Lemon Jammies

What’s a Lemon Jammie, you ask? Well, it’s not bright yellow pajamas, that’s for sure. If this recipe is anything to go on (and really, it’s in The Baking Bible, so it must be), a lemon jammy (what is the singular of jammies, anyway?) is a lemon zest infused sandwich cookie, with something in the middle. The recipe calls for lemon buttercream, lemon curd, or your favourite jam/jelly. I went with lemon curd, since it’s easier than lemon buttercream, felt less like a cop-out than just using jam, and because this week’s Alpha Bakers recipe is going to my friend Gilad, and I know he loves lemon.

This recipe is pretty straightforward. You make a cookie dough in the food processor, let it chill, then roll it out, and cut your shapes. Bake, then fill with curd. Unlike some of the other Alpha Bakers, I really enjoy making cookies, and I find that they’re the perfect (most dangerous) treat to have around the house, because it’s so easy to just grab a couple on your way through the kitchen. Jay has much more self-restraint than I do (more than zero), so if cookies aren’t leaving the house, they’re going on his counter, so they’re not in my line of sight every time I walk through the kitchen. 

I started my morning on Saturday by making up a quick batch of lemon curd. I followed the 2-egg recipe from somewhere around page 16 or so of The Baking Bible, and left out the butter part. After that, I made up the cookie dough, and left it in the fridge. It seems I didn’t take very many process pictures this week, but I couldn’t help myself from taking one of the sugar mixed with lemon zest. It smelled so good!

Don’t mind the bag that looks like trash in the corner – that’s a tomato plant from one of my husband’s co-workers. I had to put it somewhere that it would be in my way constantly, so that I wouldn’t forget to keep it fed & watered.

The dough takes more than lemon zest & sugar, but not much more. Just butter, egg, vanilla, and flour. Once the dough is mixed up, it gets stashed in the fridge for 2 hours or up to 2 days. Mine sat in the fridge long enough for me to go outside and help my husband spread 6 yards of topsoil in a big hole in our yard. We had our driveway replaced last fall, and did some re-configuration at the same time, which left space for more patio & more grass. Jay’s convinced that some of that area should be flower/fruit beds of some sort, but I figure we’ll start with grass, and if we decide we have the energy to do more with it, we’ll do that when the time comes.

With that interlude from baking over, I returned to the kitchen to roll & cut the dough.

I thought I was keeping a perfect ratio of whole vs cut-out cookies, between the multiple sheets, but when the last tray came out of the oven, I realized that I’d never make a very good computer. I apparently can’t count to 2, but at least I ended up with 2 full cookies, and not two cut-outs, I guess.

When it came to filling, the recipe says to use a heaping half teaspoon. I tried that, decided it was way too fiddly, and wasn’t quite enough, and just (*shock*horror*) eyeballed it.

I was expecting to run out and be forced to switch to jam, partway through, but it turned out that I had just the right amount of lemon curd. Enough to fill all of the cookies, plus a spoonful for Jay and a spoonful for me.

I plan to drop these off with Gilad tomorrow, for his 5th of 12 dessert deliveries. I’ll admit that I kept a couple for us, and, assuming that my brain is functional tomorrow morning, I plan to take a couple to work to send home for Megan. 🙂 If you’re reading this, try not to be too disappointed if I forget, because I have a history of forgetfulness on Monday mornings. Lunch, laptop, lemon posset shortcakes, gym clothes… If it’s something I’m supposed to have with me on Monday morning, I’ve forgotten it at least once.

My thoughts: The dough was easy to work with, rolled beautifully, and the baked cookies are nice and tender. The curd adds a nice sour bite. I’d happily make these again, sometime.

Next up: Blueberry Rhubarb pie. Pies are pretty easy, so I might manage this one during the evenings this week, and bring it for BBQ Thursday lunch, given that Jay’s not a fan of either blueberries or (especially) rhubarb.