Classic sugar cookies laced with lemon zest and dipped in a tart lemon icing.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time12 minutesmins
Icing dry time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr42 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Lemon Drop Sugar Cookies, Lemon Iced Sugar Cookies, Lemon Mascarpone Frosting, Lemon Sugar Cookies
Servings: 20cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar Cookies
1/2c(1 stick) butter, softened
1cgranulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1large egg
3/4tspvanilla extract
2call-purpose flour
1/2tspcream of tartar
1/2tspbaking soda
1/2tspbaking powder
1/4tspsalt
6Tvegetable oil
Lemon Icing
2cpowdered sugar
3-4Tlemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
Instructions
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and lemon zest, rubbing them together with your fingers until fully combined.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and lemon-zested sugar until well combined and beginning to get a bit fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Continue beating on low speed. Add flour mixture a little at a time, alternating with the vegetable oil until both are added and fully incorporated.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten the balls slightly with your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until tops are set and bottom edges are beginning to brown slightly. Let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then move to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before adding icing.
Lemon Icing
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Icing should be nice and thick: If you drizzle it into the bowl, it should hold its shape a bit before sinking back into the rest of the icing.
Dip the top of each cookie into the icing, allowing as much of the extra to drip off as possible. Then place the cookies back on the cooling rack. Allow the icing to dry out for about 1 hour*.Once they're dry enough to put in a container, refrigerate them overnight to really set the glaze. Or eat them all right away. It's up to you.
Notes
*Let them sit out for an hour for sure, maybe two. Don't go too much longer than that though, or the cookies will dry out.