tie ’em up … Lemon Knot Cookies

I used to work near a little Italian deli that made the best food. Subs layered with various Italian meats, cut to order. Homemade meatballs with a fresh, tangy marinara. Freshly fried arancini, those addictive fried balls of risotto with cheese stuffed in the middle. Fat squares of cheesy pizza dotted with pepperoni or bits of sausage. Everything was so good. My favorite lunch was a spicy Italian sub, a Pellegrino soda of some sort and a lemon knot cookie. The cookies were sort of cakey, sort of dry with a close crumb and a lemon glaze. They weren’t the greatest cookies I’d ever had but I still loved those things, a perfect finish to a delicious lunch. After I left that job, I missed those cookies so every once in a while I’d try a recipe but it never quite delivered on the memory. But I think I’ve got it figured out.

Every recipe had the same problem – they’d all been too firm, too crumbly, lacking in flavor. The cookie I remembered were softer, more tender. I thought about it and realized that the flour in the recipes were the problem. They all called for all-purpose when cake flour was clearly called for but I added something else too: cornstarch. The addition of cornstarch makes a more tender cookie with the perfect crumb – enough structure to hold together but still a bit crumbly. It was exactly what all those failed lemon knot recipes needed and damn, it took me long enough to figure it out.

The dough is soft but not so soft that it can’t be rolled into a rope and quickly tied into a knot. After baking, a quick dip in a thick lemony icing and long search was over. I had my cookies. But there was another thing about these cookies that took me a while to figure out: they’re better stale. While these are very good the day of baking, sort of like those soft smooshy Lofthouse cookies you get in the grocery bakery department, they’re much better a few days later. This makes sense because I’m sure they sit forever in the bakery case at the deli. The crumb, while still soft, firms up a bit. A little stale is best apparently.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: LOVE KNOTS. With lunch, with a cup of tea, as a snack – these cookies work in all directions. Light and bright with a punchy lemon flavor, they’ve been a welcome respite during these weird gloomy spring days that never seem to end. I have my cookies now, I just have to make some spicy Italian sub sandwiches. That one is going to be a lot easier.

nine years ago: Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Quiche
eight years ago: Peterson Garden Project – the start
seven years ago: Homemade Crème Eggs
six years ago: Buttermilk Biscuits, Ramp Green Kimchi
five years ago: Scallion Pancakes
four years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise
three years ago: Flourless Chocolate Cookies
two years ago: Coconut Tres Leches Ice Cream
last year: Bacon Fat Polvorónes

LEMON KNOT COOKIES
Makes about 3 dozen

for the cookies:
4 cups cake flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 large lemons)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice

for the glaze:
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
5 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. For the cookies: Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium high for about 1 minute until well blended.
3. Add the oil, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice and mix on medium-high until combined. Scrape the bowl.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix on medium until well combined. Scrape the bowl if needed.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
6. Preheat oven to 325°F and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
7. Pinch off a walnut size piece of dough, 1 ounce, and roll on a lightly floured surface to a 4” long fat rope.
8. Twist the dough to form a loop inserting one end through the loop while forming a knot.
9. Place on prepared sheet pan.
10. Repeat with remaining dough spacing the knots about 1” apart.
11. Bake for 10-12 minutes until firm and the bottoms are lightly browned. The cookies may crack a little; this is ok and will be covered up by the glaze later.
12. Cool completely on a wire rack.
13. For the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and thick.
14. Dip the cookies tops, submerging as much as the top as possible into the glaze.
15. Let the excess drip back into the bowl, giving the cookie a little shake.
16. Quickly flip the cookie over and place back on the parchment sheet pans.
17. Continue with the remaining cookies and let them sit until the glaze dries, at least one hour.
18. The cookies can be eaten after the glaze has set but are better if let to sit, uncovered, overnight.