Step 1

Gather all the ingredients first.

Step 2

Cut the unsalted butter into smaller pieces (so that they will soften faster). It’s important to soften (not melt) the butter before we start.

Step 3

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.

Step 4

Add the powder sugar and blend until soft and light. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

Step 5

Sift the cake flour and almond meal into the bowl.

Step 6

Add zest from 3 Meyer lemons. Make sure you just zest the yellow skin, not pith (white bitter part).

Step 7

Add the milk and mix all together with the silicone spatula.

Step 8

At the beginning, the dough is crumbly, but it will come together into a ball.

Step 9

Because the dough will be still too soft to roll into a log shape, take out the dough from the bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Step 10

Take out the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Shape the dough into a cylinder, about 1.5 inches (4 cm) diameter.

Step 11

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours. Optional: you can place the dough on a bed of rice while chilling. It helps the dough in nice cylindrical shape, so your cookie slices won’t be flat on one side.

Step 12

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking liner.

Step 13

Take out the cookie log (dough) from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. In a tray that fits the cookie dough, sprinkle the white sparkling sugar. Roll the cookie log on the sparkling sugar until the log is covered with sugar.

Step 14

The sugar should stick without any issue, but you could wrap the dough with a damp paper towel so that the dough will be slightly wet or brush egg wash on the dough (traditional method).

Step 15

With a sharp knife, slice the dough into 1/3 inches (7 mm)-thick rounds. Place them on the baking sheet, leaving about 1” (2.5 cm) between rounds.

Step 16

Lower the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC) and bake the cookies for about 25 minutes, or until the edge of the cookies start to get golden brown.

Step 17

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; then carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Step 18

If you pack the cookies in an airtight container, they will keep for at least 4 days. You can also freeze the unbaked log of dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting and baking. Do not let the dough fully defrost.