Holiday Cookies (4/8) -- Glittering Lemon Sandwich Cookies

When I first saw this recipe I thought it would be great to try because I love lemon cookies. My husband not so much so I was hoping they would have just a hint of lemon to make us both happy. Turned out that the cookie wasn't very lemon flavored but the filling was. We had a great time picking the colored sugar to roll the dough in. As you can see we didn't decide on just 1 color.  Also when I made the filling it was pretty gooey and the sandwiches sort of slipped off. I suggest that you place the filling in the fridge to harden for 10-15 min before you start making your sandwiches and then placing the sandwich cookies in the fridge to harden the filling while they are together.

Ingredients:

For cookies:

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla
• colored sanding sugars

For filling:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, softened

Directions:

1. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt. Wisk until well distributed.
2. With stand mixer, beat together butter and confectioners' sugar until fluffy. 
3. Add zest and vanilla, then gradually add flour mixture. 
4. Mix at low speed just until dough forms.
5. Put sanding sugars in different bowls. 
6. Roll a teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll through sugar, turning to coat. 
7. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet, spacing the balls 3/4 inch apart. 
8. Chill dough balls on baking sheets about 30 minutes to help them retain shape during baking.
9. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Bake until tops are slightly cracked and bottoms are pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. 
11. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.
12. To make filling, beat together all filling ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed. 
13. Use a butter knife to spread a little of the filling onto a cookie then sandwich it with another cookie, repeat for all the remaining cookies.