Cooking Lesson #170 Lemon Pecan Ice Box Cookies

The 2020 Holidays Recipe Collection

How you doin’? I’m a real “cookie monster!” I love my icebox cookies. Icebox cookies, also known as refrigerator cookies, are slice-and-bake cookies. The dough is formed into a log, chilled in the refrigerator (also known as an icebox), and then sliced into rounds before baking. Ice box cookies are short… mostly flour, sugar and butter. A short cookie is crisp and buttery like a piece of Walker’s Scottish short bread… yum.
 
There are hundreds of recipes for Icebox Cookies. Recipes come in all flavors, ranging from chocolate to vanilla, lemon, orange, etc. By alternating colors and flavors of dough, usually chocolate and vanilla, cookies can be made with patterns, such as checkerboards or pinwheels.
 
By exchanging the lemon zest for orange zest, the lemon juice for frozen orange juice concentrate and the pecans for poppy seeds you can make great Orange-Poppy Seed icebox cookies.
 
Icebox cookies are a great prepare-ahead-of-time dough because it can be kept refrigerated for 3 days in a form or other shape, or frozen for a month or so. Then, cookie dough can be cut and baked at any time, even if directly from the freezer.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  10 to 12 minutes
Chill time:  1 hour
Yield: 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoon lemon zest (use a micro-plane, if you have one)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
 
Directions

1. Thoroughly cream the butter and sugar together. 
2. Add the egg, lemon zest and lemon juice; beat well. 
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture, mixing well.
4. Stir in the pecans. 
5. Shape the dough into rolls 2 inches in diameter.  Chill thoroughly.
6. Preheat oven to 325⁰F. 
7. Slice the cookie dough very thin and place on ungreased cookie sheets. 
8. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. 
   
9. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

ChefSecret:  You may be asking yourself, why do all Ed’s recipes call for kosher salt? The main difference between regular salt and kosher salt is the structure of the flakes. Chefs find that kosher salt, due to its large flake size, is easier to pick up with your fingers and spread over food. Kosher salt is also less likely to contain additives like anti-caking agents and iodine.

Special Note:  We actually had a real ice box in a rental vacation cabin at Big Bear Lake, California. Every morning around 8 o’clock the ice man cometh (really, he did) so we could keep things chilled another day.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  The World Health Organization announced that dogs cannot contract COVID-19. Dogs previously held in quarantine can now be released. To be clear, WHO let the dogs out.
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Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thank you for reading.

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