Soft Lemon and Orange Cookies

Here is the recipe for soft lemon and orange cookies with an Italian touch. These little treats are perfect to enjoy with tea or as a dessert for a citrus note.

Ingredients

• 300g of 00 flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 150g of granulated sugar
• 100g of soft butter
• Grated zest of 1 untreated lemon
• Grated zest of 1 untreated orange
• 1 large egg
• 30ml of fresh lemon juice
• 30ml of fresh orange juice
• A pinch of salt

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder.
2. Add the sugar, a pinch of salt, and the grated lemon and orange zests to the flour. Mix the dry ingredients.
3. Incorporate the butter, cut into pieces, and work the mixture with the fingertips until it has a sandy consistency.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg, lemon juice, and orange juice.
5. Knead until you have a smooth mixture, taking care not to overwork the dough to keep the cookies soft.
6. Form a ball with the dough, wrap it in cling film, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
8. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and using a teaspoon, take portions of dough and form slightly flattened balls.
9. Place the balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, making sure to leave space between one cookie and another.
10. Bake the cookies for about 15-20 minutes or until they are slightly golden.
11. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.

If desired, you can dust the cookies with icing sugar before serving.

Remember that the quality of the citrus is fundamental for the final taste of the cookies, so I always try to use untreated citrus to make the most of their aromatic zests.

Enjoy these delicious soft lemon and orange cookies perhaps accompanied by a Vin Santo or an Italian passito, which with their sweet and full-bodied notes marry well with the citrusy flavor of the treats.