Soft, chewy lemon cookies drizzled with lemon icing (that hold their shape while baking!). This lemon cut out sugar cookies recipe is the perfect treat for lemon lovers.
I love lemon-flavored desserts (as you can tell from my other lemon desserts like Lemon and Elderflower Cake, Lemon Poke Cake, and Lemon Shortbread Cookies). Their refreshing flavor reminds me of warm weather and summer.
This lemon sugar cookie recipe is a twist on the classic sugar cookie. They are soft, chewy cookies that have a kick of lemon within the sugar cookie dough as well as the icing.
Why You’ll Love These Lemon Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Not super sweet. I know that seems counterintuitive when you’re talking about sugar cookies, but it’s true. I’ve intentionally made the cookie less sweet — 1. because I prefer them that way and 2. because there is plenty of sweetness in the icing. (If you like less sweet cookies to decorate also check out the Cut Out Butter Cookies)
Easy to handle when rolling out. Nothing frustrates me more than sticky dough when you’re trying to roll out cookies. It gets everywhere and makes the baking process less than fun. Because of the amount of flour in the recipe and the fact that you chill the dough for an hour, this dough is very easy to handle.
Hold their shape in the oven. In the first batch I tested this recipe, I created flat lemon discs. They spread out way too much in the oven—which is not the ideal texture I was going for—especially if you are cutting out fun shapes. These will keep their shape so you can feel free to use all of your fun cookie cutters.
Lemon & almond flavor. The lemon flavor comes from the lemon zest and lemon juice added to both the cookies themselves and the lemon icing. Instead of using vanilla extract, I’ve swapped it out for almond extract. I love the flavor of almond is anything but paired with the lemon, really makes these perfect cookies (in my mind).
Jump to Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Fresh lemon zest: You’ll use the zest of one whole lemon (or about 1 tablespoon of zest). This provides a great lemon without making the dough too wet and sticky to roll out.
Fresh lemon juice: This also provides a robust lemon flavor. You’ll use it in both the cookie dough and the icing. And this way you’ll use up the whole lemon and there’s waste.
Baking powder: Acts as the leavening agent in the recipe. Don’t use baking soda with this recipe as the lemon juice will react with it and make the cookies too puffy, losing their shape.
Variations & Substitutions
Lemon flavor: If you want to enhance the lemon flavor even more, you can add a teaspoon of lemon extract. You can also use lemon extract and bottled lemon juice in place of fresh lemon and zest if you don’t have any fresh lemons at home.
Vanilla extract: Not an almond fan? No worries. You can swap out the almond extract for vanilla extract and still have delicious cookies.
Icing: I used a lemon and powdered sugar drizzle icing, but you could top with a lemon buttercream or even royal icing.
Jump to RecipeHow to Make Lemon Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Step 1: In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) beat together the room-temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy on medium speed using the paddle attachment.
Step 2: Add the eggs, a splash of milk, lemon juice, almond extract, and lemon zest. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. The cookie dough might look a bit curdled at this point, but that is okay as it will smooth out once you add the dry ingredients.
Step 3. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely combined.
Step 4. Scrape the dough from the bowl and place it on a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap with plastic wrap and press the dough out into a flat disc. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour. You can leave overnight if you’d like.
Step 5: Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350F and lightly flour your working station. Roll dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick using a rolling pin. (Don’t have a rolling pin? Check out these creative rolling pin alternatives.) Flour your cookie cutters and scarper and/or spatula. Cut out your desired shapes and place them on either an ungreased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Step 6: Bake for 7 minutes until the edges start to become slightly golden brown.
Pro tip: While your first batch is baking, place your second patch of cut-out cookies in the refrigerator to prevent the dough from going soft. This is just another to help the cookies keep their shape.
Step 7: Make the lemon icing. Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add the heavy whipping cream and lemon juice. Stir until the texture is easy to drizzle. If it’s too thick, add more lemon juice. This icing dries hard so it’s okay if it’s thin.
Step 8: Once baked, place the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. Ice and decorate cookies once they are completely cooled. The icing should dry to the touch in 10 minutes and they will be ready to stack in around 30 minutes.
Happy baking!
Yield
The size of your cookie cutters will determine how many cookies you get out of this recipe. I used a two-inch round biscuit cutter and got 30 cookies.
Storage Options
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.
Freezer options: This dough freezes great! You can make a double batch of this dough and keep half in the freezer for when you need easy lemon sugar cookies again! Just double-wrap it in plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc or a log shape, and freeze it for up to 1 month.
The main difference between lemon sugar cookies and lemon shortbread cookies is the texture, which is caused by the ratio of butter to flour. Shortbread has a higher butter content and therefore you get that beautiful melt-in-your-mouth texture. You have to keep the dough super cold before putting it in the oven otherwise the butter will melt and the cookies will become flat.
Soft sugar cookies have a higher flour content than shortbread, making them more stable and easier to work with them doing cut-out cookies. They have a fluffier texture as well and the flour creates chewy sugar cookies rather than melt-in-your-mouth shortbread. Check out these lemon shortbread cookies to compare.
It’s all about the butter-to-flour ratio. Adding a bit more flour to your dough will help stabilize the butter and prevent it from melting too quickly in the oven (and therefore spreading). Another tip is to ensure your dough is very chilled before going into the oven. Once you’ve cut out your shapes and placed them on a baking sheet, pop them in the freezer or fridge for 10 minutes before going into the oven.
In my opinion, using 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness makes perfect cut-out sugar cookies. It allows them to be fluffy and delicious but also gives you enough room to decorate with icing or frosting without overwhelming the cookie.
Lemon Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Beat together the butter and sugar with an electric or stand mixer until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add eggs, milk, almond extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt). Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Place the cookie dough on a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap completely then press dough into a flat disc. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least one hour.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 °F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cookie dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out your shapes and place on either an ungreased baking sheet or one lined with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown.
- To make the icing, pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Add lemon juice and heavy whipping cream until it becomes a thin texture that is easy to drizzle with a knife or a spoon.
- Decorate once cookies are completely cooled. Icing will be firm to the touch in 10 minutes and able to stack in around 30 minutes. Enjoy!
