Premier White Lemon Cookies Recipes

PREMIER WHITE LEMON COOKIES

Steps:

• COMBINE flour and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, lemon peel and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup morsels.
• DIVIDE dough into 4 even pieces. Gently shape each piece into an 8 x 1-inch diameter log. Wrap logs tightly in wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm.
• PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
• UNWRAP logs; cut each log with serrated knife into 16 slices, about ½-inch thick. If necessary, reshape edges of cookies. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
• BAKE for 13 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
• LINE baking sheet with wax paper.
• MICROWAVE remaining 1 cup morsels and vegetable shortening in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 1 minute; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.
• DIP top half of cookies into melted morsels. Scrape off excess against side of bowl. Place on baking sheets. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until set.
• NOTES:
• For chocolate chip orange cookies, substitute 2 to 3 tablespoons of orange zest for the lemon zest and NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels for the Premier White Morsels.
• Dough logs may be frozen up to 1 month in advance. Place wrapped logs in plastic freezer storage bags.

LEMONY WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place a 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan; set aside. , In a small bowl, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and zest; cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of prepared pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in white chocolate, flour, cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust. , Place pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake 65-85 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. , Remove pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour . Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with white chocolate and lemon zest strips if desired. Freeze option: Wrap individual portions of cheesecake in plastic wrap and place in a resealable plastic freezer bag. Seal bag and freeze for future use. To use, thaw completely in the refrigerator.

CRANBERRY-LEMON COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Beat in the flour mixture until completely combined, then fold in 1 1/2 cups chopped cranberries.
• Scoop the dough into golf ball-size balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on 2 unlined baking sheets. Gently press the remaining 1/2 cup chopped cranberries into the tops of each cookie. Bake until slightly golden around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove the cookies and transfer to a rack set over a baking sheet.
• Make the glaze: Put the confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon lemon zest until smooth. Drizzle on the cookies and let set.

ICED LEMON COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a food processor work bowl, add sugar and lemon zest. Process until sugar and zest are well mixed, about 20 seconds. Scrape into a large mixing bowl. Reserve about 1/2 cup of lemon sugar in a separate bowl for later use.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt into food processor and pulse briefly to mix. Add cold butter into food processor with flour mixture and process with short pulses until mixture resembles cornmeal and no large lumps of butter remain, about 10 pulses. Pour this mixture into the sugar and lemon mixture in the large mixing bowl and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon juice together.
• Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, pour in the lemon/sugar and flour/butter mixture and stir until combined, about 15 seconds. Then, while the mixer is still running, slowly add egg/lemon juice mixture and mix until well combined and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 15 to 30 seconds.
• Scrape the dough into a large bowl and refrigerate until cold, but not solid, about 30 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Take the dough balls and roll the tops into the reserved lemon sugar. Use the bottom of a water glass to press the cookies flat, about 1/4-inch thick. Bake the cookies until slightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper with the cookies from the tray to a cooling rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. Once the cookies have completely cooled, ice with Lemon Icing.
• 1 pound (2 cups) confectioners' sugar
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• In a medium bowl, whisk sugar and lemon juice together until smooth. Spoon onto cooled cookies, and spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Let stand on a cooling rack until the glaze is set, about 1 hour.
• Yield: enough for 3 dozen cookies