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Sugar cookies are just begging for lemon flavor. The pairing of soft, tender, sweet, and buttery cookie with the light tang of zesty lemon is as natural as chocolate and peanut butter. Now enter these lemon sugar cookies. They’re all the right textures and flavors with a lemon zested sugar crust that takes these over the edge. It’s the absolute perfect cookie to transition into these spring and summer months!
What makes these lemon sugar cookies so good?
This dough is a little unique not only because of the lemon, but how it’s made.
It starts with partially melted butter which isn’t typical to most cookie doughs. But by using butter that’s half melted, you get all the benefits of melted butter (like hand mixing and half-baked texture), but without a long chill time as these cookies sit in the fridge for only 20 minutes before baking.
Next is the amount of water in the dough. By adding lemon juice, this excess water can create a more cakey cookie which just isn’t my style. So instead, we’re removing the egg white and just using an egg yolk. Now, the lemon juice takes the place of the egg white without adding excess water.
Now, cream of tartar is my new favorite cookie ingredient. It’s almost exclusively used in snickerdoodles but I think it’s worthy of most cookies! It not only makes your cookies extra soft and chewy, but the slight tang pairs beautifully with the bright lemon.
Last but not least, the lemon zest sugar. These lemon sugar cookies get an extra hit of lemon on the outside as they’re rolled in a mixture of sugar and lemon zest. The moisture from the zest makes the sugar a little extra crunchy, so each bite has the delicious soft texture on the inside and lightly crisp sugar on the outside.
Lemon Sugar Cookie Baking Tips
Before you start, here’s everything you need to know to get these cookies just right:
- Butter – It’s important not to fully melt the butter here. About 45 seconds in the microwave will leave you with half melted butter and half chunks of soft butter. As you mix it with the sugar, those lumps will easily smooth out to create a creamy base to this dough.
- Flour – I say this time and time again, but make sure to weigh your ingredients if you can. If not, spoon and level your flour when measuring. By this, I mean spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a flat edge. Never scoop directly into the flour as this will pack it down into your cup, leaving you with cakey cookies that don’t spread properly.
- Lemon Sugar – Mix this just before you plan to scoop the cookie dough. As it sits, the moisture from the zest can cause the sugar to harden. You can always break it up with your fingers if you find it’s starting to crust up too much!
- Baking – Pull the cookies from the oven when the edges are barely golden and the center appears puffed and slightly underdone. The cookies will flatten and settle as they cool, leaving you with a perfectly soft and buttery center.
Most importantly, don’t use a dark metal baking sheet! Since these cookies are crusted in sugar and bake into a soft color, a dark metal pan can cause your cookies to darken or burn on the bottom and completely over bake. Instead, use a light metal pan like aluminum or aluminized steel for the best results.
Lemon Sugar Cookies FAQs:
Absolutely! Swap the all-purpose flour with a cup-for-cup gluten-free baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill (the blue bag) or King Arthur measure for measure.
I wouldn’t suggest this! Although it’s a very small amount, this tiny bit really impacts the texture and flavor of these cookies.
I don’t recommend this either! Fresh lemon provides the best flavor. Plus, we already need the zest of fresh lemons so you might as well use the juice from them!
If you need to bake the cookies later, skip the initial 20 minute chill and scoop the cookie dough balls and coat all of them. Then store in a container in the refrigerator where you can bake them a few hours later or a day later. After a day in the refrigerator, transfer to the freezer. Bake time will increase by 1 to 2 minutes for both baking from an extended refrigeration or from frozen. No need to thaw.
They hold up really well! Store in a container at room temperature and they stay nice and soft for up to 4 days.
For more lemon dessert recipes, check out my:
- Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Gooey Lemon Butter Cake
- Iced Lemon Loaf Cake
- Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram or leave a comment below if you make these lemon sugar cookies. I love seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
Watch how to make these lemon sugar cookies!
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Lemon Sugar Cookies
These lemon sugar cookies have everything a good sugar cookie should have – plus the bright and zesty flavor of fresh lemon! They’re rich, tender, soft, buttery, and balanced with lemon zest, juice, and a lemon zest sugar crust. With only 20 minutes to chill the dough, these cookies are ready to eat in under an hour!
- Prep Time 30 minutes
- Cook Time 12 minutes
- Total Time 42 minutes
- Yield 15 cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, sliced
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 1/2 cups (320g) all-purpose flour or gluten-free baking flour, spooned and leveled
Lemon Sugar
- 1/4 (50g) sugar
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Either on the stovetop or in the microwave (30 to 45 seconds), heat the butter until it’s half melted. Give it a good mix to break up those soft butter chunks – it will basically look like cottage cheese. Pour into a large bowl and whisk with the sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg yolk, vanilla, zest, and lemon juice and whisk until creamy.
- Whisk in the salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar to distribute. Switch to a silicone spatula and fold in the flour until it disappears into the dough. Cover the bowl and chill for 20 minutes. (see notes for longer chilling instructions)
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small dish, use your fingers to toss together the lemon sugar ingredients.
- Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons worth), scoop the dough into the lemon sugar and toss to coat. Place 5 to 6 cookies on the baking sheet spaced 4 fingers apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (11 is the sweet spot for me) or until the cookies are domed and puffed with a slightly underdone center.
- Allow to cool on the pan for about a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack where they will settle and flatten. Bake the rest of the batch as directed.
- Once cooled, they’re ready to enjoy!
Equipment
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Buy Now Notes
CHILLING NOTES: If you need to bake the cookies later, skip the initial 20 minute chill and scoop the cookie dough balls and coat all of them. Then store in a container in the refrigerator where you can bake them a few hours later or a day later. After a day in the refrigerator, transfer to the freezer. Bake time will increase by 1 to 2 minutes for both baking from an extended refrigeration or from frozen. No need to thaw.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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