Got Milk 5: Old Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies

So.
In 2005, I was involved in a cookie exchange with some friends that I had made through the Cooking Light community bulletin boards.  It was one of the only cookie exchanges that I have ever done, and probably one of the most fancy I will ever be involved in.  I agreed to make the Rum Balls from that year's Martha Stewart holiday cookie magazine.  Essentially, you made a really rich brownie which you broke up and put into the mixer while still warm with good quality rum to make a paste that I rolled in ground pecans. Yum.
I have had that cookie magazine ever since.  In flipping through it, I discovered that I have not made another recipe from it until now (do you notice a theme with me, cooking magazines and the lack of things I make?  I certainly do).  J and I wanted cookies, so I went looking for something new and different.
The closeup of these cookies was intriguing.  You could see the sanding sugar standing out on the tops of these cookies.  I was sure it would add an interesting crunch.  I was also interested in the fact that it didn't make a huge batch with a yield of 20 (I got 21 cookies).  I just happened to have a bottle of King Arthur Flour Sparkling White Sugar in the cupboard that I had received as a part of a Christmas gift.  This would be a perfect way to use it!
I present to you now from the Martha Stewart 2005 Cookies magazine, Old Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1-3/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 c butter, softened
2 large eggs
Sanding sugar for dipping

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, lemon zest and sugars until light and fluffy.   Mix in eggs, one at a time, followed by lemon juice.  With mixer on low, stir in flour mixture until just combined.
3.  Using a 2" scoop, portion cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving room for spreading cookies.  Flatten tops of dough portions slightly, and dip in sanding sugar.
4.  Bake cookies at 350F for 15 minutes, until golden.  Cool on cookie sheets 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

From Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies, 2005

As you can see, I really didn't flatten the cookies all that much.  I experimented with a little more and a little less flattening, and it didn't really matter.  I got 8 cookies on a sheet.  They really spread out.  And they make really big cookies.

After flattening, I just picked up the dough and dunked one side of it in the sugar in a shallow bowl.  Martha sprinkled with sugar, brushed with a wet pastry brush and then sprinkled with sugar again.  I figured one dip would be sufficient.

But aren't they pretty?  It's a subtle lemon flavour, and they're just a little chewy.  So good with a cup of tea!  And one is by far enough.