L = Lemon Blizzard Cookies

Ok dear readers.  This is it.  This is the first time I'll be sharing one of my signature, self created recipes with the world. (Or at this stage of the game, 16 readers!  =D)

These were originally inspired by cookies purchased from our favorite grocer, Market of Choice.  They were a bakery item (as opposed to a prepackaged cookie from the cookie aisle).  What I thought was funny was that they had the gall to call them "Lemon Coolers".

Laughable, eh?  Perhaps I'm being presumptuous in assuming that everyone knows about the original Lemon Coolers.  Sunshine Biscuits was a company that was eventually pulled into the Kellogg's conglomerate through the Keebler name.  The merger left a few products being discontinued, Lemon Coolers being one of them.

  
While shopping at Vons in California on a recent trip I stumbled across their resurrection attempt, "Lemon Cookies".  I say "attempt" because while they look the same on the box, the product was not on par with the original.  It was nice to reminisce about a long lost favorite, but all in all, I was not happy with them and will be more apt to try to make them at home at some point than consume the store bought version again.  But that's just me.

Moving on!

The cookies from Market of Choice weren't like this anyway, they just sported the old name.  Instead, it was a chewy lemon flavored cookie with white chocolate chips.  There was something in the dough that we originally thought was coconut, but after a few batches of my own we discovered it was just thicker zest.  (Thicker than what my microplane produces.)

Lemon Blizzard Cookies


12 oz. butter
3/4 cup sucanat
3/4 cup vanilla sugar (you can use whatever you have on hand)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 small lemons
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 pkg while chocolate chips (we only use Guittard)
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This is a standard butter cookie recipe.
Mix butter until fluffy.
Add sugars, mix again.
Add eggs, mix again.
Add zest and juice from the lemons and vanilla, mix again.
Add 2 cups of the flour, baking soda and salt, mix again.
(Then I switch to the dough hook.  I like to make sure I do not develop the gluten/overmix.)
Add remaining 2 cups flour, stir again.
Add chip and stir final time until combined.
Scoop chosen portion of dough onto (parchment lined or not) baking sheet.
Bake at 325°F - 350°F until edges are golden.
Cool on wire rack.
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I make sure to dig into the bottom of the bowl of my mixer at several points along the way and dislodge any dry sugar or flour with a rubber/silicone spatula.  If you wait until the end to do this, there is far more mass to deal with and it can be difficult.

I use a yellow (size 20) portion scoop for these cookies.  It's pretty giant, but eliminates the question, "How many cookies can we have?"  The answer is always, "One".  (And half for smaller munchkins.)  When baking a cookie that large I drop the temperature to 325° and they bake for nearly 20 minutes.  Smaller cookies are fine at 350° and will bake for for less time.  I've always made them this size so you will have to take a stab at how long to bake smaller cookies for.

The above version of the cookie had been decorated with a lemon vanilla bean icing, (powdered sugar, lemon juice and some vanilla seeds).  Not something I normally do, but they were for Christmas gift boxes so I wanted to spruce them up a bit.

They have become a family favorite!