gfree baking: lemon drop cookies

my boss and i have a tradition of skipping lunch and opting for ice cream instead. shame on us. luckily it doesn't happen too too often. and luckily he has a remarkable amount of self-control bc by now you all have probably realized ... i have none.

we weren't always ice cream people. for years, our weakness was the lemon drop cookies at ham n goodys - a family owned deli based out of knoxville, tn. when their nashville location closed, we had to find something else. so ice cream it was.

but believe me - there is still a giant lemon drop cookie shaped hole in both of our hearts. and so i set out to recreate the yummiest cookies ever (gfree of course):

first, let's bake some cookies ...

ingredients:

1c unsalted butter, soft
3/4c sugar plus a bit xtra
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 1/2c all-purpose gfree flour*
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

*my fav all-purpose mix: 4c sweet rice flour + 1 1/3c potato starch + 2/3c tapioca flour

preheat oven to 350ºf. cream butter and 3/4c of sugar. add egg + lemon zest + vanilla + salt and lemon juice. sift together flour + xanthan gum. add slowly to mix until combined. roll tbsp sized balls of dough w/ your hands. then roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. flatten w/ palm of your hand into little discs. bake 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. transfer to baking rack. (gfree cookies get soggy when they cool on a hot pan.)

now, the finishing touch - icing ...

ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter, soft
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2c confectioners sugar
milk

mix butter + lemon juice + sugar. add enough milk to make the icing an easy spreading consistency. ice the cookies once cooled completely.

in other completely random news - i've been doing a lot of baby gift making bc my friends have been doing a whole lot of baby making. ha! 4 baby boys due this month!!! a little hint, hint: