Iced Lemon Cookies
The best lemon cookies ever should taste like a bite if sunshine right? They should be bright, tart, perfectly sweet and chewy. As a lemon lover, I have been trying to make my perfect lemon cookie for awhile and I’ve been testing this one for weeks.
I have a few lemon cookie recipes on the site that I love, but this is by far the best. I love the addition of the lemon glaze which really adds an extra sweet/tart punch.
To give these cookies a bit of a yellow burst, I like to add a little turmeric to my cookie dough. You could add yellow food coloring if you prefer, but I find turmeric to be virtually flavorless and a nice natural option.
Why make these cookies:
- They are easy to throw together and the dough can last in the freezer for weeks until you’re ready to bake.
- They are bursting with lemon flavor
- They have the perfect chewy texture
- It’s an all around great recipe that everyone raves about when I bring these cookies to events and functions!
Ingredients needed for Glazed Lemon Cookie recipe:
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh lemon zest
- Fresh lemon juice
- Egg yolks
- Turmeric (for color)
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Cream of tartar
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
Supplies needed to make these Lemon Cookies:
- Mixing bowls
- Cookie sheets
- Parchment paper or silicone mat
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Digital scale (I highly recommend using one so your cookies turn out perfectly every time!)
The process:
- In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a larger mixing bowl cream together the sugars, lemon zest, and butter. Add in the lemon juice, turmeric, and egg yolks and mix until smooth.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients until well combined.
- The cookie dough may appear crumbly, but it should easily smush together with your hands.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and scoop/roll the dough into 18 equal dough balls.
- Bake at 350F until the tops of the cookies are crackly and the edges just start to turn golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
- In a small bowl mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice until a thick icing has formed. (Always start with less lemon juice and add more as needed.)
- Once cooled, the top of the cookies into the sweet lemon icing and let it firm up on the wire rack.
- Cookies will last at room temp in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or in the fridge for a week!
Other favorite lemon desserts:
Iced Lemon Cookies
Yield:
18 large cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 g)
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed (150 g)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (170 g)- 1.5 sticks
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 ml)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (for color- optional)
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (330 g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-3 tablespoons of lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugars and lemon zest.
- Add in the lemon juice and egg yolks, and turmeric if using and mix until well-combined.
- In a small bowl stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients into the cookie dough gradually.
- The dough will appear crumbly, but it should easily smush together with your hands.
- Roll or scoop the dough into 18 equal sized balls.
- Freeze dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat. Place rack in the top half of the oven.
- Space cookie dough balls 2-3 inches from each other and bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are beautifully cracked on top and the edges are set.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
- For the glaze: Stir together 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and powdered sugar- adding more lemon juice gradually as needed until your glaze is thick and smooth.
- Dip the tops of cooled cookies into the glaze and sprinkle with lemon zest if desired.