I am generally not a huge fan of lemon desserts, but these cookies are so crisp and delicate that they melt in your mouth. The bonus is that they are incredibly fast and easy to make. In 30 minutes you can go from sitting on the couch thinking about cookies to actually eating them, and that’s never a bad thing.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 4 dozen cookies

　　1 cup butter, softened

　　1 cup sugar plus extra for dipping

　　1 lemon

　　1 egg

　　1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

　　2 cups flour

　　1/2 teaspoon baking powder

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

　　

Step 2

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir until combined. Remove the zest from the lemon by running it over the smallest openings on a grater. (Be careful not to grate the bitter white part of the lemon peel, known as the “pith.”) Add the egg, lemon zest, and lemon extract to the bowl and stir well. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until completely incorporated.

　　

Step 3

Place some sugar in a small bowl. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass into the dough to make it sticky and then dip it into the sugar. Press down lightly on each cookie with the bottom of the glass to flatten them, dipping the glass in the sugar for each cookie.

　　

Step 4

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies just begin to brown. Cool on parchment or waxed paper.

　　

Food for Thought

Step 5

I have a major sweet tooth and I get irritated when I want something sweet but feel like I shouldn’t indulge. If you’re like me, these cookies are the answer. Even though they are sweet and buttery, they are only about 70 calories per cookie so you can indulge without feeling guilty.

　　College Cooking