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Lemon Cookies
Published December 11, 2024
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Lemon Cookies – a melt in your mouth soft and cake-like, lemon infused cookie topped with a vibrantly lemony, sweet icing finish. A completely enjoyable treat meant to be served year round!
Homemade Lemon Cookies
This is a splendidly flavorful, inviting cookie that’s bright and cheery during the blistery winter season, yet it’s also a cookie fit for those warm summer months where you’ll find them reminiscent of a refreshing summer lemonade.
They are fun to finish by decorating them how you like, you can drizzle icing in zigzag patterns over the top or take a spoonful and make a simple circle atop them. And no one said sprinkles are wrong either. However you finish them just don’t leave the icing off, it’s critical to the abundant lemony flavor of the cookie (as this portion of the cookie calls for the most lemon juice).
If you like a more noticeably yellow cookie simply add a little natural yellow food coloring to the dough to mimic the hues of those sunny lemon peels. It won’t affect the taste but I think we tend to eat with our eyes first so a little yellow addition is a nice touch if you have it.
Lemon Cookies Recipe Ingredients
All purpose flour: A critical ingredient that builds the base of the cookie. I use unbleached all-purpose flour.
Baking powder and baking soda: The combination of the two makes them spread less and creates a puffier cookie.
Salt: This balances the sweetness of the cookie.
Granulated sugar: What would cookies be without the sugar? It adds sweetness while also improving texture of the cookies.
Unsalted butter: Salted butter will work as well just omit the salt from the recipe.
Lemons: You use both the lemon zest and lemon juice for the recipe. Zest before cutting and juicing.
Vanilla extract: This is compliments the lemon flavor.
Powdered sugar: This super fine sugar creates a smooth, sweet finish for the cookies.
How to Make Lemon Cookies
Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Cream sugar, butter and zest: In a separate large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer blend together granulated sugar, butter and lemon zest until combined then increase speed to high and whip for about 1 minute until it’s slightly pale and fluffy.
Add eggs and flavoring: Mix in egg and egg yolk, then blend in 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice and the vanilla extract (mixture may look a little separated because of the acidity that’s okay).
Optional step, tint dough: For a more yellow cookie add a little bit of natural yellow food coloring.
Blend in flour mixture: Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape down bowl and fold dough with a spatula a few times to ensure it’s evenly combined. Spread dough out even.
Chill dough: Chill cookie dough in fridge for 45 to 60 minutes until it’s not so sticky to work with (chilling will also help the cookies spread less).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees during last 10 minutes of chilling cookies.
Roll cookie dough, bake: Line rimmed 18 by 13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop dough out about 1 1/2 Tbsp each (28g) and roll into a ball (they should be about the size of a golf ball).
Transfer 12 cookie dough balls to prepared baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. Keep remaining dough chilled.
Make the icing, drizzle over cookies: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice.
Pour mixture into a resealable bag, seal bag and cut a small tip off one corner then drizzle glaze over cookies. Allow glaze to set at room temperature.
Storing Lemon Cookies
- Let glaze set before storing cookies.
- Keep them in an airtight container so they don’t dry out.
- They can be kept at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for 6 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
- Store cookies in a single layer or with parchment paper between layers.
Freezing Dough
Lemon cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight before using. Flatten cookie dough balls (since they’ll be well chilled) so they’ll spread as they should.
Helpful Tips
Fresh lemon: For the best, brightest and freshest flavor use fresh lemon juice in the recipe not bottled, and fresh zest rather than dried. For a super lemony cookie you could add a little lemon extract.
To zest the lemon: You’ll need a rasp grater to zest the lemon don’t use a cheese grater or you’ll end up with portions of the bitter white pith of the peel in the cookies which will ruin their flavor.
Cookies spreading: If you want cookies that spread less and are puffier don’t flatten dough balls before baking, if you want a larger flatter cookie flatten the cookie dough balls before baking.
Why chill cookie dough: For this recipe chilling was to help the cookie dough be less sticky and easier to manage. If you skip it you could use a cookie scoop just note that cookies will be flatter.
Icing consistency: You can adjust the icing consistency by adding more lemon juice to make it runnier as needed, or to make it thicker add a little more powdered sugar as needed.
Can You Make Lemon Cookies without Lemon Zest?
You can make lemon cookies without lemon zest they just won’t be quite as fresh tasting. To do so replace the 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest with 1/2 tsp lemon extract.
More Bright Lemon Desserts to Make
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
- Lemon Cream Pie Bars
- Lemon Ricotta Cake
- Lemon Sheet Cake
