Lemon Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipes

LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars and oil until blended. Beat in eggs and extract. Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; stir into butter mixture (dough will be stiff)., Roll into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press with bottom of a glass dipped in water, then in sugar. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

LEMON VANILLA SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Put the butter, granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches and mix until just combined.
• Scoop the dough with a 2-ounce cookie scoop, filling it fully with the dough. Then shape it into a straight-sided patty (like a hockey puck) that is 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Put the formed cookie on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat to make 7 to 8 more cookies and making sure there is at least 1 inch of space around each cookie on the baking sheet.
• Bake until the cookies have spread out and flattened by about half and the bottoms are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through the cooking time. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• Flip your cookies upside down so the flattest side is up. Use the yellow icing to make a thin line around the edge of each cookie. Then make 2 loops around the interior of the yellow border with the white icing and use a toothpick to fill in any gaps between the two colors. Fill in the middle space with the yellow icing and then make a circle with the white directly in the center. Immediately use a scribe or toothpick to lightly drag from the edge of the cookie to the middle to create the segments of your lemon. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
• Let the icing dry and crust over or serve immediately.

LEMON COOKIES FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Cream sugar, butter, and lemon zest together in a large bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Combine eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a cup; mix using a fork until combined. Beat into egg mixture slowly on low speed.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add to egg mixture slowly on low speed until just combined. Do not overbeat; dough will be sticky. Cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes; it will still be sticky after chilling.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Form dough into balls using a cookie scoop or tablespoon and roll each in powdered sugar. Place onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Lightly smash each ball down using your hand.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the middle of each cookie is just barely set, 11 to 12 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack completely before storing in an airtight container.

LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, pudding mix, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl; set aside.
• Combine white sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed to release oils of lemon zest into sugar, and until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add melted butter and mix on medium speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix on medium-low speed until just combined (be sure not to overmix), about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and mix for 2 more seconds.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) with racks on upper and lower third of oven. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar on a shallow plate and set aside. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove cookie dough from refrigerator and scoop with a spoon or ice-cream scoop into 2 1/2 ounce balls. Roll with hands to form an even ball and roll in sugar. Place about 1 1/2-inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
• Place baking sheets on upper and lower racks and bake until cookies have spread, are starting to crackle on top, and are golden brown around the edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating pans and switching racks halfway through. Remove and let cool slightly on baking sheets, about 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.