Lemon Lady Locks (Clothespin Cookies)

If there was ever a contest to make a cookie with as many names as possible, lady locks would probably be a shoe in for a win. These little cookies are known by many names... lady locks, clothespin cookies, cream horns, ladyfingers... I'm sure there are nuances to each name variation, but if you're never heard of them, they're a cream filled pastry that is made by wrapping strips of dough around clothespins. These take some time, but if you want to show up to your next cookie exchange with something tasty and different, give these a try.

If this recipe is a little too involved for you during this busy time of year, I've included an alternative recipe I like to call Lazy Lady Locks that help you get a similar result with store bought ingredients.

For the dough, you will need:

2 tablespoons warm water

1 1/8 teaspoon yeast (half a package)

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

pinch of salt

1 egg

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/14 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling, you will need:

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Lemon filling:

1 1/4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon liquid vanilla coffee creamer

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

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Vanilla filling:

2 1/4 tablespoons liquid vanilla coffee creamer

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

For the dough you will need:

2 tablespoons warm water

1 1/8 teaspoon yeast (half a package)

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

pinch of salt

1 egg

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/14 cups all-purpose flour

Combine the warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Let that sit while you measure out the rest of the ingredients. Combine the flour, sugar and salt together and whisk to combine. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the egg, butter, evaporated milk and vanilla. Whisk to break up the butter then add in yeast/water mixture. Add in the flour/salt/sugar mixture a little at a time and combine until a soft, sticky dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

These are called clothespin cookies because they are made by wrapping strips of dough around clothespins before baking. I have heard stories that modern clothespins (with the metal spring wire) may break in the oven so I opted to use my stash of all wooden clothespins. If you are looking for similar clothespins, you can find them at craft stores. If you aren't as married to the idea of using clothespins, you can also use cannoli forms that are readily available on Amazon.

I decided to wrap my clothespins with some aluminum foil before using them in this recipe. Cut a rectangle of foil and place the clothespin toward one end of the foil. Fold the edges over the top and bottom of the clothespin then roll the pin up. I gave each wrapped pin a roll on the counter to smooth out the foil to help ensure the pastry will come off as easily as possible.

Once you are done prepping your forms, get your dough out and break the ball in half. Put the other half of the dough back in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Dust the countertop and rolling pin with flour so your dough doesn't stick. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch by 8 inch strips. I have a pastry cutter but you can use a pizza cutter as well. Take each strip of dough and gently wrap it around a clothespin. Make sure to overlap the dough slightly as you go and start and end your pieces of dough with the end on the bottom of the clothespin.

Line up your cookies on a baking tray. These don't puff up too much so you can place them relatively close together on the tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Let the cookies cool a little bit then pull them off the clothespins. They should come off relatively easily. I used a couple of tongs to help pull off hot cookies but if you let them cool long enough to handle, you can skip the extra tools. Let cool completely before filling.

I made two different fillings. A lemon filling and a vanilla filling. If you want just one flavor, you can double the ingredients on either of the recipes below and just do one.

Lemon filling:

1 1/4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon liquid vanilla coffee creamer

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Drop of yellow food coloring (optional)

Vanilla filling:

2 1/4 tablespoons liquid vanilla coffee creamer

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a mixer and whip until smooth and fluffy.

Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a spiral tip. Pipe frosting into the cookie starting at about the middle then turn the cookie around and pipe from the other side to fill.

Once all the cookies are filled, lightly dust with powdered sugar. I've included a picture of a cookie that didn't get its tail tucked under the bottom of the clothespin so it popped up during cooking (still tasty!).

This recipe makes approximately 65 cookies. Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge, let them come up to room temperature before enjoying!

Lazy Lady Locks

If this all seems a little too involved you can make what I call Lazy Lady Locks with all store bought ingredients. Pick up a package of puff pastry sheets from the frozen section of the store. Take one sheet out at a time and let the dough defrost. Cut the dough into strips and wrap around the forms and bake per package directions. Once the lady locks cool, you can fill with store bought buttercream frosting and dust with powdered sugar. I've made them this way in the past and it's hard to beat the flaky texture of the puff pastry sheets! This is an easy way to get a fancy looking dessert with less effort.