Lemon Sweetie Pies

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
• 2 large finely grated lemons, zest of
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Recipe

• 1 lemon curd:.
• 2 in a medium heavy nonreactive saucepan, combine the eggs and egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and butter.
• 3 bring to a full boil, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat.
• 4 boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly; it will be fairly thin.
• 5 remove from heat, whisk for 30 seconds more.
• 6 let stand until cooled to warm. strain the lemon curd through a fine sieve into a medium bowl.
• 7 cover tightly and refrigerate until chilled and thickened, at least 1 1/2 hours.
• 8 the lemon curd may be refrigerated up to 4 days.
• 9 dough:.
• 10 preheat oven to 350*.
• 11 grease several baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray.
• 12 in a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• 13 in a large bowl, with electic mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until very light and fluffy. add the egg, 1 tbls water, the vanilla and lemon juice and beat until thoroughly incorporated.
• 14 reduce the speed to low and beat in half of the flour mixture.
• 15 gradually beat or stir in the remaining flour mixture until well blended.
• 16 shape portions of the dough into generous 1 1/4" balls with lightly greased hands.
• 17 place on the baking sheets, spacing about 2 1/2" apart.
• 18 using your thumb or knuckle, press a deep well into the center of each ball, take care not to break throught he dough, or the lemon curd will leak out during baking.
• 19 place about 3/4 tsp of lemon curd into each well, mounding it slightly.
• 20 bake the cookies, one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for 10-13 minutes or until lemon curd is bubbly and the cookies are lightly browned at the edges. reverse the sheets from front to back halfway through baking -- to ensure even browning.
• 21 transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, 1-2 minutes.
• 22 using a spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks.
• 23 let stand until completely cooled.
• 24 store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. the cookies may be frozen for up to 1 month, but will be soft rather than crisp.