Butter Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I love lemon. Lemon desserts are always the perfect thing, they satisfy your craving for sweet yet still maintain that fresh summery taste. To me, a hint of lemon can make anything better, it has a way of making a dessert or meal that much better by adding some zest and it also brings out the other flavours in your baked good or dish.

Everyone loves frosting, dont't get me wrong, I have those days where I just want to eat a bowl full but when I first made these cookies I thought frosting on each one was going to be a little too sweet. I was wrong. The cookies have that melt in your mouth crumbly, buttery texture balanced out perfectlyby the smooth and creamy lemon frosting. Each bite seems to turn to silk upon touching to your tongue. The cookie itself is your traditional butter cookie which looks and tastes like any good butter cookie should but the icing with the burst of lemon flavour brings these cookies to a new level yum.

Although cookies can seem like that easy fix they can also be a hard dessert to execute. I find when makingcookies like chocolate chip, I always believe they areunderbaked so I bake them for longer and then when I take them out the risidual heat continues to bake them and I end up with a crunchier cookie once they are cooled. My mom likes them this way but I tend to prefer soft cookies. That's what I love about these butter cookies, all you have to look for is the slight golden colour as they bake and you know they are done. Perfect consistancy guaranteed.

The other fun part about these cookies is how pretty they can be. I'm a big believer in making my food and desserts beautiful though I'm still working on the photography part of it. Cookies generally are what they are as far as looks but with the icing on these you're able to dress it up a little. I like swirling the icing as I spread the icing on my cookies in order to achieve a rose-like effect. I also just love the overall light colour of these cookies with the hint of pastel yellow in the icing from the lemon. They make me think of a little bakery you would find in a small town with those delicious and delicate treats.

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as me and my family did!

Serves: 36

Ingredients

For the cookies

1 cup butter (softened)
1/2  cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4  cup cornstarch                  


For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2  tbs butter (soft)
3  oz cream cheese (softened)                                  
Pinch salt (This brings out the flavour but you don't want to add to much!)                                  
1 tablespoon lemon zest (I generally just zest the whole lemon)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar                       

Instructions

For the cookies

1. Cream butter and sugar until smooth.
2. Stir in flour and cornstarch, mix well (refrigerating for a small amount of time can help them keep their shape while baking though I don't always do this and they turn out fine.) 
3. Roll into 1″ balls and place on parchment lined or buttered and flowered cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 325° for about 15-18 minutes. (Until signs of ever so slight golden colouring)
5. Cool completely, then frost with lemon cream cheese frosting.

For the lemon cream cheese frosting

1. Beat butter, cream cheese, and salt with electric mixer (an electric hand mixer will do if you have one) until smooth and creamy.
2. Add lemon zest and enough powdered sugar to make a spreadable frosting. Frost the tops of the cookies.