Lemon Drop Butter Cookies

Melt in-your-mouth butter cookies with the pop and crunch of lemon drop candies. A Lemon Zest Best!

Lemon Drop Cookies

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

grated rind of one lemon

1/2 cup coarsely crushed lemon drop candies

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

-In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, butter, sugar, powdered sugar and eggs. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and mix until dry ingredients are incorporated. Mix in the lemon rind. Scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press together into a ball, then press slightly into a flat disc, wrap well with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

-Roll the dough on a well-floured counter to a uniform 1/2 - 3/4 inch in thickness. With a round cookie or doughnut cutter, about 3-4 inches in diameter, cut the dough into as many cookies as possible. Press left-over dough into another disc and roll a second time, once again cutting out as many cookies as possible. Continue until most of the dough is used.

-Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, a silpad, or sprayed with cooking spray. Make a slight indentation with your thumb into the center of each cookie. Fill with about a 1/2 teaspoon of crushed lemon drops. Bake in a 350 degree oven, 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are slightly puffy and golden around the bottom edges (be careful not to overcook). Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire cooking rack.

-Mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together until the glaze is smooth. Place the glaze into a ziplock plastic sandwich bag. Close the bag tightly and push the mixture down into one corner of the bag. Snip off a very small portion of the corner of the bag and then drizzle the glaze back and forth across the cooled cookies. Let cookies set for about 30 minutes, until glaze is firm.

Place crushed lemon drops in the center of each cookie before baking.

Drizzle glaze back and forth over the top of each baked cookie.

Allow cookies to cool until glaze is firm.