These lemon cookies are crispy on the outside with chewy centers. They have a bold lemon flavor with hints of vanilla. Serve them drizzled with lemon glaze or lemon buttercream frosting for a bright and irresistible cookie you'll make on repeat.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light (about 1 minute).
Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined.
Add lemon zest, flour, baking soda and salt and beat until combined.
Transfer dough to an airtight container and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Use a 1 ½ TBS cookie scoop to measure out portions of dough, roll them into balls and place them evenly spaced on the two baking sheets (about 8 per sheet). Repeat until all the dough is used.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the top is just set and the cookies crinkle a little.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze:
Measure powdered sugar into a medium bowl.
Add lemon juice, milk and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
Dip the cooled cookies into the glaze and let them sit at room temperature until hardened (or to speed up this process toss them in the refrigerator).
Enjoy!
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Notes
Note: you can also bake the cookies at 375 for 8-9 minutes until the top is set and the edges are just barely browned. This results in a little thicker cookie.Ingredient Substitutions
All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version substitute a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
Fine sea salt. Use fine (not coarse) sea salt. If using iodized table salt, decrease the amount by half.
Salted Butter. Unsalted butter can be used in place of salted butter.
Granulated sugar. I recommend using organic cane sugar or regular white sugar.
Lemon Juice. Bottled or freshly squeezed are both great choices.
Lemon Zest. this is optional, but it intensifies the lemon flavor quite a bite!
StoreOnce the glaze has hardened, store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. I prefer to store them in a single layer so the glaze doesn't get cracked.Freeze
Freeze the dough before baking. Simply portion out the dough and roll it into balls. Then place it on a baking sheet and flash-freeze the balls until hardened. Once hardened, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container until you're ready to bake.
To bake: remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions. This is my preferred method, because you can bake them fresh when you're ready to enjoy them.
Freeze baked cookies. To freeze baked cookies, let them cool to room temperature. Then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To thaw: let the cookies sit out at room temperature until thawed. You can also warm them in the oven set to 250 degrees F, in a baking dish covered with foil (or a lid) until warmed through.