One of my favorite flavors to use in cooking and baking is lemon. It gives such a vibrant, fresh and zesty taste. It can bring any dish or dessert to life. I’ve tried a few lemon cookies in the past and each one left me searching for yet another recipe that had enough lemon flavor and the perfect soft, chewy and even lightly gooey texture I was looking for. Sometimes, when you can’t find what you are looking for and your up for some experimentation, it’s nice to create your own recipe. I’m so excited my most recent attempt, these are exactly what I’ve been looking for! I could probably manage to eat the entire batch myself, crumbs included. You won’t take a bite of these and have to wonder; hmmm what is that slight tasty tingle on my tongue? These have lemon written all over them. Just be sure to add the glaze because it gives it one more layer of incredibly fresh lemon flavor and it’s the perfect finish to such an amazing and dainty cookie.
Also, just wanted to mention, these cookies have a very light yellow tint to them, if you want a more vibrant yellow I would recommend adding in a few drops of yellow food coloring into the batter and reducing the vanilla by a titch. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fit with paddle attachment, whip together butter, sugar and lemon zest on medium-high speed, until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Blend in egg, then egg yolk. Mix in lemon juice and vanilla extract. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Scoop dough out by the heaping tablespoonfuls, form into balls and drop onto Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven 9 - 11 minutes (for a gooier cookie closer to 9 and a more set, fluffy cookie more near 11). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Drizzle cooled cookies with Lemon Glaze (you can do this while they are still slightly warm if desired). Store in a single layer in an airtight container.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and enough lemon juice to reach a drizzle-able consistency. Pour mixture into a resealable bag, seal bag and cut a small tip off one corner then drizzle glaze over cookies. Allow glaze to set at room temperature.
- Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
Amanda: These look delicious! And the new look is gorgeous!! It totally suits you. :) Love it! January 12, 2013 at 11:25am
Jaclyn: Thanks so much Amanda! Thanks for stopping by too =)! January 17, 2013 at 11:14am
Kate: These look so tasty, I’m crazy about anything lemony! January 12, 2013 at 11:51am
Sweet Bibiane: It looks delicious! :) January 12, 2013 at 1:58pm
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet: Ooh, these are like little sunshines! Love the lemon glaze drips! Gorgeous, Jaclyn! January 12, 2013 at 2:33pm
Kristy @ Sweet Treats & More: I love lemon cookies! These are gorgeous! January 12, 2013 at 6:18pm
Jaclyn: thanks so much Kristy =) January 17, 2013 at 11:16am
Jeannette: These would be great with a cup of hot tea! How can I make them gluten free?
Thanks! January 12, 2013 at 6:55pm
Jaclyn: I haven’t made them gluten free before but I’d imagine your best bet would be gluten free flour, hope that helps! January 17, 2013 at 11:16am
Ramona: The flavors of lemon are a favorite of mine in baked goods…. these would not last long in my house. :) Gorgeous. January 13, 2013 at 4:23am
joan: Love lemon! January 13, 2013 at 10:01am
Lindsey: I just found your blog from Pinterest and your recipes look amazing! I don’t even like to bake and I’m really excited to make these and the Lofthouse sugar cookies! January 13, 2013 at 1:07pm
Laura: These are gorgeous. I’ve purchased something similar that I loved at Trader Joe’s. I know a homemade version has to be so much better. Perfect with a cup of tea! January 14, 2013 at 7:31am
sally @ sallys baking addiction: i love citrus desserts, especially of the lemon variety. :) Such elegant looking cookies Jaclyn. Love the cornstarch added and the extra egg yolk. a couple of my favorite cookie recipe tricks! January 14, 2013 at 11:16am
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious: Love these! That glaze is so inviting! And I love the presentation of this too. January 14, 2013 at 1:58pm
angela @ another bite please: lemon is my fav flavor in deserts….and your cookies look picture perfect – as always – just beautiful! I can’t wait to try these!!! January 14, 2013 at 7:42pm
Jaclyn: Angela – You are always so nice. Thanks for taking the time to comment! January 18, 2013 at 9:03pm
Justine: I just made these without the glaze. I didn’t have enough counter space for my kitchen aid (thanks to the crockpot making my delicious meal.) and I don’t own any of those beaters so I decided to make them by hand, aka whisk and wooden spoon. The dough came out a shockingly good texture! I don’t use cookie sheets when I bake, I use a baking stone. I checked on my cookies after 10 minutes, but they were no where near done. It’s been 20 minutes now and they seem done. I just find it odd!! My oven is at 350. January 21, 2013 at 9:36pm
Jaclyn: That is very strange. The only things I can really think of is that possibly your oven is much cooler than mine or you may have had the oven door open for a long period of time when checking for doneness or when transferring to the oven. Also the cookie stone will take longer to heat than a cookie sheet as it is thicker so I’ve heard of some bakers preheating them before baking. Might have possibly been one of the above (my guess is most likely the stone) not completely sure, but either way I hope you enjoyed them =). January 21, 2013 at 11:08pm
Rosy: Can’t wait to try these! I only have a hand mixer (no paddle) do you know If they will turn out the same? January 22, 2013 at 7:29am
Jaclyn: I think the hand mixer method would be fine, you will likely have to whip the butter/sugar just a bit longer and also when you go to add the dry ingredients don’t burn up your motor if it starts to sound too heavy for it just stir in the rest of the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Hope you love them! January 22, 2013 at 11:31pm
Michelle P.: I have been on such a lemon kick this past year. These are totally going on my next lemon thing to make list! Thanks for sharing! January 28, 2013 at 9:16pm
Glazed Lemon Cookies | Delicious Recipes: [...] Glazed Lemon Cookies [...] February 2, 2013 at 1:34am
Mardelle: We made these cookies this morning and they were FANTASTIC !! They were also easy to make. Thanks for sharing your recipe ! February 22, 2013 at 11:38am
Jaclyn: Mardelle – I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies =)! You’re very welcome and thank you for your comment! February 24, 2013 at 7:24pm
Heather: Wow! These were so good. Thanks for sharing the recipe! February 25, 2013 at 12:45pm
Jaclyn: Heather – I’m so glad you thought so =). Thanks so much for your comment, and you’re welcome! February 27, 2013 at 10:23am
Andrea: Just made these with gluten-free flour — delicious!! Thanks for the recipe! March 9, 2013 at 1:53pm
Jaclyn: I’m so glad you were able to make these gluten free and you thought these were delicious! Thanks so much for leaving a comment Andrea! March 9, 2013 at 11:29pm
Michele: Made these today and my family loved them. March 10, 2013 at 2:54pm
Jaclyn: I’m so glad your family enjoyed these! Thanks so much for your comment Michele! March 10, 2013 at 4:39pm
Gina: I found your site while searching for a good lemon cookie recipe. I made these yesterday and they are amazing! My whole family loves them and I will definitely be doubling the recipe next time. Thanks for the recipe! March 16, 2013 at 12:01pm
Jaclyn: You’re welcome Gina! I’m so glad your family enjoyed these cookies! March 16, 2013 at 9:58pm
Lemon Sugar Cookies « wafoodie: [...] quick search led me to Cooking Classy where I decided to make these lemon cookies minus the glaze to keep it [...] April 3, 2013 at 7:15am
Just Call Me Forty Fifty Eight | shadowrun300: [...] I made carrot cake cupcakes with yummy cream cheese icing. And finally, I whipped up a batch lemon cookies with lemon icing. It was nice to get a few pins off my [...] April 3, 2013 at 8:07am
Lx: Can I make the dough 1 day in advance and bake them tmr? April 22, 2013 at 7:50pm
Jaclyn: Yeah that should be just fine. April 22, 2013 at 10:01pm
Debbie: OMG! Jaclyn, u have outdone urself again! These cookies r delicious. I was debating between making lemon bars n these lemon cookies. I chose wisely. These r sooo good. My drizzling skills r not so good so I just put a thin layer of the drizzle over the entire top of the cookie. Mmm tangy n delicious. Thanks for all ur wonderful recipes. I have been enjoying myself working my way thru them…the husband doesn’t mind it too much either. April 23, 2013 at 1:24pm
Jaclyn: I’m so glad to hear you chose and liked these Debbie!! You’re very welcome, you are so nice! I love to get your comments! April 30, 2013 at 8:02pm