Lemon Drizzle Cookies

Some days I long for a slice of a sweet, sumptuous cake. Some days I yearn for a bewitchingly biscuity cookie. And some days I must have both. It's for these occasions I turn to recipes such as this one, which mischievously blurs the line between the two. With all the familiar flavours of a lemon cake, but with the sugary chewiness of a good cookie they are more than merely a curiosity, but a delightful alternative to the usual afternoon tea treats.

Prep time: 15 Mins (Plus an hour chilling time)
Baking time: 16-18 Mins
100g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
175g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg (Beaten)
Zest of 2 Unwaxed Lemons
1/2tsp Lemon Extract
100g Ground Almonds
1/2tsp Baking Powder
100g Plain Flour
4tbsp Icing Sugar (Sifted)
2tbsp Juice from the zested Lemons

Oh an before I forget, you should get about 10 cookies out of the mixture. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and caster sugar, then beat in the egg, along with the lemon zest and lemon extract. Fold through the ground almonds, then sift in the baking powder with the flour and mix together to a smooth, stiff batter. Spoon the mixture onto some cling film, wrap up and place in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Take the dough out of the fridge and for each cookie break off some of the mixture, roll into a golf ball shape and place on the tray, evenly spaced apart. I put five balls on each tray, one in each corner and one in the middle, which gives them more than enough room. Bake in the centre of the oven for around 16-18 minutes until spread, light golden and just darkening at the edges. When you're happy they are cooked remove them from the oven, leave on the tray for 20 minutes, then carefully peel each cookie from the paper and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

When the cookies are cool, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and pour over the lemon juice. Mix together with a fork or ideally a little mini whisk until smooth and glossy, then brush over each cooled cookie. All that is left is to leave the glaze to set on top, if you can resist them for that long!