Lemon Jammies

For the lemon lover, delicate sandwich cookies that can either contain a gilding of jam or be made extra lemony with lemon buttercream or lemon curd, as pictured.

Oven Temperature: 350°F/175°C

Baking Time: 10 to 12 minutes for each of four batches

Special Equipment:

• Two 15 by 12 inch cookie sheets, nonstick or lined with parchment

• A 2 1/4 inch scalloped or plain round cookie cutter

• A 3/4 inch round cutter or a large pastry tube

Cookie Dough

Makes 23.7 ounces/672 grams

• lemon zest, finely grated: 2 tablespoons, loosely packed / 12 grams

• superfine sugar: 2/3 cup / 4.7 ounces / 133 grams

• fine sea salt: 1/4 teaspoon / 1.5 grams

• unsalted butter, cold: 13 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon) / 6.5 ounces / 184 grams

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten: 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon (47 ml) / 1.8 ounces / 50 grams

• pure vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon (5 ml)

• bleached all-purpose flour: 2 2/3 cups (lightly spooned into the cup and leveled off) / 11.3 ounces / 320 grams

• Lemon Neoclassic Buttercream (recipe follows), jam, jelly, or lemon curd; for filling the cookies: 1/2 cup / 4 ounces / 113 grams

Make the Dough

The Baking Bible

Food Processor Method:

Process the lemon zest with the sugar and salt until the zest is very fine.

Cut the butter into several pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and process until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the flour and pulse in just until incorporated. The mixture will hold together if pinched.

Stand Mixer Method:

Soften the butter to 65° to 75°F/19° to 23°C. Chop the lemon zest until very fine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, cream the sugar and butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla and beat until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until incorporated and the dough just begins to come away from the sides of the bowl.

Chill the Dough

Scrape the mixture onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and use the wrap to press down on the dough, kneading it until it is smooth.

Divide the dough into thirds, about 7.9 ounces/224 grams each. Wrap each piece loosely with plastic wrap and press to flatten into discs. Rewrap tightly and place in a gallon-size re-closable freezer bag. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days to firm and give the dough a chance to absorb the moisture evenly, which will make rolling easier.

Preheat the Oven

Twenty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Roll and Cut the Cookies

Remove a dough disc from the refrigerator and set it on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the dough and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough soften for about 10 minutes, or until it is malleable enough to roll. Roll the dough 1/8 inch thick, moving it from time to time and adding more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking.

Cut out sixteen 2 1/4 inch cookies. Mark the centers of half the cookies with a needle or the tip of a knife. Use the 3/4 inch round cutter or pastry tube to cut out the centers from the marked cookies. (If using a plastic cutter, or parchment-lined cookie sheet, it’s best to do this after placing the cookies on a cookie sheet.) Set the cookies a minimum of 1/2 inch apart on the cookie sheet.

Bake the Cookies

Bake the cookies for 5 minutes. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet halfway around. Continue baking for 5 to 7 minutes, or just until they begin to brown lightly.

Cool the Cookies

Set the cookie sheet on a wire rack and use a pancake turner to lift the cookies onto another wire rack. Cool completely.

While each batch of cookies is baking, roll the dough for the next batch. After the last batch is cut, knead together all the scraps and reroll them, chilling them first if necessary.

Fill the Cookies

Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, spread the bottoms of the cookie halves without the cutouts with heaping 1/2 teaspoons of lemon buttercream or your favorite jam, jelly, or curd, and set the second set of cookies with the cutouts on top, bottom sides down, to create the sandwiches.

Store

Airtight: room temperature, 1 day with buttercream (3 weeks with lemon curd, jam, or jelly); frozen, 6 months.

Lemon Neoclassic Buttercream

Makes 1 cup/about 8 ounces/226 grams

• about 2 large egg yolks: 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 ml) / 1 ounce / 28 grams

• superfine sugar: 3 tablespoons / 1.3 ounces / 37 grams

• corn syrup: 2 tablespoons (30 ml) / 1.4 ounces / 41 grams

• unsalted butter (65° to 75°F/19° to 23°C) / 8 tablespoons (1 stick) / 4 ounces / 113 grams

• lemon zest, finely grated: 1 tablespoon, loosely packed / 6 grams

• lemon juice, freshly squeezed: 2 tablespoons (30 ml) / 1.1 ounces / 32 grams

• pure vanilla extract: 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml)

Beat the Egg Yolks

In a medium bowl, with a handheld mixer, beat the egg yolks on high speed until light in color.

Mix the Liquid Ingredients

Have ready a 1 cup glass measure with a spout, lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, preferably nonstick, using a silicone spatula, stir together the sugar and corn syrup until all of the sugar is moistened. Heat over medium-high, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup begins to bubble around the edges. Stop stirring completely and continue cooking for a few minutes until the syrup comes to a rolling boil. (The entire surface will be covered with large bubbles. At this point, the temperature of the syrup on an instant-read thermometer, if using, should read 238°F/114°C.) Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking.

Make the Buttercream

Beat the sugar syrup into the egg yolks in a steady stream. Do not let the syrup fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. Continue beating on high speed for 5 minutes. Let it cool completely. To speed cooling, place the buttercream in an ice water bath or in the refrigerator and stir occasionally.

Complete the Buttercream

When the outside of the bowl feels cool, beat in the butter by the tablespoon on medium-high speed. The buttercream will not thicken until almost all of the butter has been added. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat on low speed until incorporated. Raise the speed to high and beat until smooth and creamy. The buttercream may separate at first, but it will come together on beating.

Place the buttercream in an airtight container. Use it at once or set it aside for up to 4 hours. If keeping it longer than 4 hours, refrigerate it. Bring it to room temperature before using, to prevent curdling, and rebeat to restore the texture.