Adapted from Gourmet, January 2008
I halved the recipe as it was printed in Gourmet, and it yielded plenty of cookies, so what I’ve typed below is my halved version. The only other major change I made was to increase the amount of lemon zest. A half batch should have had only ½ teaspoon of zest, but I used a whole teaspoon instead. I highly recommend it.
For the cookies:
- 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 6 Tbsp. (3 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
For the glaze:
- ¾ cup confectioners sugar, sifted
- 1 ½ Tbsp. well-shaken buttermilk
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, zest, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl, if you’re going to use a handheld mixer), beat the butter briefly, until creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, and beat well to mix. Add the vanilla, and beat briefly again. Mix in the flour mixture and the buttermilk in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. The finished dough should be smooth and pale yellow.
Drop the dough by level tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 ½ inches between each cookie. (If you have a very small ice cream scoop, one with a capacity of about 1 tablespoon, it’s perfect for this job.) Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are puffed and their edges are golden, about 11 to 15 minutes per batch. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute; then transfer them to a wire rack.
To prepare the glaze, whisk together the sifted confectioners sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla. The mixture should be very smooth, with no lumps of sugar visible. Brush or spoon the glaze onto the warm cookies. (I wound up with leftover glaze, so don’t be surprised if you don’t use it all.) Allow cookies to sit on the rack until they are fully cooled and the glaze is set.
Note: These cookies are most tender and delicate on the day they’re made, but they’re not bad after a day or so. They just get more dense and chewy - a little different, that’s all. And for longer storage, they can be stashed in the freezer in an airtight container.
Yield: about 40 small cookies
source: http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/04/because-of-cookies.html
original: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Buttermilk-Cookies-241199
yield: Makes about 5 1/2 dozen cookies
For cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
For glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract