Lemon Sugar Cookies {easy}
Sweet and bright lemon is the ultimate pick-me-up; that’s why lemon is the perfect upgrade from classic sugar cookies! Treat yourself to a ray of sunshine anytime you need it with this delicious recipe for Easy Lemon Sugar Cookies!
Let’s face it, sugar cookies are boring! Or they used to be before these sunny delights came along! These incredibly easy treats restore the good name of sugar cookies with their irresistible citrus flavor and fun process!
There is nothing like baking a fresh batch of cookies with the family and this is the perfect fun and easy recipe; just don’t expect these Lemon Sugar Cookies to stick around long when they come out of the oven!
🥘 Ingredients
- Butter: Try to choose unsalted butter for these treats, but if all you is salted don’t fret. Compensate by cutting out the salt added later in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar
- Baking Powder: A leavening agent that helps the sugar cookies to rise.
- Salt: A little sodium makes sweet foods taste fresher and more vibrant.
- Egg: This staple ingredient binds and leavens the cookies so they have a beautiful texture throughout.
- Flour: Choose cake flour for an easy and delicious chew.
- Lemon Zest: Zest contains so much yummy citrus flavor, so just a touch makes the cookies really bright! Plus, zesting the lemon makes it easier to juice!
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Remember to juice the lemon over a strainer or use a citrus reamer. That way, no seeds get into the lemon juice.
- Orange Zest: The sweet citrus flavor of orange zest complements the zippy, tart taste of lemon to make a balanced and bright cookie.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Step One: Zest the lemons and orange.
Step Two: Cream the butter and sugar.
Step Three: Mix in the whole egg, salt, lemon juice, citrus zest, baking powder, and a spoonful of flour.
Step Four: Min in the remaining flour until fully incorporated.
Step Five: Fill the piping bag with dough and line a baking sheet.
Step Six: Pipe the cookies into lovely shapes by moving the piping bag in small, gentle up-and-down movements five times per cookie. Repeat this process until all the cookies are piped.
Step Seven: Bake until golden brown. Cool and enjoy!
🍋 Substitutions
If you want to make a fun adult rendition of this simple recipe for your next book club or cocktail party, try trading the lemon juice for Limoncello! It adds an exciting alcoholic citrus zing to these vibrant bites.
🍽 Equipment
- Lined Baking Sheet: Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats so you’re ready to bake!
- Electric Mixer: Make things easier on yourself by using an electric mixer. Don’t despair if you don’t have one, just get ready for a great arm workout when you hand-mix these treats!
- Bowl
- Piping Bag and Wilton Tip 4B: To make beautifully uniform cookies, have a piping bag and tip ready.
- Fine grinder or Microplane zester
💭 Top tips
The citrus zest is what gives these cookies their awesome flavor, but be careful when zesting. The colorful outer layer of the fruit, or flavedo, is where the best flavor is. Only zest as far as this layer. Try to avoid zesting the white inner peel as it is bitter.
Once the flour is added, the dough can become challenging to mix in a mixer. That’s okay! Take the dough out and knead the remaining flour in by hand.
I like to use a star tip and an up-and-down motion to create a texture in the cookies. If you’re not confident in your piping, you can do simple circles or stars. No matter the shape, these cookies will taste great!
Sugar cookies may look a little blonde when they’re fully baked. Check the edges. They should be done if the outer edge and bottom are nicely brown.
🙋🏻 FAQ
No! If you don’t have a piping bag, try a cookie press, or keep things simple and scoop the cookies right onto the sheet!
This makes about sixty cookies when I pipe them, but I like to make them bite-sized. If you pipe yours larger you will have a slightly lower yield.
Since this recipe makes so many sweet treats you will need to store the spares. Keep them in an airtight container or bag on the countertop for up to five days.
There is no limit to how you enjoy these tasty treats! These cookies are incredible with an afternoon tea or they make a great after-school snack! They’re perfect for cookie swaps, parties, or just because, and they taste amazing with berries, nuts, cheese, or ice cream.
Other Recipes for You to Try
- Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No-bake Lemon Cheesecake
- Gin and Tonic with Lemon
- New Year’s Lemon Punch
- Lavender Lemon Muffins
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Easy Lemon Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Fine grinder or microplane zester
- Baking pan
- Hand or stand mixer
- Bowl
- Parchment paper/silicone mat
Ingredients
- 4.4 oz Butter room temperature
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Eggs
- ¼ tsp Salt
- Lemon juice from ½ lemon or 4 tsp / 20 ml of Limoncello liquor
- Lemon zest from 1.5 lemons
- Orange zest from ½ orange
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- 8.8 oz Cake flour 2 cups
Instructions
- Using a fine grinder or a microplane zester, zest the lemons and the orange. Make sure to zest only the top layer of the fruit (flavedo) and not the white part of the peel since it is bitter.
- Using a mixer, combine 4.4 oz Butter(room temperature) and ½ cup Granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes, starting at medium speed and gradually going to high speed.4.4 oz Butter, ½ cup Granulated sugar
- Mix while adding 1 Eggs, ¼ tsp Salt, Lemon juice (or limoncello), Lemon zest and Orange zest, ½ tsp Baking powder, and 8.8 oz Cake flour (by the spoonful.)1 Eggs, ¼ tsp Salt, Lemon juice , Lemon zest , Orange zest, ½ tsp Baking powder, 8.8 oz Cake flour
- If the dough becomes too tough for your mixer, mix the rest of the flour by kneading it with your hands, making sure to stop as soon as the flour gets incorporated into the dough evenly.
- Fill the dough into a piping bag with a Wilton 4B tip.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Start piping those yummy cookies on the prepared sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 C / 356 F until they brown.
Notes
Nutrition
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⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For further information, check Safe Food Handling – FDA.
I love lemon in cookies, they gives wonderful taste. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thank you so much, Swathi! I am so happy you liked them!