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!
WHAT YOU NEED Lemon Sugar Cookies unsalted butter granulated sugar vanilla extract egg yolk kosher salt baking soda cream of tartar zest of 1 lemon lemon juice all-purpose flour or gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour Lemon Sugar granulated sugar zest of 1/2 lemon
1. 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. 2. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, zest, and lemon juice and whisk until creamy. 3. 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.
4. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 5. In a small dish, use your fingers to toss together the lemon sugar ingredients. 6. 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.
7. 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. 8. 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. 9. Once cooled, they’re ready to enjoy!