Description
Delight in these zesty Lemon Crinkle Cookies, featuring a tender crumb and a bright lemon flavor subtly enhanced with lemon zest and juice. Coated in a sparkling mixture of sugar and powdered sugar, these cookies offer a perfect balance of sweet and tangy with a crinkled, charming appearance.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5-8 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
For Rolling
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar (aka icing sugar or confectioners sugar)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Set this mixture aside for later incorporation.
- Beat Butter and Sugar: Using a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add Wet Ingredients: To the butter and sugar mixture, add the egg, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and optional yellow food coloring, mixing well until fully combined.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients in the stand mixer, mixing until just combined forming a dough.
- Chill the Dough: Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up the dough, which helps prevent spreading during baking.
- Preheat Oven: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prepare for baking.
- Shape and Roll Dough: Scoop dough using a small cookie scoop for uniform size, then roll each ball first in regular sugar and then coat generously in powdered sugar.
- Arrange on Baking Sheets: Place the coated dough balls on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes until the cookies develop their characteristic crinkled surface.
- Cool Down: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- For a stronger lemon flavor, consider adding lemon extract instead of increasing lemon juice, which may cause excessive spreading.
- If the dough feels too soft, chill it longer in the refrigerator or briefly in the freezer to improve shape retention.
- Use a small cookie scoop to ensure uniformly sized cookies and even baking.
- These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Metric measurements are approximate and not tested for accuracy; use standard US measurements for best results.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 110 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
