Lemon Sparklers

Glittering and very lemony cookies are always a bright addition to the dessert table. 

Who doesn't love cookies? Even in the middle of Summer, at a backyard cookout, I always see at least one tray of them alongside the inevitable pies. Cookies are alluring for many potluck guests because it's easy to make a lot at once, they're already individually portioned, they travel well and they are so versatile!

For a sweet, but not cloying, treat for our last BBQ, I whipped up these very lemony, very yellow cookies. They have a light, crisp texture thanks to using only egg whites, but they're tender enough to not break your teeth biting into one. Thanks to Truvia's baking blend, I was able to cut down the sugar significantly while keeping the right amount of sweetness and bulk in the dough, adding just enough sugar to allow the cookies to brown a bit on the bottom and taste, well, like cookies. The butter added a rich under-note for the lemon zest, juice and extract I used, buffering the acidity while allowing the citrusy aroma and flavour to shine through. The crowning jewel was the coating of yellow sanding sugar - crunchy and bright, and definitely sparkly, it makes sure these cookies get noticed!

All that said, I think the best part about these cookies is that the dough freezes fabulously. As in, I made a batch of dough and bulk-froze it in February, baked it mid-July, and there was zero loss of quality. I know they say six months is usually the max freezer-life for cookie dough, but I'd be willing to push it seven to eight months easily.

If you love lemon as much as I do, you've got to try these!

Lemon Sparklers
Makes ~30
4 oz butter
2 oz shortening
7 tbsp (3 oz) sugar
3 ½ tbsp Truvia Baking Blend
3 egg whites (3.6 oz)
3 tbsp lemon zest
½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
4.25 oz all purpose flour
4 oz whole wheat pastry flour
Yellow sanding sugar

1. Beat butter, shortening, sugar, Truvia, egg whites, lemon zest, lemon juice, extracts and salt in large bowl.
2. Beat in flours.
3. Cover and freeze 30 minutes, until firm but not hard.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F and line cookie sheets with parchment.
5. Pour sugar into a shallow bowl.
6. Shape dough into 1 tbsp balls and roll in colored sugar. Place on sheets 2” apart and gently flatten each cookie.
7. Bake cookies until golden on bottom, about 14 minutes.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 85.3
Total Fat: 4.8 g
Cholesterol: 8.3 mg
Sodium: 27.6 mg
Total Carbs: 10.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 1.3 g