This beautiful Meyer lemon tree was (where we stayed) at the Claiborne Mansion in New Orleans. Cloe gave us a dozen Meyer lemons from this tree and they each are as large as an orange. (See the picture after the rich filled cookie recipe.)
I was newly wed in 1959 and received this recipe from a Jersey Shore girl named Stephanie.
A group of us had moved into the new apartments off Olentangy River Road on Harley Drive, and we all became fast friends. The first time I tasted this cookie, I thought it was the best in the world. I have never given out the recipe until now.
I have more than 100 cookbooks and have yet to see this recipe.
RICH FILLED COOKIES
Makes 2 1/2 to 4 dozen
For the cookies: 5 cups sifted all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter 2 cups sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup sour cream
For the filling: 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup honey 1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon butter 2 to 3 cups shredded coconut
To make the cookies: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth; add eggs and vanilla mix until light.
Mix in sour cream; add flour a little bit at a time — do not over-mix, or the dough will get pucklike.
Refrigerate dough until it is easy to work with, at least 1 hour.
To make the filling: Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes; cool.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
On a floured surface, roll out dough. Using round cookie cutters, cut four dozen large bottoms and four dozen smaller caps.
Fill the large bottoms (center) with some coconut filling and top it with a cap. Cookie top and bottom will meld together in oven. Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until cookies are light golden brown.
Editor’s note: Our tester filled each cookie with 1 teaspoon of filling and had enough to make 30 filled cookies.
