Lemon Crisps

By Hklbrries

"Low fat cookies that can be frozen and then baked. Perfect for freezing ahead and then baking just a few cookies at a time. 'The only thing worse than having no cookies around the house is having too many.'

You know how much you love the scent of vanilla and butter heating together in the oven, and you crave the sweet, delicate flavor of fresh-baked holiday cookies. But the last thing you, as an easily tempted person, need is dozens of cookies.

As cookbook author Sarah Phillips suggests, you can have fresh-baked cookies on demand without the worry of leftovers.

Her secret is to use doughs that freeze well. 'I make an icebox sugar cookie dough that I slice into cookie shapes. Then I arrange the slices on a baking sheet and freeze it. I put the frozen cookies in a resealable bag. I pull out just as many cookies as I want to bake at a time,' says Phillips, author of the 'Healthy Oven Baking Book' (Doubleday, 1999).

What's more, she says, you can bake a few cookies at a time in a toaster oven, as long as the temperature gets up to 375 F.

Phillips uses the freezer technique to bake several different cookies at a time for her family. 'I do it because my children don't like the same cookies,' says Phillips, who usually has the makings of lemon, cocoa, sugar and peanut butter cookies in her freezer.

Here is a small-batch adaptation of one of Phillips' favorite low-fat recipes.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Dash salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg white
• 2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Preparation

Step 1

In small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In bowl, using hand-held mixer at medium speed, beat together sugar and butter until mixture resembles bread crumbs, about 1 minute. Add egg white, lemon rind and juice and beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture gradually. Form into log 1 inch in diameter and 6 inches long. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight. Or, slice and freeze.

To bake, spray nonstick baking sheets with cooking spray. Slice dough 1/4-inch thick. Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake at 375 F until cookies are firm at edges but still soft in center, about 10 minutes. Leave cookies on sheets for 1 minute, then remove with spatula and cool on wire rack.