This post was created as in partnership with Imperial Sugar. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
These soft, chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies are so light and sweet and lemony good! If you love lemon desserts or cookies, you will adore these easy lemon cookies.
Spring and summer are our favorite seasons for lemon desserts. They are just so bright and refreshing! Some of our other favorite lemon recipes are Fresh Squeezed Homemade Lemonade, Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, and Lemon Tarragon Pasta Salad.
Lemon Sugar Cookies
I love lemony treats and desserts. They always make me think of spring and summer with their bright, sweet-tart flavor and sunshine color.
We are lucky to have neighbors with lemon trees, so whenever they bring over bags of extra lemons, I like to use them up making fresh-squeezed homemade lemonade or a no-bake sour cream lemon pie.
If they happen to be meyer lemons, I especially like this meyer lemon pudding cake that looks and feels fancy but is incredibly easy to make.
But lemon cookies are always my go-to approach when I have a couple of extra lemons sitting around. One of my all-time favorite cookies are the double lemon glazed cookies I shared during my first few months of starting this blog! They are buttery and tender and pack a wallop of lemon flavor with the sweet-tart glaze on top.
These lemon sugar cookies are something else though, and totally worthy of a second lemon cookie post on the blog.
These unfussy cookies are a simple drop cookie that you can whip up in about 5 minutes. Then you just scoop them out into uniform balls of dough and bake until just slightly underdone.
Underbaking cookies is one of the biggest keys to ensuring cookies stay soft and moist. The edges should be set and just barely starting to brown, but the middle of the cookies should still be very soft. I even like them at the point of doughiness, since the cookies will continue to set as they cool.
Speaking of cookie dough, this cookie dough is so, so good. I have zero qualms about eating cookie dough. The fresh lemon zest gives it a brightness that is perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the sugar and the richness of the butter.
Differences Between Cut-Out Sugar Cookies and Drop Sugar Cookies
Drop cookies are perfect when the cookie cravings hit. There’s no rolling out on floured surfaces or even really chilling the dough (although many bakers swear by chilling the dough for almost any cookie recipe).
These lemon sugar cookies are a drop sugar cookie rather than a cut-out version.
Drop cookie dough is softer than cut-out cookie dough and it won’t hold it’s shape when you bake it even if you did decide to chill it, roll it out, and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. You need a firmer sugar cookie dough for that. Instead, drop cookies are almost always circular in shape.
The two cookie types also have different textures, with drop cookies tending to be soft and chewy and cut-out cookies leaning towards more of a soft and crumbly texture.
How to Make the Best Lemon Sugar Cookies
These lemon sugar cookies are super easy to make. Start by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Then mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, along with vanilla and eggs.
Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then just scoop and bake!
Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter cubed, cold
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups (494g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light.1 cup salted butter, 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Add eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.2 large eggs, 3 Tablespoons lemon zest, 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 ½ cups (494g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Use a cookie scoop to drop 2 tablespoons of dough at a time onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies a few inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until set around the edges and just done in the middle. Move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yum! These sound delicious and perfect for spring and summer.
Do you think the Lemon Sugar Cookie dough can be used for the base for mini fruit tarts?
Yes, I think it would work well. It would be a little softer than a traditional tart base, but I think it would taste delicious.