Enfield Shaker Lemon Cookies Recipe

One cup butter, two cups sugar, juice and rind of one lemon, three teaspoons baking powder. Flour to rollout easily.
(There are no additional directions; that’s the entire recipe!)

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Grease (or line with parchment paper) two baking sheets.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until creamy.

Add the lemon juice and beat until incorporated.

Add the flour mixture, and mix at low to medium speed until the flour is incorporated.

Place half the dough on a lightly floured surface, roll 1/4″ thick, and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Repeat with remaining dough and place on baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes, one baking sheet at a time, rotating the sheet half way through the baking. Do a test batch and adjust the baking time accordingly. Cool on a rack. YIELDS ABOUT 48 COOKIES.

Kitchen-Tester’s Note: Very tasty lemon cookie! I decreased the sugar considerably deferring to modern tastes. Using less baking powder created a less puffy cookie, preferable in a rolled cookie. If you prefer to use salted butter, leave out 1/4 teaspoon of the salt (use 1/4 teaspoon salt, for sure).

This recipe first appeared in Shaker Recipes for Cooks and Homemakers, by William Lassiter (New York: Greenwich Book Publishers, 1959, p. 129) and is attributed to Sister Martha Wetherhill. Shaker Recipes for Cooks and Homemakers was reprinted by Bonanza Books in 1978 under the title Shaker Recipes and Formulas for Cooks and Homemakers. Both editions are out of print, but are available at reasonable cost at www.abebooks.com or www.eBay.com.