Saturday, December 15, 2007

Lemon Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies



For cookie dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest


For filling:

1 (8oz) package light cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 egg1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Jar of lemon curd
Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Into a medium bowl sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat until combined well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until mixture just forms a dough. Form dough into a flat disc and wrap with saran wrap. Chill in fridge until firm, at least 4 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.

3. To make cream cheese filling: in a medium bowl beat cream cheese with a handheld mixer until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, egg, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until thoroughly combined.

4. To make cookies: take heaping teaspoons of chilled cookie dough and form loosely into balls - work quickly to keep dough as cold as possible. Place on baking sheet 1/2 inch apart. Using a small spoon or your finger, make an indentation in the middle of each cookie. Spoon approximately 1 teaspoon of cream cheese mixture evenly into indentation and top with 1/2 teaspoon lemon preserves. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until cookies are just slightly golden around the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

5. When cooled, dust top of cookies with powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.

No comments: