Lemon sugar cookies are soft and tender sugar cookies that have the extra zing of lemon and are topped with a creamy lemon buttercream frosting!
Lemon Sugar Cookies soft cookies that have the perfect hint of lemon flavor. The cookies are made with a combination of lemon flavor and plenty of lemon zest to give these soft sugar cookies a zing of bright citrus flavor.
The cookies are topped with a creamy buttercream frosting, and I grated an extra sprinkle of lemon zest on for a even more fresh lemon flavor.
The cookies are also easy to make! There’s no chilling needed, so you can whip up a batch of these soft lemon sugar cookies any time you’d like.
“These cookies are divine. Perfect amount of lemon to sugar ratio. Delicate and yummy!” – Sue
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- All-purpose flour: It’s important to properly measure flour. The most accurate way to measure it is to weigh it. If you aren’t going to weigh the flour, then sift or stir it to break it up, lightly spoon into the measuring cup, and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you dry, dense, or crumbly cookies.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you’re using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon to the cookies and to the frosting.
- Brown sugar: You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar in this recipe. However, I like to use light brown to let more lemon flavor come through.
- Lemon flavoring: The reason that this recipe calls for lemon flavoring is because it has much more concentrated lemon flavor than using fresh lemon juice.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream. The fat helps to make the cookies moist and tender.
- Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift the powdered sugar before adding.
- Milk: For fluffier frosting, substitute heavy cream in the frosting.
How to make lemon sugar cookies
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe is given below.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
Step 2: In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
Step 3: In a separate large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until well-combined.
Step 4: Beat in egg yolks one at a time, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Step 5: Mix in vanilla extract, lemon flavor, lemon zest, sour cream, and milk until combined. Batter may look curdled at this point.
Step 6: Add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
Step 7: Scoop dough using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons), and drop onto prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart.
Step 8: Bake for 10-13 minutes.
Step 9: Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
Step 10: Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Step 11: To make the frosting, beat together butter, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt.
Step 12: Beat until well-combined, adding in additional milk as needed.
Step 13: Frost cooled cookies with frosting.
Recipe Tips!
- Frosting: If you’d like to skip the frosting, that’s ok! You can dust the cookies with powdered sugar or just eat them as-is.
- Topping: For even more lemon flavor, grate a little fresh lemon zest on top of the cookies just before serving.
- Freezing: You can freeze scoops of the dough or the baked and cooled cookies. I recommend frosting the cookies just before serving.
Storage
Store any remaining lemon sugar cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cookies should keep for 3-4 days when properly stored in the fridge.
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Lemon Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 ¼ 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 or heavy whipping cream
- 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
- All-purpose flour: It’s important to properly measure flour. The most accurate way to measure it is to weigh it. If you aren’t going to weigh the flour, then sift or stir it to break it up, lightly spoon into the measuring cup, and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you dry, dense, or crumbly cookies.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you’re using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon to the cookies and to the frosting.
- Brown sugar: You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar in this recipe. However, I like to use light brown to let more lemon flavor come through.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream. The fat helps to make the cookies moist and tender.
- Milk: For fluffier frosting, substitute heavy cream in the frosting.
- Nutritional values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Originally published 4/20/2017.
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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!
Kate says
Thank you! Did you use powdered sugar or granulated sugar? If you used powdered sugar, sifting it before adding it to the frosting can help to break up any lumps.
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! =)
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! =)