Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I came across crinkle cookies, having never heard of them before and decided I would like to try them. At first I thought I would make some chocolate ones, but eventually decided upon lemon.

Crinkle cookies are balls of dough, rolled in icing sugar and as they bake the dough cracks to give a very nice effect, and leaves you with a slighty crunchy exterior and a soft cake-like interior. I actually used both granulated and icing sugar to roll my dough in, since I think granulated sugar will bake to a crunchier texture than the icing sugar.

They are very easy to make and don’t take too long, though you do need to chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour before rolling into the balls for baking.

Another good thing is that they don’t use many ingredients, at least in this lemon version.

Mine turned out very well indeed and have that lovely lemon flavour with the sweet crunchy crust on the outside.  I was very pleased with the results. The recipe made 19, though two were rather larger than the others, so I could have got 20.  I am sure I will return to these and will also make some chocolate ones in the future, though I have to decide just how much chocolate I want, since the various recipes I read use different amounts, and some only use cocoa powder.

But till then I will just enjoy these lovely lemon ones.

• 250g plain flour
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• grated zest of 2 lemons
• juice of one lemon
• 90g softened unsalted butter
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50g granulated sugar(optional)
• 125 grams icing sugar

Method:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together, either by hand or with a hand mixer or stand mixer.
2. Add the egg and mix to combine.
3. Add the lemon zest and juice and mix to combine.
4. In a bowl mix the flour and baking powder together
5. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir in until combined.
6. Place the dough in the fridge for an hour, to chill.
7. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350 F.
8. Line a couple of baking trays with baking paper.
9. Roll the dough into 20 balls, using about one tablespoon of dough each time, and then roll each ball in the granulated sugar(if using) and then roll in icing sugar until completely coated.
10. Place the balls on the baking trays, leaving a couple of inches to allow spreading, though they shouldn’t spread too far.
11. Bake in the oven for 10 to 13 minutes until the cookies are a nice dome shape and have cracked all over.
12. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.