If you're a big fan of girls with guns, you've probably heard of this one already, but I'll mention it just in case; the aptly-named Gunslinger Girl might be up your ally. There is no pretension of yuri (nor het) whatsoever, mind you, but it has a very similar concept to Lycoris Recoil of orphan girls becoming government assassins who fight terrorism. Unlike Lycoris Recoil, it's much darker in tone and takes itself seriously, but I found that it had an actually engaging plot that was capable of turning on the waterworks.
I second this. It was a series I avoided for a time because it looked like it was going to be all Loli girls (especially knowing some of the other thing Yu Aida worked on). But it ended up being quite amazing. There's a bit of het crush--especially later in the books, less so in the parts covered in the anime--but it's addressed really well. The quality of the story is excellent, and many tears were shed.
Re: Lycoris Recoil -- I get where people are calling it yuri bait, but I guess I was able to enjoy it because it never felt to me like there was going to be anything between them. Maybe because Chisato reminded me too much of Hikari from Amanchu. (Cue saltiness.)