These pillowy soft lemon sugar cookies are bursting with bright citrus flavor, perfectly sweet, and irresistibly chewy. With no chilling required, they come together quickly and melt in your mouth with every bite!
½cup(113g) unsalted buttersoftened to room temperature
1cup(120g) powdered sugar
1Tablespoonfresh lemon zest
1large eggroom temperature preferred2
¼cup(56mL) vegetable oil
1Tablespoon(15mL) fresh lemon juice
LEMON SUGAR COATING
½cup(100g) granulated sugar
1teaspoonfresh lemon zest
Instructions
LEMON COOKIES
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour1, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, powdered sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest
Stop the mixer, add the egg, vegetable oil, and lemon juice, then beat again on medium speed until everything is combined, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
1 large egg, ¼ cup (56mL) vegetable oil, 1 Tablespoon (15mL) fresh lemon juice
Reduce the mixer speed to low, then add the dry ingredients in two additions, ensuring the first addition is mostly incorporated before adding the second. Continue to beat on low until just combined. Dough should be soft but not very sticky, and you should be able to scoop it with a cookie scoop without issue. Once it is dropped into the sugar, it will decrease in stickiness.
LEMON SUGAR COATING
Place the granulated sugar and lemon zest into a small bowl, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until most of it is very pale yellow.
Place the granulated sugar into a small bowl, then, using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), drop balls of dough into the sugar and use your fingers to gently roll the ball in the sugar. When dough ball is completely covered in sugar, place on prepared baking sheet.
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes, just until edges are set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies covered tightly at room temperature up to 1 week. Cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Unbaked dough balls also freeze well, up to 3 months. Do not roll in sugar, thaw in refrigerator overnight, and roll in sugar before baking.
Notes
Flour: it is imperative that you either fluff/spoon/level your flour or ideally, weigh it in grams. Two cups of all-purpose flour is 240g. Too much flour will result in a dense cookie.
Room temperature egg: it is always a good idea to use room temperature eggs when using room temperature butter, as it incorporates into batter much more easily. It is not required, just encouraged.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.