Take a break from traditional holiday desserts with these tart citrus cookies. For best results, use freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice in the icing.
- Portion size 55 servings
- Credits : Canadian Living: Holiday Baking 2014
Ingredients
Citrus Royal Icing:
Method
In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in egg, zest and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; stir into butter mixture in 2 additions just until combined. If necessary, knead to form dough. Divide dough in half; shape into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)
Let dough stand at room temperature until soft enough to roll out, about 15 minutes. Between waxed paper or on lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch (5 mm) thickness. Using 2-inch (5 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out shapes, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Arrange, 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, on parchment paper–lined rimless baking sheets.
Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in 375°F (190°C) oven just until firm and edges and bottoms are light golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool on pans for 1 minute; transfer directly to racks to cool completely. (Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container; store for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks.)
Citrus Royal Icing: Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat meringue powder with 1/4 cup water until foamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in icing sugar until stiff and glossy, about 9 minutes. Cover with damp towel.
Spoon half of the icing into piping bag fitted with small plain tip; pipe outlines along edges of cookies. Let stand until dry, about 15 minutes. Reserve remaining white icing from piping bag.
In small bowl, mix zest with lemon and lime juice; set aside.
Divide remaining icing in large bowl among 3 small bowls. Using food colouring, tint 1 bowl of the icing pale green, 1 bowl of the icing pale orange and 1 bowl of the icing pale yellow. Gradually add zest mixture to each bowl, 1/2 tsp at a time, until consistency of molasses. Spoon green icing onto centres of one-third of cookies. Using toothpick or skewer, spread to piped edges, popping any air bubbles. Repeat with orange and yellow icing and remaining cookies. Let stand until dry, about 30 minutes.
Using remaining white icing, pipe outlines along edges of cookies, over top of original borders. Pipe 1 line through centre of each cookie; pipe diagonal lines to make citrus segments. Pipe 1 small dot in centre of each segment for seeds. Let stand until dry, about 30 minutes. (Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container; store for up to 5 days.)
Nutritional facts per cookie: about
- Sodium 23 mg
- Sugars 8 g
- Protein 1 g
- Calories 77.0
- Total fat 3 g
- Potassium 9 mg
- Cholesterol 10 mg
- Saturated fat 2 g
- Total carbohydrate 13 g
%RDI
- Iron 2.0
- Folate 4.0
- Vitamin A 2.0
