Lemon Meltaways

Lemon Meltaway Cookies, are a light crisp buttery cookie, with a clean lemony flavor that melts in your mouth.  A perfect teatime treat, for a snowy afternoon.  These are an icebox cookie, but I took some of the chilled dough and rolled it on my counter, then cut them with a heart cookie cutter.  Perfect little Valentines treat for your honey!

Ingredients 

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Grated zest of 2 lemons

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for dusting

1.  Sift flour, cornstarch and salt together onto a piece of parchment paper and set aside.

2.  In a mixing bowl, mix butter and powdered sugar, until light and fluffy.  Add the lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla.  Mix until well incorporated.

3.  Turn the mixer down to low and add the flour, mix until combined.

4.  Gather the dough together and divide into two equal pieces.  Roll each piece of dough into a log, about 1 3/4 to 2 inches in diameter.  Wrap each log separately, tightly rolled in a piece of parchment paper.  Chill for at least an hour before baking, or wrapped again in plastic wrap and may be frozen for up to two months.  You can just bake off as much as you want!

5.  Heat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Slice the cookies 1/4 inch thick and place on the parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 14 minutes, turning cookie sheet halfway through baking.  Remove from oven when bottoms are just turning golden brown.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing from the pan with a spatula to a cooling rack.  While still slightly warm, sift powdered sugar over both sides of cookies.  Enjoy!