Glazed Lemon Shortbread Bars: On passion

For AKR who makes me smile and JCM who never ceases to amaze me


When I was in elementary school, I loved playing outside.  In the front and back yard there were lots of hidden passageways and alcoves where I could hide and play.  My favorite place was in front where there were these green hedges that hid this entry way to an area that was partially hidden by bricks but I could see out.  It was the perfect place to play as there was a water spigot there and lots and lots of mud.  There was many a summer day where I would finish my piano practice and trot outside to play in this area, spending hours mixing mud, and topping it with berries, flowers and leaves.  In this space I would become a baker and create fantastic mud desserts.

And there was this one day when I decided that I needed to elevate my shop.  I decided to borrow my mom's bakeware.  I went into the house and grabbed muffin tins, loaf pans, cake pans, spoons and spatulas and set up my bakery.  I made beautiful mud cakes in all the pans, covered the mud with rose petals and made beautiful concoctions that I knew could be displayed in the finest bakeries in Paris.  I happily played by myself and got covered from head to toe in the splatters of mud.

A few hours later, I heard the angry shout of my mother and a door slamming closed.  Suddenly my stomach turned.  I looked and saw all my mom's pans covered and filled with mud.  I knew right then that I was going to get busted.  And busted bad.  I peeked through a whole in a brick and watched my mother's furious face approach.

The anger in her face was unparalleled when she saw all of her pans caked and plastered with mud and flowers.  It is a face that I will not soon forget.  I braced myself for the inevitable tirade and harsh voice when all of a sudden she very very quietly said, "Go into the house right now."

"I'm sorry Mom!  I'm sorry Mom!!" I pleaded.

All the fun I had that day rapidly dissipated in the face of my mother's anger.  The fun simply wasn't worth the dismay and shock in her face.  After she came in she didn't say another word to me - no lecture, no spanking, no time out nor punishment.  I didn't try to bring it up, thinking that perhaps she had forgotten.

In retrospect I wonder if perhaps the sight of me covered head to toe in mud was amusing to her.  Or perhaps she realized how much I loved to bake.  Maybe she didn't get mad because she saw me approach something with such passion and abandon, even taking a risk such as using her good pans to bake mud.

And I think that same desire to bake still lives in me now.  I do love to bake and love to think and find the next yummiest thing to make.  I get books and study and try and figure out how the recipe will taste just from the ingredients and technique.  And then I go and make them.  When I saw this Glazed Lemon Shortbread recipe in Tish Boyles The Good Cookie: Over 250 Delicious Recipes from Simple to Sublime, I KNEW I had to make it.  Hers was a combination of lemon and ginger (and one that I intend to try later) but I wanted just something straight up lip puckering lemony.  I went at this recipe three times to just confirm and make sure that my alterations were delicious.  The result is a cookie that Daughter #2 will eat wedge after wedge of.  I took it to the Superbowl party I was invited to, and the kids of my friend JEL gobbled down several in a row.  There is something so pleasing about both the texture of the cookie and the overall flavor, which is not too buttery, but more wonderfully lemon and fresh. It is also a one pan preparation, which means it is easy to make.  The ingredients are simple and the only thing that I could say actually takes time is grating the lemon peel.

Glazed Lemon Shortbread Wedges
adapted from Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie


Shortbread
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1 stick plus an additional 1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

Position rack in lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 300. Have either a 9 inch cake pan, a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom or an 8X8 square cake pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, salt and lemon zest at medium low speed until well blended. Do not overbeat as you do not want to incorporate a lot of air. At low speed, add the flour and mix until the dough just starts to come together and is not super crumbly.

Press the dough evenly and firmly into your pan. You can use a fork or use your finger tips. (The fork leaves a bit of a pretty pattern.) Press the back of the tines of the fork all around the edges. Bake the shortbread for 35 to 40 minutes, until it is just barely golden. Do not let it brown. Let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

While the shortbread is baking prepare the glaze.  In the bowl of an electric mixer (I have tried this just using a whisk by hand and it did not come out well) using the paddle attachment, beat the confectioners' sugar, butter, heavy cream, lemon zest and salt at medium speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature until ready to use. This is a thicker glaze that needs to be put on warm baked goods to really enhance the spreading process.

Icing options #1 Tish Boyle's recommendation (which I don't think is as pretty)
While the shortbread is still warm, but after the 10 minutes of cooling, cut the shortbread into wedges. Spread a generous amount of the glaze onto each wedge letting it drip over the sides. Transfer the triangles to the wire rack and cool completely.

Icing option #2 Week of Menus Version
After the shortbread has cooled for 10 minutes, scoop the glaze onto the center of the entire shortbread and then spread it over the surface evenly. Allow to cool completely.After the glaze has set and the shortbread is completely cooled, cut into wedges.

Printable recipe

Why yes...I can finish a plate of these on my own, Thank you.

Simply has so many amazing cookie recipes.  I love going through this one.  It is out of print but you can get it at some secondary book sellers.














For super fine lemon zest














If you want a tart pan with a removable bottom (not necessary for this recipe...but is all I had.)