A warm summer day calls for a nice cold and refreshing drink of limoncello. Not only is it a wonderful drink to sip slowly and enjoy, and by the way today happens to be National Limoncello Day, it’s also used in cooking and baking, so having a bottle stashed away in your freezer is a good thing.
I made these delicious cookies using limoncello crema, if you haven’t tried the creamy version of limoncello I encourage you to do so, it’s out of this world amazing. This is the perfect pairing for a hot summer treat.
The cookies are infused with the limoncello crema, lemon zest and juice. The cookie itself has a crisp edge with a light and crunchy interior. The tops are drizzled with white chocolate and chopped pistachios.
This recipe comes from Food Network magazine and it’s definitely adapted because after I had formed and shaped the cookies and was ready to put them into the oven, I realized I forgot 2 tablespoons of olive oil that the recipe called for. By that time I just let it go because there’s also 12 tablespoons of butter included in the recipe so I figured it would be fine, and it was, we loved them as is.
I will post the full recipe but use your own judgement on the olive oil addition, just know they turned out great without.
This is such a unique and special cookie not something common like a chocolate chip, I guarantee your friends and family will love them.
Bring a platter to your summer gatherings and watch them disappear!
- 1- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 1 teaspoon, baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½. teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil ( see reference above in post) I forgot to put it in but they still turned out great.
- 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
- 3 tablespoons of limoncello, I used the crema version
- ½ teaspoon, vanilla
- zest and juice of 1 lemon about 3 tablespoons
- ***
- 8 oz. white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup of finely chopped pistachio's
- Whisk together the flours, baking powder, soda. and salt.
- In a larger bowl beat the butter and sugar til fluffy.
- In a tiny bowl whisk the olive oil, (see reference above) whole egg, yolk, limoncello, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Add it to the butter mixture on low then also add in the flour.
- Now cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, and important step to get the butter cold for rolling the cookie shape.
- ***
- Preheat the oven to 350 and place parchment onto a baking sheet.
- Roll the cookies into a 2 inch long log, place them 2 inches apart on the parchment.
- Bake anywhere between 15 to 18 minutes. depending on your oven, each cookie should show a nice medium golden on the bottom and edges.
- ***
- Completely cool on racks then melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals, drizzle the chocolate on the cookies with a fork then quickly add your chopped pistachio's..
Oh my, I’m so excited to share this cookie recipe with you! If you don’t have a bottle of limoncello in your home right now please go out and get one so you can make these cookies for Easter. Let me see if I can describe them to you, buttery, crunchy, refreshing, bright with an explosion of lemon flavor! The perfect cookie to welcome in spring.
Fortunate for me I still had a bottle of homemade limoncello that my daughter, her friend and her cousin made back in September. It was quite a project and fun for me to watch since I’ve never ever made it myself. Much planning went into it beforehand, she was on a mission to find the best organic lemons she could find, lemons free of chemicals and wax because the peels would be soaking in alcohol for weeks.
Peeling the yellow skins off the lemons take time and patience, it’s something you can’t rush because you have to be careful not to get any of the white pith beneath it otherwise your end result will be bitter, and you don’t want bitter limoncello. Their goal was to have it all completed and ready to sip for the holiday season. I’m happy to say they reached their goal.
The essential oils of the lemon peels infusing with the alcohol is such a dynamic combination, creating the most vibrant liqueur. I don’t want to sound like a bragging mother but this was the best limoncello I’ve ever had! It tasted so fresh with a wonderful smooth finish to it. After giving out some bottles as gifts they now have people begging them to make more. 
I hoarded one last bottle, it was hidden away in my freezer, making limoncello cookies was a good excuse to bring it out!
Of course I had to sip some while I was baking!
Look at that color, liquid gold, slightly thick and perfectly sweet. It screams blue skies and sunshine!
The limoncello is mixed right into the frosting so with every bite you take you’ll have a burst of lemony flavor. I promise you, these will be devoured if you make them for Easter, but you need to double or triple this recipe for sure!
The dough is shaped into a log then refrigerated for a while, sliced and baked. I tried to shape my log into an oval so they would look like eggs, or you could just cut them rounds.
Melt in your mouth goodness! Happy Easter to all!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
