Crispy/Chewy Lemon Cookies

By Addie

For some reason, I’ve been craving lemony things lately, and these cookies jumped out at me from the pages of my Gourmet cookbook. I normally cringe at the idea of shortening, but it does give cookies an amazing chewiness that butter alone simply doesn’t. These are crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and have just the right amount of lemon flavor. Like pretty much all cookies, they’re highly addictive!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cream the butter and shortening until smooth. Beat in the sugar and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy.

Scrape down the bowl and mix in the extracts, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix until smooth.

Stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together, then add to the rest of the dough. Mix on low until combined and all traces of flour disappear.

Roll a scant tablespoon of dough at a time into a ball then flatten slightly and place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until edges are golden.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool, then sift powdered sugar over the top.