#34 Lemon Thins 1976

Light, lemony, and hardly any calories per cookie.

My dad planted a Meyer lemon bush in our back yard before I was old enough to notice that it didn't always grace the northwest corner. Each time I have visited, I have filled empty space in my suitcase with as many lemons as would fit. Thank you, Southwest, for letting me check that heavy bag!

At home I would wash the best ones to keep for zesting and to cut slices for iced tea, whiskey sours and the like. The big ones, with less than beautiful skin, I'd squeeze, then freeze the juice in ice cube trays. I'd have the best acidic flavoring for soups, sauces, pies, seafood. Really, almost anything tastes better with lemon juice.

Not much batter means really thin cookies.

Lemon Thins are cookies pretty much made of lemon zest. OK, there is sugar and flour and butter, but not much. Notice that the batter, with all ingredients added, doesn't reach the widest part of the mixing bowl. Yet, the recipe makes four (count 'em') dozen cookies. Not getting fat on these puppies.

Really, these cookies are mostly lemon zest, and they taste it. Some also call them "elegant," for their lightness - both texture and color. The egg-sugar-vanilla combo wants several minutes of beating to turn it almost white and turn it to "ribbon texture." That's when you lift the beater and a continuous ribbon of batter flows 8 or so inches back into the bowl. The ribbon is supposed to hold its shape for a few seconds before flowing into the rest of the batter.

You can tell when you've reached this stage because, much like egg whites that have been whipped well, the whole bowl of batter develops ridges while being mixed.

See the creases in the batter while mixing?
A sign of "ribbon texture."

Next, drop teaspoonfuls of the batter onto a buttered cookie sheet and flatten into circles. The trick to the flattening exercise is to use a wet spoon. A wet finger (choose which one, depending on your mood) works as well.

The moisture not only keeps the dough from sticking to your flattening tool, but keeps the cookies cool and slows the baking process. The wet cookies have a lighter ring around the edges compared to the ones I forgot to wet.

Wet one on top.

Ditto after baking.

Next comes the crucial timing to get these disks off the sheet. The recipe says to give them a minute to cool. I'd start removing them after 45 seconds. Use a super-thin metal spatula to get all the cookie off in one piece. The last few are the most challenging, as they have hardened onto their surface, and want to argue with you about your intentions. Move quickly.



If I made these again, I'd put them on buttered parchment. Can't say if I'll make them again, though. I wanted to send a treat to a friend by mail. Too bad this was the cookie I made that week. In spite of my careful packaging, they arrived in pieces.  Better cookie topping than cookie.

The recipe is here and here.