Lemon Sandwich Cookies

Cookies for a friend.






















This past weekend one of my closet friends from back home, Lindsay, flew to DC for her cousin's graduation. Lindsay just so happens to be the same friend who designed my logo and business cards. She is quite the talented graphic designer. Lindsay is one of those friends who would do anything for me. When she told me she was coming to town for her cousin's wedding we made arrangements so she could come to town early and spend some time with me. I wanted to bake something special just for her, so I had her send me a list things she liked and disliked in her desserts. This is the list she sent me:

Hate:
1. Coconut
2. Cream cheese icing

Not crazy about:
1. Nuts

Like:
1. Stuff with fruit or jam
2. Buttercream frosting
3. Sprinkles
4. Pumpkin

I pulled inspiration from cookies I had seen on The Crepes of Wrath and My Baking Addiction to make Lemon Sandwich Cookies. I was pretty impressed with myself getting three of her "likes" in one cookie. These cookies tasted great! I was not sure how I would feel about them since I am typically not a fruit dessert person, but I loved them and so did Lindsay and my boyfriend. In addition to being really cute, these cookies were a really nice change from chocolate chip cookies. You can change the cookie and frosting combinations to match your favorite flavors. I am thinking about making these again with a chocolate cookie and peanut butter frosting.

Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Inspired by The Crepes of Wrath and My Baking Addiction

Cookies

1 (18.25) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oils, lemon juice, and lemon zest until blended. If mixture is very wet slowly add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour until the dough comes together.

Drop teaspoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown. Move cookies to a cooling rack and using your spatula gently flatten your cookies.

Buttercream Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Cream sugar, butter, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and beat until fluffy, adding more if needed.

Assembly:

Frost the flat side of the cookie with a good dollop of frosting. Lightly place the flat side of an unfrosted cookie on top. Press down until a bit of the frosting begins to poke out of the sides. If you want to decorate the edges, place your sprinkles/chips/etc. in a small bowl, and dip the sides of the cookie in it, rolling the cookie around to coat all sides.