Lemon Cookie Recipe I
A lemon cookie recipe that makes a soft, cake-like lemon cookie that’s not too sweet and has a gentle burst of lemon flavor.
Lemon Cookies I
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (softened)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 2 tsp lemon extract (optional)
- 3 tbsp lemon zest (zest of 3 lemons)
- ½ cup lemon juice (juice of 3 lemons)
Instructions
- Cream butter, sugars, and egg in a large bowl until fluffy
- Incorporate salt, baking soda, and flour, combining fully
- Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract
- Chill dough while preheating oven to 350°F
- Get out 2 non-stick baking sheets or use a silpat on your baking sheets
- Roll dough into balls and place on baking sheets, each ball about 1½ – 2 inches apart
- Bake for about 10 minutes, taking care to not let the edges brown – a sign the bottoms may be overcooking
- Let cool before serving
Lemon Cookie Crumbs
Appearances may be deceiving. This cookie is of natural color and flavors, its color coming from the egg and brown sugar. Flecks of lemon zest peak through to provide hints of the lemony flavor contained therein.
The cookie has a cake-like texture and softness that isn’t quite what people expect. It doesn’t have the density of a shortbread, nor the consistency of most lemon sugar cookies. It does maintain a lovely lemon taste that’s perfect for spring and summer.
Notes and Light Modifications
Double down on fresh flavor by removing the extract and increasing the lemon zest and juice quantities (be sure to increase flour if you add more liquid to a recipe).
Alternatively, make the flavor obvious from afar for picnics and picky eaters. Add a dash of yellow food coloring to nudge the appearance towards a hue reminiscent of daffodils, dahlias, and daylight. Topping the cookies with a vibrantly colored icing or yellow sprinkles could also do the trick.
While this lemon cookie recipe can stand alone, adding a light coating of a lemon glaze would not be amiss. A lemon glaze can be created by combining 1/4 cup of powdered sugar with a tbsp or two of lemon juice or, for an adult crowd, limoncello.
Love lemons? Check out these other fun lemon dessert recipes.