So here’s the thing. These cookies were 100% inspired by lemon lotion. Yes, lotion.
A few weeks ago, a coworker brought an incredible lemon lotion to work. One of the first things I said when I used it was “this smells like lemon cookies”. I’m not even kidding, that lotion made me think of fluffy lemon cookies so I promised my coworkers I would work on a lemon cookie recipe and bring them to work the following week.
These were those cookies.
I was actually surprised with how popular these were at work. Not everyone is lemon obsessed like me (I don’t know why though…) and week after week, brown butter chocolate chip cookies are requested. Not a week goes by without at least one person asking if I’m making them.
These lemon cookies may have changed the minds of few people. If I’m being honest, I’m most surprised that our clinic psychologist ate not one, but two of these. He has incredible self-control and will rarely eat anything I literally throw in his face.
He ate these though. And was borderline effusive about them.
These lemon cookies will impress even your pickiest cookie eaters.
We’re adding lemon zest to our sugar and lemon juice to the dough to really amp up the lemon flavours. And obviously we’re topping the cookies with a lemon glaze for a little more brightness. Dip the tops in the glaze and you’re ready to go!
These cookies won’t spread in the oven, so make sure you pat the dough down with either the palm of your hand or a glass. Otherwise you’ll end up with lemon cookie pebbles. Which is not really what we’re going for.
So. Lot’s of lemon, a lovely soft cookie, and the seal of approval from one of my trickiest taste-testers. Definitely add these cookies to your “to-do” baking list.
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. lemon zest
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4-5 tsp. lemon juice
- yellow food colouring (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, add sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until combined and fragrant.
- Beat the butter and lemon sugar mixture together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice until smooth.
- Slowly beat in flour mixture until blended. Drop dough by tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Gently flatten dough with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are just set and slightly golden brown. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes and transfer to cooking racks. Cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice. If using yellow food colouring, gently swirl it in, but don't mix completely. We want to see both white and yellow in the glaze. Dip each cookie top into the lemon glaze. Let cookies sit until icing has set.
