Courtesy Shutters On the Beach

Lemon-Ginger Cookies look like little sand dollars with a hint of ginger. These delicate cookies won’t last long. They are light and I guarantee you can’t eat just one.

SERVES  Makes about 2 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup packed golden brown sugar

l large egg

1/4 cup sour cream

l teaspoon lemon extract

l teaspooon vanilla extract

l teaspoon grated lemon zest

1  3/4 cupes all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespooons minced candied ginger

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and ground ginger. Add the butter mixture, along with the candied ginger and mix until blended thoroughly.

With floured or moistened fingers, drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Shape the cookies into balls and flatten them down slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are set and lightly colored. If you prefer your cookies chewy, reduce the baking time by 3 minutes. If you wish, carve sand dollar like slits into the cookies with the top of a knife before they cool.

Cool on a wire rack. The cookies will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

NOTES

These Lemon-Ginger Cookies are delicious and just a sampling of the fabulous recipes you will find in Shutters’s cookbook.By the way, I think Shutters On The Beach,  is my new favorite hotel in Santa Monica.

Dana Slatkin is the author of The Summertime Anytime Cookbook: Recipes From Shutters On The Beach,  published by Random House. Her biography will make your head spin. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the Culinary Institute of Arts in Hyde Park, Dana trained in France, as well as some of the top restaurants in Los Angeles. She is a concert classical pianist as well.

Dana is currently a food consultant, culinary teacher and has just come out with a new line of food products. Most important, she is the mother of three children. Dana’s fabulous  recipes in the Shutter’s cookbook are healthy and feature simple, fresh ingredients. Check out Dana’s website.

– The Gourmet Review