Lemonlicious Sugar Cookies

These lemon-laced goodies have been my go-to cookie for years. After finding them in Rebecca Rather’s cookbook, “The Pastry Queen”, I set about making them nonstop throughout the better part of my junior year of high school. I demonstrated the recipe for a Speech class, because everyone knows that the best way to get a good grade on a project is to include food. After that was a hit, I switched the lemon ingredients for vanilla and dipped the cookies in dark chocolate instead of the icing for a cookie party later that year in Chemistry. Needless to say, I was pretty popular junior year.

Relatively speaking, I mean. I am a blogger after all. It’s not like I was prom queen. Still, everyone’s nice to the girl with a plate of cookies.

Wanna know how to win friends and influence people? Allow me to show you.

Step one: cream some butter in a large bowl.

So many wonderful things start with that sentence.

Mixing thoroughly after each addition, add vegetable oil…

…granulated sugar…

…powdered sugar…

…an egg…

…lemon extract, and the juice and zest of one lemon.

Excuse me while I catch my breath.

After that’s all mixed together, throw in some flour, baking soda, and salt.

You don’t know how many times while writing of this post I accidentally wrote “baking powder” instead of “baking soda”. It drives me insane.

Stir that all together and then pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes to make the cookies easier to scoop.

See that smiley face? It’s my sister’s greeting to the blogosphere.

Once the dough is chilled, using two spoons, scoop out the dough onto the baking sheets, gently flattening them with your fingers.

Depending on the size of the cookies, you’ll end up with about 24.

While the cookies are baking, mix together powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest for the icing.

This icing is what really gives these cookies a fresh pop.

Once the cookies are out of the oven and still hot…

…top them with a small dollop of icing and allow it to melt across the cookie, gently spreading with a knife as needed.

And then you end up with these lovelies! They’re soft, fresh, and melt in your mouth lemony goodness that’s a great summer dessert.

Give ‘em a try!

Lemonlicious Sugar Cookies

Recipe adapted from “Sugar Saucers” from “The Pastry Queen” by Rebecca Rather

Printable Recipe

Cookies

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted Butter, at room temperature

½ cup Vegetable Oil

½ cup Granulated Sugar

½ cup Powdered Sugar

1 large Egg

½ teaspoon Lemon Extract (optional)

Juice and zest of 1 Lemon

2 cups all-purpose Flour

½ teaspoon Baking Soda

¼ teaspoon Salt

Icing

1 ¼ cup Powdered Sugar

Juice of 2 Lemons

Zest of 1 Lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick aluminum foil, parchment paper, or grease generously with butter or cooking spray.

Using a mixer of some sort, beat the butter in a large bowl on medium speed for about a minute. One ingredient at a time, add the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, egg, and lemon extract, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt all at once with a wooden spoon or the mixer set on low. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or freeze for 15 minutes to make the dough easier to handle.

Using two regular-sized spoons, scoop the dough onto the baking sheets and flatten gently. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes for smaller cookies and 12 to 14 minutes for larger cookies, until the edges are golden.

While the cookies are baking, make the icing. In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Set aside.

Once the cookies are out of the oven–while they’re still hot–spoon teaspoon-sized portions of icing on each cookie and allow it to melt over the cookie. If the icing doesn’t spread out on its own after a while, use a knife to gently spread the icing evenly over the cookie.

Serve warm or cold, they’re great either way!

Makes about 24 smallish cookies, depending on how large you like your cookies.