Zippity-Do-Dah (Lemon-Lime Butter Wafers)

Here is this season's sleeper hit in the cookie department. It even usurped my most popular seasonal cookie to date: the delicious and wildly popular Chocolate Ginger Cookies (recipe coming soon to a sugarlove blog near you.) Light and zippy with a satisfying crunch, these cookies are sure to please. The bonus is that you can prepare the dough ahead of time, refrigerate it for a week, and then slice 'n bake 'n serve!

Lemon-Lime Butter Wafers (adapted from the Best of Fine Cooking Cookies Issue)

2 1/4 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 tsp table salt

1 cup (half pound) unsalted butter softened

1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest (2 large lemons)

1 Tbsp finely grated lime zest

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix the dough:

Sift the four and salt in a medium bowl. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both zests on low until well blended. Add one cup of the sugar in a steady stream and mix for 2 minutes. (You're going to hold back 1/4 cup of the sugar to roll your dough in a bit later). Blend in the lemon juice, lime juice and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add flour in 2 additions, mixing well just until blended.

Shape the dough:

Have ready 2 15 inch sheets of Saran or Glad wrap. Put the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a shallow pan. Shape one half of the dough into a log about 10 inches long and roll thoroughly in the sugar to coat. Position the log on the plastic, roll tightly, twisting the ends of the plastic firmly to seal. The finished log should be about 9 inches long and 1.5 inches thick. Stash in a zip log baggie. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate the log until firm enough to slice about 2 and a half hours or freeze up to 3 months.

Bake the cookies:

Position a rack in the centre of the oven and heat the oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Working with one log at a time, using a sharp thin knife, cut the log into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Set the rounds 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and bake one sheet at a time until lightly browned about 9-10 minutes. Let cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to racks with a thin bladed spatula. When cool, store in an airtight container for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.