Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies

“. . . AND THEN I DECIDED I WAS A LEMON FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS.”  Douglas Adams.

Do you ever get on a flavor kick that you just can’t shake?

For me, it happens all the time with lemons.  Especially after the holidays when you feel like you are tired of the heaviness of chocolate.  (Wait!  Did I really just say that?)  But I’m at it again, craving anything and everything lemons!

These sweet lemon sugar cookies are soft and tender.  You could say they are triple lemon since they are flavored with lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon oil.  Get ready to pucker up!

These are the perfect blend of sweet and tart.  You won’t be able to eat just one!

We are all familiar with flavoring our baked goods with lemons; the juice and the zest.  But have you ever tried lemon oil?  I am not talking about dusting furniture here!  But intensely fresh lemon oil which has been cold pressed from the rind of the fruit.  This is my favorite brand.  (I have orange and lime oil as well!)

In this recipe, even the coating sugar gets flavored with lemon oil.  The dough is tossed around a bit in the lemony sugar before baking.  But you can still see those pretty flecks of lemon zest poking through!

When I go thrift store shopping, I always look for old vintage glassware and I check the bottoms to see if there is a pattern on them.  Look…….it was my lucky day!

I have so many cookie recipes that call for pressing the dough with the bottom of a glass.  All of my drinking glasses are flat bottomed.  But this glass worked nicely.

These baked up very soft.  But it still gives a little definition to the cookie.  The tops get sprinkled with a little lemon sugar.  But I added a pinch of yellow sparkling sugar, too.

A little sweet.  A little tangy.  Just a hint of a crunch.  But so soft they just about melt in your mouth!  Delicious from the top to the bottom!

YIELDS:  48 luscious lemon cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 2/3 cups of granulated sugar
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/3 cup of grated lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of pure lemon oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Butter 2 large baking sheets.  Make sure your oven rack is in the center.  Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. In a small bowl, stir together 2/3 cup of the sugar with 1 teaspoon of the lemon oil.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In the bowl of your electric mixer, on medium-high, beat together the remaining 1 cup of sugar, the remaining 1 teaspoon of lemon oil, and the lemon zest until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat until well blended.  Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and the lemon juice.  Beat until just blended.
5. Scoop tablespoons of the dough, form them into balls, and roll them in the lemon oil sugar, and place them a couple of inches apart on the baking sheets.  Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass.  Sprinkle each one with a pinch of the lemon sugar.
6. Bake each sheet for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.  Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Wanting more lemon love?  Try these favorites of mine:

Lemon & Almond Streamliner Cake

Italian Lemon Milkshake with Limoncello Cream

Raspberry Madeleines with Meyer Lemon Curd