Lemon Nut Cookies

Like some other people commented, the cookies were soft when baked as directed and some broke. I tried to bake a bit longer which made it better and more solid. As for the taste, it was OK, not like “WOW”. I think using walnuts or almonds may give better flavor after all (and more cost friendly!). 

These are a family favorite. It is a grainy texture sort of like a pecan sandie but with a nice subtle lemon and pine nut flavor. I do not roll them in sugar after baking as we prefer them without the added sweetness. I have made these several times over the years. I also have found that if you try to move them before cooling they crumble apart. I line a baking sheet with parchment paper for baking. When done I gently slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack where I let them cool completely before touching them. I also make them a little smaller than the 1 1/2″ balls the recipe calls for. I use a small cookie scoop overfilled to speed up filling the baking sheet and also to be sure the cookie cooks through before getting too brown around the edges. Giada’s look flat topped in the photo but mine come out more like little domes. They also freeze beautifully! 

Coarse, crumbly and tasteless. Since the dough balls did not spread, or even bake, I tried tweaking the balance of the recipe. Added additional lemon peel, juice and butter. I flattened the cookie using a fork. Cookies held together, were crisp, but still tasteless. Mixing the lemon peel with the powdered sugar, clumped the sugar. I had to use a strainer to coat the cookies and the lemon peel did not pass through the strainer. I did not finish baking the balance and threw all out. What a disappointment and expense. I am an experienced baker.

I just baked these cookies and I thought they were pretty good, not my favorite though. They had an interesting flavor which I’m thinking are from the pine nuts.. although I LOVE pine nuts. I probably won’t be baking these much but will stick to russian tea cakes instead, which have more depth of flavor, are richer and are a tad bit sweeter. 

Pine nuts are too expensive to waste on this failure of a recipe. I made them twice and each time they came out crumbly. Of the few I managed to “save” and roll in the sugar, the taste was of sawdust. The corn meal is most likely the problem but I won’t bother to waste any more of my time or money on trying to figure this one out. Sorry Giada. This one just doesn’t work.

I’m so sorry that some didn’t have success with this recipe. I think they are spectacular. I followed some suggestions and made sure the nuts (I used a combination of hazelnuts and pine nuts) were cooled before putting them in the processor. I used lemon extract instead of the vanilla and even added a bit more because we really like lemon. The butter was very soft when I creamed it so the dough was very moist. I wrapped it in plastic and put it in the refrigerator overnight. I rolled them out this morning and baked as directed. I did leave them on the parchment-covered sheet and dusted the sugar over while hot. I moved them when they were cool and had no trouble at all. They melt in your mouth! I also on a whim used white whole wheat flour and no one could tell. These are at the top of my cookie list now!

This recipe doesn’t even deserve one star! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out crumbly. Couldn’t even roll them in the sugar mixture! What a waste of use of expensive pine nuts.

I see this recipe hasn’t been reviewed in a while- I haven’t made these recently but they are a favorite and I plan on making them this holiday season (they are my brother and grandmother’s favorite! I see alot of negative reviews about the crumbly nature of these cookies. My advice is be patient! I always followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfectly. The only thing I did slightly differently after my first run (where I was also impatient was this: when chilling the dough I rolled it into a log the diameter I wanted the cookies, wrapped it in plastic, refrigerated, then sliced them with a sharp knife before baking. The cookies held together beautifully! And were DELICIOUS!

These are very good! Forgot that I had ran out of lemons so instead I used Watkins Lemon Flavoring (2 tsp and lemon chips and since I do not care for pine nuts I used almonds. Very good flavor for substituting ingredients Also baked them 4 min. longer than recommended.
These are very similar to the Snowball cookies I make at Christmas time. My husband also loves them. Melt in your mouth.

These are AWESOME! I make these all the time. They’re a huge hit everywhere I bring them and am asked for the recipe all the time. Every oven’s baking time is different so I bake them about 4 minutes longer than she recommends so they don’t crumble. They melt in your mouth. :