Tucked away on the back of the Oceanic Hotel, to the side of the kitchen, and with amazing sunset views, our island bakery bustles with activity throughout the day. Our team of bakers work to fill our stomachs, and also our hearts. The most pleasant smells waft from the bakery throughout the kitchen and outside over the truck trestle. At appointed times, the bakery’s counter fills with bowls of sweet rolls, baskets of chewey cookies, and trays of delicate cupcakes. And when the island is at capacity, the bakery is creating these delicious treats for about 300 people at a time.

Knowing that most people stay on the island for just a week at a time, there are 51 other weeks during the year that you must be pining for Star Island baked goods. To help meet your needs, here’s one dessert that is of particular note as it is our Food Service Manager’s favorite: Lemon Sugar Cookies.

Please note, the recipe below will make enough cookies for 300 people.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Wet Ingredients
22 1/2 cups of sugar
15 cups of butter
23 eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla
2 cups of lemon juice

Dry Ingredients
2.5 gallons of flour
1/4 cup + 1/2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons + 3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of salt
Zest from 30 lemons

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs until well blended. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix for a minute.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients until well blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three stages, mixing until combined.

Using an ice cream scoop to get uniform size, scoop out the dough leaving a two inch gap in between. Bake for 12 minutes, or until just golden on the edges.

Let cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a coooling rack.

Find 300 friends and eat some cookies!