Lemon Cloud Tea Cookies

The name of this cookie is captivating enough. Come on, clouds? I expected the cookies to be fluffy and sort of melt-in-your-mouth like. Indeed, that was the case(: They even look a little like clouds. Don't you think?!



Lemon Cloud Tea Cookies
recipe from Joy The Baker
-makes 76 small cookies!!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon or orange extract (I made my own lemon extract by simmering 1/4 cup of lemon juice to one tbsp. I accidentally added the whole tbsp in.. the cookies still turned out ok)
1 teaspoons finely grated lemon or orange zest (I left this out)





-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
-Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
-Combine the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low speed with the paddle until well mixed. Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until light, about 2 minutes.
-Beat in the eggs one at a time. Batter may look broken and curdled. Beat in the extracts and zest.
-Decrease the speed to low and beat in the flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the dough a few good turns with your spatula to bring it all together.
-Arrange rounded teaspoons of the dough on a pan lined with parchment paper. Space the balls about 2-inches apart. After all the cookies have been placed on the pan, flour a fork and press a crisscross design into the top of each mound of dough. Bake the cookies until they spread and become golden, about 20 minutes. Slide the parchment paper off the pan to cool completely.

Keep the cookies between sheets of wax paper in a plastic container with a tight lid.
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I was actually set back by the "lemon" part in the name at first (since I am not a big fan of citrus-y sweets). However, the cookies turned out with just one eighth of a hint of lemon flavor (almost none). The butter dominated! They reminded me of butter shortbread.. a soft version of it. These cookies break to the bite when fresh out from the oven. Once they cooled, they became a little crunchy and the inside remained soft. They would go great with some tea or coffee!



**Big thanks to my bff, Nicole for shooting these prettay photos! I am glad you liked the cookies too.