Miss Lewis mentions buttermilk cookies, which she pairs with ice-cold lemonade, but as far as we know, she never committed a recipe to paper. When we developed one, the big debate was about texture: Soft or crisp? What you see here is the cookie of your dreams, with a tender interior and the slightest bit of crispness around the edge.
Cookies are best the day they're made but can be frozen, wrapped well, up to 1 month.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 1/2 hr
Yield
Makes about 5 1/2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
For cookies
For glaze
Preparation
Make cookies:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter 2 large baking sheets.
Step 2
Whisk together flour, zest, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches at low speed, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until smooth.
Step 4
Drop level tablespoons of dough about 1 1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes per batch. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks.
Glaze cookies:
Step 5
Whisk together all glaze ingredients and brush onto tops of warm cookies.
Step 6
Let stand until cookies are completely cooled and glaze is set.
