Lemon Sugar Cookies

These lemon sugar cookies have a delicious sunshine-y lemon flavor with a chewy texture. They're rolled in sugar to give the cookies a nice crunch around the edges for the perfect sugar cookie texture. These cookies are great for spring or whenever you're craving a buttery, chewy cookie that's simple, elegant and just a little special.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Lemon Sugar Cookies

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Total Time 1

Servings cookies

Calories 135kcal

Author Fiona Dowling

Equipment

Cookie Sheets

Ingredients

2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (344 grams)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar (267 grams)
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) softened slightly & cut into cubes
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk discard the white
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract
⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 grams) for rolling the cookie balls in

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line cookie sheets with baking paper or silicone baking mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, pinch together the 1 ⅓ cup sugar and lemon zest. Essentially, you want to rub the lemon zest into the sugar - you only need to do this for about 30 seconds.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter with the sugar and lemon zest mixture.
Beat in the egg, additional egg yolk, vanilla extract and lemon extract.
Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, starting with the mixer on a low speed and gradually increasing to medium speed until combined.
Pour the ⅓ cup granulated sugar onto a small plate. Spoon the dough into balls with about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of dough each and roll each dough ball in the sugar.
Place the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets.
Bake 1 sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for about 9-11 minutes, or until the tops look set. Cool on the cookie tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Notes

Flour: Measure flour carefully, otherwise the cookies will be dry and thick. Use a scale and weigh in grams for the most accurate results. Otherwise, whisk first. Then spoon into a dry measuring cup and level off the top.
Lemon Extract: Lemon extract can be found in the baking aisle near the vanilla extract. It can also be substituted with 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. If using lemon juice, the lemon flavor of the cookies won't be quite as prominent.
Storage: Store baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Cookies are always best when fresh.
Freezing: Cookie dough balls and be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Do not thaw. Bake from frozen, as directed in the recipe. They'll likely need 1-2 extra minutes.
Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cookie rolled in sugar, assuming the recipe yields 32 uniform cookies.

Nutrition