Lemon Jumbles
Cuisine: American
Author: Nancy Baggett
These are crisp, buttery, and lemony. The hand-formed ring-shape is traditional and the name comes from medieval rings called jumbals. This is one of my favorite recipes from The All-American Cookie Book, and one I baked at the Cleveland cooking class Penny Parker attended. She provided the photo of the jumbles shown here.
Ingredients
  • 2¾ cups all-purpose white flour
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • Scant 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • Generous 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • Lemon Glaze
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very warm but not melted
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, room temp or slightly warm
  • ½ teaspoon corn syrup
  • 2 drops almond extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray several baking sheets with cooking spray and fit with parchment paper. In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter, sugar, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and almond extract until light and well blended. Beat or stir in the flour mixture until evenly incorporated.
  2. Gather up the dough and shape it into a ball. Cut it into quarters. Shape each quarter into a flat disk. Score each disk into quarters, then cut into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge between your palms and a work surface to form an evenly thick 4½ – 5 inch-long rope. Bring the ends of each rope together and press firmly to create a ring. Place on the baking sheet spacing about 1½ inches apart.
  3. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the middle third of the oven for 8 – 12 minutes, or until just faintly browned at the edges. Reverse the tray half-way through the baking. Using a spatula, immediately move the cookies to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
  4. To make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, butter, 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice, corn syrup, almond extract and food coloring (if using). Mix until smooth and well blended. If needed thin the mixture with very small amounts of lemon juice to get the perfect glaze consistency. Place waxed paper under wire racks to catch any drips. Dip the tops of each jumble in the glaze and set on the wire racks to dry. It takes about 1 hour for the glaze to set completely! Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months. Makes 48 cookies.
Recipe by KitchenLane at http://kitchenlane.com/2016/05/cookies-changed-life.html