Thursday, July 03, 2008

Buttermilk Cookies

buttermilk cookies

Sitting in front of my laptop, I am debating whether I should blog about these buttermilk cookies.Not that they aren't tasty. To the contrary, these little cookies are quite a treat. The headnote on the Gourmet Jan 2008, in which the recipe first appeared says it all : "These are the cookies of your dream,....tender interior with the slightest bit of crispness around the edge."

lemon buttermilk cookies

Indeed, that's my sentiment of the cookies. When baked right, these cookies are light, and have an almost cake like texture in the center. So why do I even hesitate to blog about it? Well....never mind. That isn't important anymore. Is it?

lemon buttermilk cookies

When baking these buttermilk cookies, remember to bake them one baking sheet at a time, as the recipe clearly indicates. I burnt one tray by baking 2 sheets at a time, thinking I'd save time. Learn from my mistake and don't let the same happens to you. Don't rush it. These cookies are worth the time and effort. The cookies are best eaten the day they are baked, but can be frozen for 1 month. I am curious about the texture of the cookies after being frozen, but not a single cookies survived for that experiment. (OCT brought them to lab, and returned with the empty container)...

Buttermilk Cookies
adopted from Gourmet.com

For Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (more if you wish)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

For Glaze (this is half the original recipe, which I find is more than enough to frost the cookies)
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1.5 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment papers.
Whisk together flour, lemon zest, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until smooth.

Drop level tablespoons of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes per batch. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks.

Glaze cookies:
Whisk together all glaze ingredients and brush onto tops of warm cookies.

Let stand until cookies are completely cooled and glaze is set.

23 comments:

Manggy said...

Yeah, I don't know why you'd hesitate to blog about them either-- they look really yummy, I'm not surprised no-one survived :)

My Sweet & Saucy said...

These look so adorable and deliciously yummy too!

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

oh i can just imagine these with coffee. too bad we i can't bake these here bc it's hard to get buttermilk (we only get the powder)

Y said...

They DO look pretty dreamy :)

Ginny said...

Yummy! Reminds me of a cookie my mom makes! Gorgeous shots! :)

cindy* said...

these look great! i made the same ones a month or so ago and they really are pretty amazing. the texture is cakey and lovely.

A said...

Question: Is there an alternative to buttermilk? I often see recipes call for it, but we never really carry it in out house. These cookies look delicious

Gina said...

Mmmm, I have a two-pint container of buttermilk in my fridge, right now and I was wondering how I'd be using the rest of it. I think I just found a way! Thanks for the great recipe!

Kelly said...

Mmm... these look great!
(butting in) With regards to the buttermilk questions - I always use the powder when I bake (I use it in bread) as it's so much more convenient than liquid. It's always worked great for me. Just add the powder to the dry ingredients and add the appropriate amount of water when you mix other wet ingredients.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mandy, I really like your blog and always look forward to what you will be baking next. This is an answer to one of your readers re: buttermilk. Just add 1tsp lemon juice to every 1/2 cup of whole milk if you don't happen to have any buttermilk in the fridge........ rgds Doris

Piggy said...

Hey, I'm glad that you decided to post the recipe, the cookies look so delicious!

Katie said...

These look so good I will bookmark them so when I have extra buttermilk I will know how to use it up.

Anonymous said...

Yum! These look terrific. I happen to have a bit of buttermilk left over from another recipe. So what was it that made you hesitate?

Sarah said...

These are currently my favorite cookie! Glad you liked them!

Anonymous said...

How many cookies does the recipe make? Do you think you could freeze the dough before baking rather than the baked cookies?

Mandy said...

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments.

Allie,
I am not sure if the dough would freeze well like many cookies recipes. But the good news is, this recipe can be easily halved. Which was what I had done with success before!

Tina Butler said...

I love butter cookies. I make homemade lemon butter cookies at Christmas time. It's my moms treasured recipe. I might give yours a try for year round cookies.

Lauren said...

OMG, I made these cookies as part of an assortment for my weekly dessert night last week and they just might be my new favorite cookie ever. They were just so light and not super sweet. Just like the mini perfect pancake. Do you know of any modifications to the recipe that can be done, like adding a fruit or something?

Anonymous said...

i just made some yummy

fred said...

omg...i luv this !!!
i really admire u & ur blog.... full of info & tips...

Martha said...

I love simple old fashioned cookies like your delightful buttermilk cookies. Keeping buttermilk powder in the pantry is a great way to always be able to enjoy buttermilk in your baked goods. It seems to work as well as fresh in the recipes I've tried.

Joee said...

hi, is there alternatives for the buttermilk? can we also replace it with other mixtures?

Anonymous said...

This is the same recipe for buttermilk cookies on Epicurious.com. Just a little suspicious...

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