Arizona citrus

by Linda Hopkins

In April, it will be two years since we remodeled our backyard and this winter has, literally, showing the fruits of our labor. We added blood orange, Meyer lemon, and Mexican lime tree to our existing navel orange, Lisbon lemon, and pink grapefruit – for a true citrus grove!  Last year did not produce any new fruits, but this year, the proof is in the colorful picture above and I am one happy girl! The Meyer lemon has been the most prolific of the three new trees. These cookies are delicious with regular lemon zest too, so don’t discount them if you can’t find Meyer lemons.

The almond meal can be found at most grocery stores under the Bob’s Red Mill brand and at Trader Joe’s.

Or you can make your own almond meal: For about 1 1/3 cups almond meal, place 2 cups whole, unbalanced almonds in a food processor, and pulse several times until a medium-fine textured meal forms. Do Not over-process or you will end up with almond butter! Put the ground almond meal in a clean flour sifter, sift and place any large almond particles back into the processor and pulse again, sift. That’s all it takes!

Almond-Meyer Lemon Cookies

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon almond meal, divided
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest (about 3 large lemons), divided
2 egg yolks

Whisk 1 1/4 cups of the almond meal, flour, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl, and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer beat the butter, 1 cup of the sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy on high speed, 2 or 3 minutes. Mix in egg yolks. Add the almond meal- flour mixture, then beat on low speed just until the dry ingredients are mixed in. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of each;  almond meal, sugar, and Meyer lemon zest.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper.

Use a 1-inch cookie scoop (which you can find HERE online, or make 1-inch-diameter balls by hand), and place balls on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Use your thumb to indent cookies, dipping your thumb into the almond-sugar-zest mixture in between the pressing of each cookie. Sprinkle each thumbprint lightly with an additional almond-sugar-zest mix. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, reversing the position of the baking sheets after the first 6 minutes. Cookies are done when the centers are set and the edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies to a rack, and when completely cool, store in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies