Makes about 60 cookies
23/4 cups (374 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 or 2 lemons
11/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
2 sticks (8 ounces; 226 grams) unsalted butter, and cut into chunks, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sugar, for dredging
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Whisk the flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Finely grate the zest of 1 lemon and squeeze the juice. If you don’t have 1/4 cup, squeeze the juice from the second lemon.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer. Using your fingertips, mash and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is moist and fragrant. If you’re working with a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and salt to the bowl and beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla and lemon juice. Turn off the mixer, add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until they’re almost incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the rest of the flour and beat on low speed until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
Pour some sugar into a bowl. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out level portions of dough or use a teaspoon to get rounded spoonfuls. Roll each portion into a ball between your palms, drop into the sugar, roll it around to coat and place on the baking sheets. These cookies spread dramatically, so make sure to leave about 2 inches between them.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bot- tom and front to back at the midway mark. If you bake them for 8 to 10 minutes, you’ll get pale cookies that will be chewy; bake them for 12 to 14 minutes, until they’re barely golden around the edges (the bottoms will be lightly browned), and you’ll get cookies that are chewy in the center and crisp around the edges. The cookies will be crackle-topped and too soft to lift from the baking sheets. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies cool completely before you move them. Repeat with the remaining dough, always using cool baking sheets.
Storing: These keep in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Packed airtight, they’ll be good for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Note: I froze half the dough but made a mistake and defrosted the wrong thing. I decided to try to make the cookies anyway, because my family was expecting them. I microwaved it for 1 minute which turned out to be much too long. The dough came out soft and a little warm. Continued on. They were not as easy to roll but when baked, they were even better than the first batch.
My suggestion: Let the dough “melt” a little and bake a little longer. They will come out thinner and crispier.
My Picky Mother 