Monday, March 21st, 2011
lemon sugar cookies
Like grapefruits, I really love lemons. And we have a brand new, huge Whole Foods just around the corner.
These two things may not seem related, but when I visited the brand new Whole Foods for the first time last week, I fell in love with a bag of Meyer lemons at a surprisingly decent price. You’ve never fallen in love with a bag of lemons? How sad for you!
I knew they were just the thing for Maria’s cookie recipe, which I’ve been dreaming about since she posted it. And gosh, are these some delicious cookies. Traditional sugar cookies can be so overly sweet but these have a wonderful lemon kick — perfect for the first week of spring!
If you aren’t familiar with Meyer lemons, they are a variety that’s slightly sweeter. If you can’t find them or just have some regular lemons laying around, certainly use those!
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Two Peas and Their Pod
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 large lemons
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add lemon zest, egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Mix until combined. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are slightly brown around the edges and set. Let cookies sit on the baking sheets for two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
To keep cookies soft, store cookies with a slice of bread in an air tight container.
Obsessed with lemons like me? You might like these gingerbread lemon sandwich cookies, lemon cupcakes, or (my favorite!) lemon sweet rolls.
Oh, yummers!! I have searched and SEARCHED for Meyer lemons, here in San Antonio, to no avail. My citrus dreams have been of lemon curd
delicious!! (and so was the banana bread.)
Is it sad that I know exactly what you mean about falling in love with a bag of produce?! What with the tiny, puny dorm-room fridge, I tend to stay from the produce department altogether anymore. Sad. I cannot wait until July and then we can fall in love with these crazy things together!
I was looking for a lemon sugar cookie recipe a month ago. When I didn’t find one on the internet I asked all my relatives and friends. They sent some wonderful recipes but no sugar cookies. These are a must on my next baking day, maybe for Easter. Thanks so much for posting this recipe.
Lori – I hope you enjoy them!
I baked these this evening and they were wonderful–a refreshing twist on an old recipe.