Lemon Almond Wheels

Sometimes I don’t even know I am stuck in a baking rut until I see new ideas. On a recent trip to Aachen I picked up two baking books for under 8 euro in the discount bin. Flipping through them, I discovered so many fantastic recipes, I couldn’t believe my luck. The books re-inspired me all over again and these Almond Lemon Wheels have pulled me out of my baking pothole, real or imagined.

I had several organic lemons in the fridge that wouldn’t last much longer. They were sacrificed first for this unique cookie recipe. 

The cookies have a shortbread consistency. They are tangy and like most German cookies, not too sweet and the perfect complement to an afternoon cup of tea. The only downside is the lemon comes off in one piece when you bite into them. Sort of annoying. But they do look beautiful arranged on a platter. Sometimes you have to sacrifice for beauty.

(From Dolci, Verlag Zabert Sandmann GmbH, München 2010)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 cups ground almonds
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 organic lemons sliced extremely thin.
• Some granulated sugar for sprinkling over the lemon slices
• Flour for rolling out dough.
• Powdered sugar for dusting the finished cookies.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
• Beat the butter, zest and egg until creamy.
• Add the powdered sugar and mix.
• Mix in flour, then the ground almonds
• Add lemon juice and mix until just combined.
• Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
• Slice the lemons as thinly as you can. I used a mandolin.

• Remove dough from fridge, roll out on a floured surface and use a cookie cutter (I used a beer glass). Whatever you do use to cut the circles, make sure the size is slightly larger than the lemon slices.

• Gently press a slice of lemon into each circle.

• Sprinkle lemon slices with granulated sugar.

• Bake in middle rack of the oven 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from oven, transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
• Dust with powdered sugar.