Lemon Shortbread

A summery citrus cookie!  We made these for shark week and they were such a hit.  Lightly sweet with a subtle lemon flavor.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 lemon, zest (1 large lemon or two small lemons)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp avocado butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Optional: 1/4 cup poppyseeds

Directions:

1. Zest the lemon into a large bowl, then add the sugar.  Rub the zest into the sugar.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar until pale and light.  Add vanilla and mix.
3. Gradually add the flour and mix until just combined.  At this stage, the dough may be very crumbly.
4. Press the dough together into a ball.  Wrap the ball in cling wrap, then press into a disc.
5. Place the disc of dough into the fridge to chill for at least one hour. I typically leave my dough overnight and bake cookies the next day.
6. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 335F.  Lightly flour the counter before rolling out the cookies.  Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch, press the stamp, then cut the shape.
7. Optional: Chill the cutout cookies on the cookie sheet again in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking.  This helps the cookies retain their shape and the stamped details.
8. Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes until golden around the edge.  Bake time will vary depending on the oven, so make a test cookie first!

Makes about 30 2" cookies.

Tips:

Shortbread is more of a press together cookie instead of a roll out cookie.  The recipe for this dough just barely holds together, which creates a perfectly crumbly cookie that melts in your mouth.  If you find the dough breaking while trying to roll it, just press the cracks back together!

Keeping your dough cold is super important!  I will often split my dough into two balls and rotate them into the fridge while I'm working to keep them as cool as possible.  If you are working in a hot kitchen or on a hot counter, cookies may need to chill in the fridge longer to keep their shape.

Flour amount can also vary slightly depending on when and where you are baking.  If you find your cookies sticking to the counter or cutters, add a little more flour.  If they are too dry and crumbly, you can add a little oil or a little extra butter to get them back to the correct consistency.

I'm lactose intolerant, so I don't use regular butter in my baking.  The avocado butter I use does come in sticks, so any standard stick butter should substitute just fine.