some people's recipes you know you can trust. i trust gina de palma, i just do.
so if it's her recipe, i should probably make it because i trust that it'll be awesome.
she notes in her book that these are her favorite lemon cookies. ding.
proceed with buying a $27 bottle of limoncello.
...note to self: make limoncello so you never ever consider doing that again.
that aside...if i had to describe these cookies in one word it would be: pleasant. these cookies are so pleasant. they smell super pleasant, they're pleasantly gritty...it's all so nice.
i want to make almond ice cream and eat it with these cookies. i imagine that'd be a good time.
Lemon Semolina Cookies
from Gina De Palma's Dolce Italiano
2 cups ap flour
2/3 cup semolina
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sugar + more for rolling
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
zest and squeezed juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp limoncello
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
glaze (optional)
in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, semolina, baking powder, baking soda, and salt - set aside.
using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy. beat in the egg and egg yolk, scraping down the sides, followed by the lemon zest and juice, limoncello, and vanilla extract. scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. on low speed, beat in the dry ingredients til a soft dough forms. remove dough, wrap it in plastic, and flatted into a disk. refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
preheat oven to 325 degreesF. line 2 baking sheets with parchment or grease. place the additional sugar in a small bowl. scoop teaspoonfuls (i did tablespoons for bigger cookies) of dough and roll them into balls. roll them in the sugar to coat evenly. place on baking sheets, evenly spacing them about 2 inches apart.
bake until they have collapsed and are crinkled, 14-15 min, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.
allow cookies to cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them gently to wire racks to cool completely.
i added streaks of limoncello glaze, simply mix a few tbsp of limoncello with powdered sugar til you get your desired glaze consistency. streak it on there, yo.
