Little Miss (cookie) Sunshine

I want you to run out to your store right now and look for Meyer lemons...

...THEN, even if you don't buy them, I want you to pick up a bag and inhale. Ahhh. Yes, people will stare, but you won't notice.  You'll be too busy reveling in the aroma of the ML (Meyer lemon).

They're like sunshine in a bowl.

So naturally, cookies made with them are like sunshine cookies.  And you know what else takes these cookies right over the top?

Brown Butter.  Oh yeah.

If you've never made brown butter, hop on over to How Sweet It Is for a great tutorial.  It's super easy and transforms butter into this deep, nutty thing of beauty.  It's not just for baking...this week we had a pasta with roasted broccoli, peas, and brown butter.  It was scrumptious.  That's not a word I use to describe broccoli very often.

The cookies?  Soft, a little tangy, and oh, that cream cheese frosting...it just begs you to sink your teeth in and take a bite. 

Meyer Lemon-Brown Butter Cookies (with lemon cream cheese frosting)
{makes about 24}

for the cookies:
1 stick unsalted butter
7 ounces plain Greek yogurt (I like Fage 2%)
1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice
zest from 1 Meyer lemon
2 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar

for the frosting:
1 stick salted butter, room temperature
8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb. box powdered sugar
zest of 1 Meyer lemon
2 TBSP Meyer lemon juice

Brown the butter in a small saucepan.  (For detailed instructions on how to do this, click here.)  Pour into a container, and refrigerate until cooled and solidified.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment.  Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together the yogurt, zest, and juice.  Set aside.
{Meyer lemons are really thin-skinned, so I like to use a micoplane for zesting.}

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

Beat the brown butter and sugar together until well combined.

Stir in the yogurt mixture.  Add the flour in three additions, stirring between each until combined.

The dough will be soft and resemble biscuit dough.  Let the dough rest for 15 minutes for the puffiest cookies. (Oh, and the dough is SO yummy...if you're into the raw dough thing like I am.)

Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the cookie sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until done.  Remove from the pans to wire racks to cool completely.

make the frosting:
With a paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. 

On low speed, add in half of the powdered sugar and the lemon zest.  Beat until combined.

Add the other half of the sugar and the lemon juice.  Beat on low until combined, then increase the speed to medium until smooth.

Use an offset spatula to frost the cookies.  Store in the fridge.

{Alternately, make a glaze instead of the frosting.  Combine powdered sugar and Meyer lemon juice to the consistency you'd like and pour over the cookies.)

Good day, Sunshine! ♥

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