My lemon tree is overloaded with lemons. I have so many lemons that I can’t even give them all away.
I hate to see them go to waste, so that means sneaking lemon into anything that I can – like these Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies.
I used a combination of lemon flavor and plenty of fresh lemon zest to give these tender cookies a nice taste of lemon.
The cookies are topped with a basic buttercream frosting, and I grated an extra sprinkle of lemon zest on for a little more color and lemon flavor.

Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter at cool room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon lemon flavor
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons milk
Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter at cool room temperature
- 3 cup powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until well-combined.
- Beat in egg yolks one at a time, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Mix in vanilla extract, lemon flavor, lemon zest, sour cream, and milk until combined. Batter may look curdled at this point.
- Add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- Scoop dough using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons), and drop onto prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes.
- Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To make the frosting, beat together butter, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt.
- Beat until well-combined, adding in additional milk as needed.
- Frost cooled cookies with frosting.
Notes
- Make sure that the butter is at cool room temperature, not room temperature or melting. The butter should dent if poked but shouldn't be warm. If the butter is too warm, the cookies won't hold their shape and will end up flat.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Sue says
Delicious cookies! My only issue was the frosting not being smooth. Any advice?
My family loves them even with my gritty frosting!
Sue says
These cookies are devine. Perfect amount of lemon to sugar ratio. Delicate and yummy!
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad that you liked the cookies! =) Thank you for commenting!
Charlotte @ What Charlotte Baked says
Not only did you bake some frankly gorgeous looking cookies, but you also grew the lemons yourself? Amazing!
Kate says
What a nice comment! Thank you! =)