Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter –room temperature
- 2 C granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp pure lemon extract
- 4 C cake flour
- 1 C whole milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spray very lightly with pan spray.
Cream butter and sugar, salt and baking powder together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla bean paste (substitute vanilla extract in the same amount if you do not have vanilla bean paste) and lemon extract and mix until fully combined.
Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on low speed slowly add the flour and the milk half at a time and wait before adding more until fully incorporated. The batter ends up being more like a thick cake batter than a cookie batter.
Use a scoop, spoon or a small measuring cup to portion out the batter onto the baking sheets and position them about 2 inches apart since they will spread. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter out so that it is a little less than ½” thick. Bake until barely golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before trying to remove the cookies. Once the cookies have cooked, make the icing.
These cookies are sold in most bakeries and delis in New York and the northeast.
The cookie is more like a little cake –soft and tender. The cookie itself is not really sweet, but the icing makes up for any lack of sweetness.
I made these cookies for the black and white themed dessert table for the Capital Confectioner’s Day of Sharing in August. I tweaked a recipe and they turned out just like I remember. I made smaller versions of the cookies -about 3” across, but most of the ones that you will find in New York are 5” to 6” across. Maybe it was because they were so big –or the combination of vanilla and chocolate icing on one cookie, or the soft but sturdy cookie –I don’t know, but these were always my favorite growing up. Enjoy!