Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 lemons (zested)
  • 2 teaspoons poppyseeds
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 10 ounces white chocolate melting discs (preferably Ghirardelli, or finely chopped white chocolate)
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons lemon paste (I used Neillsen Massey (optional))
  • leftover ganache
  • yellow colored sparkling sugar (or other colored sprinkles)

Instruction

  • In a large bowl, combine the vegetable shortening and butter and beat with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until creamy. 
  • Add both sugars, salt, baking powder and vanilla and beat until well blended. Add the egg and beat again, until light and fluffy. 
  • Mix in the lemon zest and poppyseeds, blending until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and baking powder and add it to the batter. 
  • Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed sugar mixture (or use the low setting on a stand mixer) until the dough is just combined and no floury bits remain.
  • Divide the dough in half, roll each half into a ball and flatten into a disc, about 3/4” thick. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • While the dough is chilling, move the oven rack to the center position. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
  • Remove one disc of the dough from the refrigerator and transfer to a well floured surface. Lightly dust the dough with flour and roll it out to 1/8” thick.
  • Cut the cookies with heart shaped cookie cutters (or other shapes) or biscuit cutters and transfer the cookies to the prepared sheet pan.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies are just barely browned on the edges. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack to cool completely before decorating.