The other day, when I awoke to find my street covered in snow, and then, when I had to go out in the snow to take Husband to work, to find that the snow was falling in giant, wet glops that somehow found the very top of my head, I decided that I needed a little sun in my life, even if the sun was a clot of lemon curd.
And so I decided to make Nigella Lawson's Lemon Gems, or as she says her kids like to call them, "Fried Egg Cookies." The recipe posed that same-old waiting game frustration as Saveur's Mexican Chocolate cookies, and so I made the dough and then finally got around to baking them today. I guess these passed the Husband-Who-Doesn't-Eat-Cookies test, as he piled 4 into a neat little stack before hitting the TV, and ate each in one bite. I am beginning to learn that Husband-Who-Doesn't-Eat-Cookies really does.
At any rate, I tested three different methods for preparing these because, truthfully, I didn't really care for the raw dough. I tested Nigella's way, just rolling and baking, one brushed with fresh lemon juice before baking, and one brushed with lemon juice and rolled in turbinado sugar before baking. Sugar, not surprisingly, won out. I was a little put-off by their sandy texture, as I expected them be a bit more like a shortbread. All in all, a keeper; a nice little tart cookie. I used store-bought lemon curd, Simplify brand, and didn't really like it; it had a waxy texture and no real sourness, so I augmented it with a little lemon juice to tart it up.
Lemon Gems
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 TBSP lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups AP flour
scant 1/4 cup ground almonds
2 TBSP cornstarch
finishing:
1 TBSP lemon juice
3 TBSP turbinado sugar
6-7 TBSP lemon curd
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper - because of the lemon juice and sugar I used, the still stuck a little, and the cookie is very sandy and therefore feel apart easily, therefore I also brushed the paper with melted butter after the first test.
Cream the shortening, butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the egg yolk, lemon juice, zest and salt. Turn speed to low and slowly add the flour until just combined. Add the almonds and cornstarch until just combined. Place the dough it the refrigerator for an hour or 48, depending on how you feel.
Roll the dough into one-inch balls, the dip half of each ball into the juice, and then into the sugar. Place on the baking sheet and press a deep dent into each cookie with your knuckle - these puff up in the oven and the dent will mostly fill in, leaving just a slight depression. Repeat with 11 more cookie balls.
Bake the cookies for about 19-23 minutes (mine took 19), rotating the pan halfway through to ensure even browning. The cookies will be slightly golden. Remove from oven and fill each indentation with a scant teaspoon of lemon curd. Allow the cookies to sit on the sheet for about 5 minutes or so, to firm up. Remove to wire racks and cool.
Makes 40 gems.
