Addicting Lemon Cookies with Lemon Candy Chunks

I have to warn you, these cookies are addicting. I've made them three times in the last two weeks and there are still some more in the freezer. I had a friend tell me awhile back about a bakery in Utah that makes these lemon cookies with chunks of lemonhead candies in them. They sounded so good and they got me thinking about a lemon cookie recipe that I used to make that sounded pretty similar. She sent me a package of them for my birthday and they are pretty similar to my cookies. I'll have to send her some of mine to determine who's are better.

The original recipe for these cookies came from an old man I met in Montreal that lived by himself and made all of his own food, trying not to use any processed foods. He made a ginger cookie that was to die for and although I haven't been able to find that recipe, this was one of the others that he had written down for me. This is really a classic refrigerator cookie dough and definitely needs to be refrigerated before cutting into the cookies. The large amount of butter (I never said they were healthy) makes them a very soft dough and when cooked is similar to a shortbread cookie.

Lemon Cookies with Lemon Candy Chunks

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
3/4 cup lemon candies broken into chunks (food processor works well for this)

Cream butter and sugar together in mixing bowl. Add egg and mix well.

In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix into butter mixture and stir to combine.

Stir in lemon juice, extract and  lemon candies.

Place a length of plastic wrap down and scoop dough onto it forming a log approximately 1 1/2 inches round.  Wrap the plastic wrap around the entire log and roll it into a smooth log (see image below).

Place in refrigerator until firm. Remove the log and roll again to remove any flat edges. Remove plastic wrap and use a sharp knife to cut into 1/2 inch slices and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. *Parchment paper is key! They stick to anything else, even if you grease the pan.

Cook at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Do not overcook.

Cool completely on the sheet pan and then gently remove the cookies from the parchment paper. Glaze them and let them sit at room temperature until the glaze has set. Enjoy!

Lemon Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Combine powdered sugar with lemon juice and vanilla, adding enough lemon juice to desired consistency. I like mine pretty thin so it is more of a glaze than a frosting. Enjoy!