Reviewed: May 14, 2012

Oh my goodness. I just took out the first batch and they are wonderful. I made two changes. First, I used butter (unsalted, as I always do for baking) and second, I used 1 teaspoon of lemon oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Using my 1 1/2" cookie scoop I got a dozen 3 1/2" cookies per sheet, baked on parchment. I tested them at 7 and 10 minutes and found them perfectly done at 12 minutes with lightly-browned edges but still chewy in the middle. I cooled them for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling but I couldn't wait and I was rewarded. I should also note that I used Meyer lemons (a friend grows them, lucky me!) and my stand mixer following the common method of creaming the sugar and butter with the zest then adding the juice, extracts and finally, stirring in the combined dry ingredients. I am going to ask for more lemons. These cookies came out fabulously for me and I hope my experience will be of help to others who have yet to try the recipe or who had less-than-spectacular results in the past. I'll let you know how they keep, assuming they do....

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Reviewer:

KATSINTHEKITCHEN

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Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Trinidad, California, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 24, 2012

Crrunchy and yummy. I would add more lemon rind next time.

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Reviewer:

sushilover

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Mountain View, Hawaii, USA

Living In: Rocklin, California, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 5, 2012

I made this recipe just as it was written and they were delicious! They looked exactly like the picture showed. I had none of the problems with the batter, greasiness, or crumbling that other reviewers complained of (wondering what elevation they were, perhaps needed adjustment for that? I'm at sea-level.) Just a couple things though, I did NOT grease the cookie sheet. I did process the dry mix for about 5 min using the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid to help infuse the flour and sugar with the zest before adding wet ingredients, as well as after to bring it to dough. The consistency of the dough was similar to sugar cookies, and should not be wet or overly sticky. I dropped by measured teaspoon balls (do not flatten) onto cookie sheet and baked exactly 11 min in a well preheated oven. They came out as I said exactly as they appear in the photo - about a 1/4" or so thick, crispy outside, slightly chewy inside. Cooled about 5 min on sheet, and removed with no problems. They are sweet and lemony and absolutely delicious!!

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Reviewer:

CaGirl93101

Reviewed: May 29, 2011

Flavor was fantastic, but the consistency was not. Thin and crumbly, I could not get a decent batch.

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Reviewer:

xsomber_resplendencex

Cooking Level: Beginning

Reviewed: May 17, 2011

First off, I'll say that I'm no novice when it comes to cookies. I'd even say that when it comes to baking, cookies are my forte. I just don't know what went wrong this time around. I did what other reviewers suggested: I reduced the oil to 1/2 cup and added a little more lemon juice. I also included twice the amount of rind, reduced the sugar a bit, and processed the rind with half the sugar. The batter wasn't runny at all, though it was a bit sticky. I used a small cookie scoop and baked the cookies for nine minutes and got delightfully soft lemon cookies that reminded me a bit of a sugar (or, dare I say it, the texture of a funfetti cookie). The texture was wonderfully. Unfortunately, the flavor of the cookie left much to be desired. It tasted like flavorless biscuit batter. With all the lemon I put in there, I thought my taste buds would be bursting with lemon with lemon sensation. I've used less lemon zest in other recipes (and no lemon juice) and have gotten much stronger lemon flavors. Perhaps it's the use of oil instead of butter that killed the flavor, but I can honestly say that I'll never make these cookies again. It's a shame too, since they had such a wonderful texture.

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Reviewer:

Christina

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Apr. 18, 2011

I did not care for these. Sorry. I did the "put it all in the food processor" option and they were just plain weird. I usually never fail on cookies, but this was a waste of ingredients. I used 1/2 cup butter and oil, and fresh lemons with excellent rinds.

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Reviewer:

Kati

Home Town: Lake Forest, California, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 4, 2011

I like having two dessert choices when guests are over and this is a great complement to chocolatey dishes. I zested and juiced two lemons - was just short of the 1/2 cup juice so I supplemented with bottled. Only 1/2 cup oil - which is maybe why my dough was a little dry to work with. Rolled, flatted slightly, baked on silicon for about 12-14 minutes and are perfectly tart and chewy! Smelled so good when baking!

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