I want to make buttery lemon cookies. I started with a recipe from a
magazine. I can't remember which one, but the recipe seemed fairly
standard consisting of butter creamed with sugar, egg, vanilla, flour,
lemon zest. These were refrigerator cookies so the dough was rolled
into a log and refrigerated overnight. I was pleased with the result as
far as ease of preparation, texture, butteriness, crumb. They didn't
have the intense lemon flavor I was hoping for.

I decided to make them again tripling the amount of grated lemon zest.
I couldn't find the recipe I used the first time (had written it on a
scrap of paper in the library) so I used the recipe for refrigerator
cookies in Joy of Cooking tripling the lemon zest. The dough is in the
refrigerator as we speak.

Question: To get an intense lemon flavor on the cookies, instead of
pressing them in granulated sugar before baking, might I brush them with
lemon juice mixed with sugar? I'm thinking the flavor would be right,
but I'm worried about them burning on top. Or is there some other
reason not to do this that I haven't thought of? I've got 3 naked
lemons sitting in my fridge with no zest on them.

--Lia