Vanilla Cookies with Lemon Glaze

So, it looks like it's lemon month here on Baking the Book, but that's not to say it's a bad thing. I know that lemons, like other citrus fruits, are winter fruits, but I can't help but associate them with summer and warmer weather. Maybe it's memories of endless cups of lemonade guzzled while trying to make a few dollars at sidewalk lemonade sales, or maybe it's their sunny hue. But lemons just feel appropriate in the midst of a steamy summer.

After what turned into quite a raucous brunch at Resto, a Belgian restaurant in Midtown, with some friends from St Andrews, I lured my friends Roxy and Mckenzie back to my apartment with the promise of cookies. While we watched Sex and the City and nibbled on chocolate-peanut butter-pretzel treats, I whipped these up (with their help, of course) in no time. They went from bags of flour and sugar to lovely, pillowy cookies in under half an hour.

Lack of a zester led me to leave out the lemon zest in the cookies, so I swapped in a little extra vanilla extract and some vanilla beans. The glaze brightened the cookies just enough to balance their wholesome sweetness. I rolled mine much larger than the recipe originally instructed and didn't flatten them because sometimes you just need a bigger cookie.

Vanilla Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod
Makes 3 dozen small cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla bean, and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the flour mixture, careful not to over-mix. Drop by the tablespoon onto a baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating halfway through, until set and slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth and lump-free. Once the cookies are cool, spread a thin layer of icing over the top of each cookie.

More Glazed Cookies
Cinnamon Glazed Pumpkin Cookies
Maple Glazed Apple Cookies
Chai Glazed Cookie Bars