An old diary {and lemon sandwich cookies}

After the discovery of an old diary, it was time to lighten up the mood in the garden apartment with these delicious lemon sandwich cookies.

Last weekend, I found myself home alone. In the mood to reorganize, I embarked on an afternoon of spring cleaning. As I rummaged through my closet, I came across something I hadn't thought about in quite some time.

An old diary.

And not just any old diary, but the diary that every woman in her early-twenties keeps when she is first out in the big world all on her own. You know the one.

As you might suspect, it was full of the angst of these years-- the unsettled, unsure, what am I meant to do with my life kinds of questions? More often than not, pages were filled with reflections on people I'd dated. Two major questions were asked in these passages: 1. What was wrong with them? 2. Would I be single for forever?

And then, around age 25, the diary ends. At this point, I had just met John and penned only a few entries about my initial impressions of him and our relationship.

When John returned from his weekend away from home, I casually mentioned how I'd read through the entire early-twenties diary. He asked whether there was anything interesting inside. I mentioned the above-mentioned angst, soul searching, and boy problems.

And of course, he just couldn't help but ask that question. 

"What did you write about me?"

I told him all the good things. That he made me laugh, and that he was a good guy.

Jokingly, he asked, "Did you have any doubts?"

I paused for a minute. With four and a half years under our belts, my diary scribblings at three months seemed pretty harmless.

"Yes. I worried that we hadn't had any really deep or soul searching conversations." I added, "Of course, this was my three month impression. Obviously, that's changed."

He nodded his head, so I thought this conversation was over and forgotten. 

How wrong I was. It seemed that every time I brought up any topic-- be it something I'd listened to on NPR or a friend's personal problems, John was incredibly interested in analyzing the situation.

This analysis would promptly be followed by this statement: "How is that for deep conversation?"

After explaining to him (again) that the reason I really love him has more to do with his ability to make me laugh than carry on long depressing conversations, I decided to lighten things up a little with a batch of delicious and light-hearted lemon sandwich cookies.

I found this recipe on Epicurious, originally published in BonApetit this January. I made these at work one week ago, and found them so delicious that I selfishly had to make a batch to enjoy at home. The creamy filling full of fresh lemon zest makes these cute guys irresistible. In fact, the only change I've made to the original recipe is to double the amount of cream filling. I also found (in both batches) that the cookie yield was more like 36 sandwiches, which is reflected here.

Because the cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for four hours, I found it easiest to make the cookie dough early in the day and make the lemon cream filling while the cookies were baking. However, you can make the cream filling a day ahead, if desired. Just bring it to room temperature before spreading it between the cookies.

Lemon Cream Sandwich Cookies

Adapted from BonApetit(original recipe here)

Makes 36 sandwich cookies

Filling:

• 3 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups (packed) powdered sugar

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
•   
• For cookies: 
• Boil lemon juice and lemon peel in small saucepan until mixture is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Pour into small bowl and cool. 

This is what gives the cookies such wonderful lemon flavor.

Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into medium bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar; beat until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in yolks. Beat in lemon juice mixture. Add dry ingredients and stir to blend well. Cover dough and chill until firm, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1/3 of dough on lightly floured surface to scant 3/8-inch thickness. Using 2-inch round cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until golden at edges, about 12 minutes. Let cookies cool 5 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Make the filling:

Using back of spoon, mash lemon peel and salt to paste in medium bowl. 

Add butter. Using electric mixer, beat until fluffy. Add sugar in 4 batches, beating after each addition until blended.

Now for the fun part:

Spread large dollops of the filling between the cooled cookies.

Then, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Admire them, then enjoy.

The ironic thing about these cookies is, as it would turn out, John is not a big fan of lemon cookies. Don't get me wrong. He is still eating them, but apparently prefers something chewy with chocolate. 

As for myself, I stand behind these cookies as the best lemon sandwich cookies I have ever tasted.

And most importantly, as for that old diary, it is safely put away in an undisclosed location, and need not be reopened.