Steps for Easy Lemon Meltaways

• These cookies are prepared a day in advance because the dough needs to rest in the fridge overnight.

  First, take the butter out of the fridge at least an hour before, it MUST be soft. Sift the flour with the cornstarch.

  

• Pour the soft butter into the stand mixer bowl and work it for 1 minute with the paddle attachment (or if you prefer, use electric beaters), then add the 1 cup of powdered sugar, the vanilla, the grated zest of two large lemons, the salt, and work the dough for at least 5 minutes, then also add the 2 tablespoons of filtered lemon juice and finally the flour sifted with the cornstarch and work for another 5 minutes, the dough should not be sticky, but smooth and homogeneous.

  

• Form a roll about 2 inches in diameter, wrap it in baking paper and let it rest in the fridge overnight.

  After the indicated resting time, preheat the oven to 356°F.

  Take the cold roll from the fridge and, with a smooth knife (not serrated), cut it into slices about 1/2 inch thick (do not cut them thin)

  

• Place the slices on a baking tray covered with parchment paper (but even better if you have a perforated baking tray (see photo), on which you will lay a perforated silicone mat ideal for baking cookies perfectly, see below in the Shopping Tips).

  

• Put the tray with the cookies back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, this step will prevent the cookies from spreading during baking and keep them in shape.

• Then, bake the cold cookies in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, but it depends on the oven, I baked them for 19 minutes.

• Finally, remove the tray from the oven and after 2 minutes without touching them because they are very crumbly, dust the still warm cookies delicately with powdered sugar (even better if vanilla-flavored).

  Allow them to cool completely and then you can store them in a tin box or a food-grade plastic bag and they keep for about two weeks.