CITRUS ORNAMENT COOKIES

Citrus Ornament Cookies image

Citrus juice and zest go into the dough and glaze in these festive cookies. You can use lemon, lime, or orange with equally delicious results.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Time 4h35m

Yield Makes about 3 dozen

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

3 lemons, well scrubbed
3 oranges, well scrubbed
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lemon, lime, or orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon, lime, or orange zest
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon, lime, or orange zest, or a combination, plus 4 teaspoons fresh juice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Yellow or orange food coloring (optional)

Steps:

Candied Citrus Zest: Remove zest from lemons and oranges with a vegetable peeler in long strips. With a paring knife, remove white pith from zest strips. With a very sharp knife, cut strips into a long, fine julienne. Place julienned zest in a small bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes; drain.
Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high. When sugar is completely dissolved, add julienned zest, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand overnight. Candied zest in syrup can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks. (Makes 3/4 cup.)
Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar and citrus juice until smooth. Whisk in zest. Glaze can be stored at room temperature, with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface, up to 3 days; whisk before using. (Makes 2 cups.)
Cookies: Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat butter with sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add citrus zest; beat to combine. Add eggs and citrus juice; beat to combine. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 3 disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days (or freeze up to 1 month).
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough about 1/8 inch thick. Use a 3-inch ornament cutter to cut out shapes; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Reroll and cut remaining dough. Freeze 15 minutes. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.
Remove candied citrus zest from syrup; let drain on paper towels. Stir in a tiny amount of food coloring into glaze to achieve a very pale tint. Brush tops of cookies with glaze, then turn glaze-sides up on racks set over rimmed baking sheets to catch drips. Let stand 5 minutes before pressing zest strips into glaze. Let stand until completely set, about 1 hour. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container between sheets of parchment at room temperature up to 4 days.