Lemon Pinenut Stars

31/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 tablespoon milk

3/4 cup finely chopped pinenuts

Glaze

11/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup heavy cream

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Yellow decorating sugar

Special equipment

3-inch star cookie cutter

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat on medium-high speed, scraping the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the egg, egg yolk, lemon extract and milk and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. Add the pinenuts and mix until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half. Place each half between 2 sheets of waxed or parchment paper. Roll out each dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Refrigerate the dough discs (it's fine to stack them) until cold and slightly firm, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or coat them with cooking spray.

Remove 1 dough from the refrigerator and lift off the top sheet of parchment paper. Use the cookie cutter to cut out cookies, gathering and rerolling scraps as needed to use up all the dough.

Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 11/2 inches of space between each cookie. If the cookies are too soft to move, place them (still on the bottom sheet of parchment) in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through, until light golden brown on the sides, about 12-15 minutes.

While the cookies bake, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream and lemon zest and juice. Use an electric mixer to beat until just blended.

When the cookies come out of the oven, use a spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then spread each with the glaze. Immediately sprinkle with decorating sugar. Set aside to cool.

Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the remaining glaze and set aside until needed. Repeat this process with the second piece of dough.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Associated Press