Lemon sugar Cookies
Soft, bright and tart lemon sugar cookies with an optional lemon glaze that soaks into the cookie for a stronger lemon flavor.
What to Expect:
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Chill Time: 12 hours | Cook Time: 13 minutes | Total Time: 12 hours 28 minutes
Yield: 15 cookies
This lemon sugar cookie recipe is kind of a “choose your own adventure” cookie.
The cookies themselves have a bright but respectful lemon flavor that can be enhanced by an optional tart lemon glaze that’s basically straight lemon juice and powdered sugar.
Like a more subtle flavor? Omit the glaze.
Love lemon? You should definitely add the glaze.
Choose your own adventure!
What You’ll Find in This Post
Feel free to jump to what you need!
- What You’ll Need (Ingredients and Equipment)
- How to Make Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Why You Need to Chill Sugar Cookie Dough
What You’ll Need for Lemon Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Lemon Zest and Juice
- Large Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Kosher Salt
- Baking Powder
For the optional glaze:
- Lemon Juice
- Powdered Sugar
- Kosher Salt
Necessary Tools and Equipment
These cookies are pretty straightforward! They can be made entirely by hand, no special equipment required – in fact, that’s the way I recommend making them.
You’ll need two medium-sized mixing bowls (one for dry ingredients and another for wet ingredients), something to zest a lemon with, something to juice the lemon with, and a small cookie scoop.
How to Make Lemon Sugar Cookies
I use melted butter in this recipe because I find it to be easier, requires less equipment, and provides more consistent results for new bakers.
- Whisk together your dry ingredients
- Combine the butter and sugar (we use sugar that’s been combined with lemon zest in this recipe)
- Add the eggs to the butter and sugar
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
- Scoop and chill the dough
- Bake!
- Optional: add the bonus flavor glaze
Why You Need to Chill Sugar Cookie Dough
There are definitely sugar cookie recipes out there that don’t require chilling the dough – and sometimes that’s exactly what you need!
This recipe however does require you to chill the cookie dough. I know chilling them overnight (12+ hours) feels excessive, but I promise it’s worth it!
Chilling the cookie dough accomplishes a couple of things: it gives the flavor time to meld and it also allows for the dough to properly hydrate.
The result is cookies that are flavorful, even in size and spread beautifully.
If you make these lemon sugar cookies, be sure to let me know your thoughts and how they turn out! Be sure to tag me @ficklebea on Instagram so that I can see what you make.
PrintLemon Sugar Cookies
Soft, bright and tart lemon sugar cookies with an optional lemon glaze that soaks into the cookie for a stronger lemon flavor.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 12 hours 28 minutes
- Yield: 15 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour*
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest (the zest from approximately two lemons)
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter – melted
1 Egg – large
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Optional Glaze
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar – sifted to remove any lumps
4 Tablespoons lemon juice (the juice from 1 lemon, give or take)
2 three-finger pinches of Kosher Salt
Instructions
Making the Cookies
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour (1.5 cups), kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon), and baking powder (1/2 teaspoon). Whisk until fully combined, about 1 minute. These are your “dry ingredients.”
- In a separate medium-sized bowl, add the granulated sugar (3/4 cup) and lemon zest (2 Tablespoons). Using a fork or your fingers, mix them together, making sure the zest gets evenly dispersed through the sugar and the oils from the lemon zest start to mix with the sugar. It should be quite fragrant once it’s combined.
- Add the melted butter (8 Tablespoons) to the lemon sugar and whisk until there are no dry sugar patches left.
- Add the egg (1), vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), lemon extract (1 teaspoon), and lemon juice (1 Tablespoon) to the bowl of sugar and butter and whisk together until everything is combined and there are no shiny egg streaks.
These are your “wet ingredients.” - Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently stir with a stiff spatula or wooden spoon until there are no dry patches in the dough. The dough will be quite soft, but it will firm up as it rests.
- Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough and place the portions on a plate or tray lined with parchment paper and store covered in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit (yes that feels low, but trust the process).
- Place the chilled cookie dough on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper, about two inches apart. If you need to bake the cookies in batches, keep any extra dough covered in the fridge until it’s ready to go into the oven.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies will be pretty soft when the come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
Optional Glaze
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before making and adding the glaze.
- Add the powdered sugar (3/4 cup), lemon juice (4 Tablespoons), and kosher salt (2 three-finger pinches) to a small bowl (small, but about 2-3 inches wider than your widest cookie) and stir to combine. It will separate as it sits, so just give it a little stir whenever you see this happening.
- Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze and allow the cookies to rest until the glaze settles into the cookie. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are no longer shiny and the top of the cookie is not sticky to the touch.
- Enjoy 🙂
Please leave a review by visiting the recipe on ficklebeabakehouse.com!
Notes
* For the most consistent results, measure your flour the following way: whisk or stir your flour with a spoon, spoon the flour into your measuring cup, and level off the top of the flour with the back of a knife or the handle of a piece of cutlery.
To help with your grocery shopping, I’ve listed the ingredients for this recipe below and organized them by where they can generally be found in the grocery store:
Produce
- Lemons
Dairy
- Unsalted Butter
- Eggs
Pantry
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Lemon Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Kosher Salt
- Baking Powder
- Powdered Sugar (if making the glaze)
Jane says
These are perfect for so many occasions and a lovely addition to holiday desserts.
Sierra says
Hey Jane! Thanks so much for your review 🙂 Glad you liked them!