My work had a team meeting at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco recently. It's an annual conference that's also one of the most anticipated events on my office calendar. I always look forward to it because it's a chance to connect face to face with global colleagues who are based in North America, Europe and Asia.
The catering at the hotel over the course of the three days was your typical fare, good but not spectacular. However, the one thing I and many others absolutely loved were the lemon tea cookies the Hyatt served during a coffee break. As soon as I took a bite of the soft, tender cookie topped with a thin layer of lemon glaze I knew I had to replicate it at home.
Success all came down to getting the actual cookie, without the glaze, right. The cookie itself reminded me a lot of a black and white in that it's texture was more cake-like. I tried googling "Hyatt lemon tea cookie" in the hopes that someone may have posted the hotel's recipe online, but alas, no such luck and I was left to my own devices.
I ended up tweaking Cook's Country's Black and White Cookie and the results were fantastic. By adding more flour to the recipe I got the thicker cookies I was looking for. I also substituted lemon juice for the vanilla extract, but next time I think I'll use some lemon extract along with grated lemon peel to give it a real citrus punch. The glaze couldn't be simpler, powdered sugar mixed with freshly squeezed lemon juice. I don't think I'm bragging when I say I have a legitimate replica...eat your heart out Hyatt!
