I love all kinds of cookies, but traditional sugar cookies with frosting have never been my favorite. I am just not a frosting gal. (I am sure if you put a frosted sugar cookie in front of me, I would eat it, but they just aren’t my favorite.) I do adore Lemon Sugar Cookies-they are soft, chewy, and rolled in sugar. These cookies are simple, elegant, and perfect for spring.
The recipe includes lemon zest and fresh lemon juice so the cookies have a delightful lemon flavor. The cookies are soft and chewy in the middle with slightly crisp edges. Even though the cookies are “sugar” cookies and rolled in sugar, they aren’t overly sweet-making it easy to eat cookie after cookie:)
Ring in spring with a batch of Lemon Sugar Cookies. They are light, refreshing, and the perfect treat for a sunny day.
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Zest of 2 large lemons
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar, for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add lemon zest, egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Mix until combined. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
- Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets, about 1 ½ inches apart.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are slightly brown around the edges and set. Let cookies sit on the baking sheets for two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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If you like these Lemon Sugar Cookies, you might also like:
Lemon Buttermilk Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod
Lemon Cloud Tea Cookies from Joy the Baker
Glazed Lemon Cookies from Cafe Johnsonia
Lemon Burst Cookies from Brown Eyed Baker
YES! This is the recipe I’ve been looking for! If you don’t have silicone mats, you can just lightly oil a traditional cookie sheet (or the bottom of a large rectangular cake pan) and lightly dust with flour.
@ Jenny, if you used margarine or other vegetable spread instead of real butter, they will melt into each other like that.
I am on a strict cleanse and I adapted this recipe to fit my diet. It was incredibly delicious and I really felt like I was cheating! I substituted the Perfect Flour Blend (gluten free AND whole grain brown rice) for AP flour and Xylitol for sugar, all equal substitions. Amazing!
Just delcious. Amything lemon, one of my faves this. Thanks .
Simon
Maria:
I finally got around to baking these Lemon Sugar Cookies. Mine were Lemon-Lime with freshly grated peel mixed with the sugar. Excellent cookies – better than the Cook’s Illustrated recipe! Looked just like the photos. Perfect! I plan on making an Orange-Cardamom version as well as Vanilla Bean. Easy, too!
I will have to try a lemon and lime version! Glad you like the recipe!
Also – I used a #40 Cookie Scoop – a little larger than 1 tbsp. Took about 12 minutes in the oven.
These are one of my husband’s favorites. So delicious.
Can I freeze this cookie dough? How long will it keep in the freezer?
Can this be made with shortening as my son has a dairy allergy?
Mine ended up a bit flat, for some reason. But they tasted amazing. So lemony. Will be trying different variations to see if I can get them to stay fluffy.
My Husband got home hooked on anything lemon but he’s pretty picky when it comes to lemon desserts and I have tried many lemon cookie recipes and all didn’t quite fit the bill (either too sweet, too dry etc) but these are PERFECT! They are not too sweet and have a much more real lemony taste than other lemon cookies. They are the perfecy tart, sweet and fresh
Enjoying these cookies right now. Recipe is a keeper!