ICEBOX LEMON SPRING COOKIES

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar and icing sugar in large bowl until light in colour. Beat in lemon zest and juice.

Add flour mixture gradually and beat until combined. Knead dough together and divide in half. Shape each half into a 7-inch-long log and wrap lightly with plastic wrap. Shape the logs into an oval (egg) shape. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm.

Cut 1 log of dough into generous 1/4-inch thick slices and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for about 12 minutes or until light golden around the edges. Let cool on rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Let cookies cool completely.

Royal Icing: Using electric hand mixer, beat egg whites in large bowl until frothy.

Add icing sugar, about 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. (If icing is too thick, add a little water. If icing is too thin, add more icing sugar.) Add lemon zest, if using. Colour the icing, if desired. (Alternatively, divide and create multiple colours.) Transfer royal icing into piping bag fitted with a tip or a heavy resealable bag and cut corner.

Working with a few cookies at a time, pipe edge of cookies to form an outline and decorate as desired. Add sprinkles, if using, or create your own masterpiece with other decorations. Let cookies dry at room temperature for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Jam Variation: Make sandwich cookies but spread half of the cookies with Longo’s Fruit Spread (flavour of your choice), then top them with the remaining half of the cookies. Dust cookies with icing sugar when ready to serve. (Cookies will soften with jam inside, so store in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 2 weeks.) For a nut butter and jam variation, spread one of the cookies with. Longo’s Cashew Peanut Butter or Longo’s Hazelnut Butter and the other with Longo’s Fruit Spread and put them together for a taste explosion of a cookie!

Flooding Cookie Glaze: If you would like to fill your cookies in, simply pipe the edge of the cookie and let it dry slightly. Add some water to the royal icing to thin it out a bit and add it to the cookie to “flood” the inside and cover the cookie.

Cookie Glaze: Sift 2 cups icing sugar into bowl, then stir in 3 tbsp milk and 1 tbsp corn syrup until smooth and thick. (If icing is too thick, add a little more milk. If icing is too thin, add more icing sugar.) Add food colouring, if desired. Use this to glaze the cookies by spreading with a small palette knife across the cookie. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.