recipes, hanukkah