Lemon is one of those flavors that I think is perfect all year long. It’s so versatile and refreshing, and is the perfect choice when you’re wanting to include some non-chocolate options on your dessert tray. But you know what makes me so sad?! When something is advertised as a lemon dessert and you take a bite and it has just the TINIEST hint of lemon. It’s such a letdown!! Not these cookies though! They’re triple-packed with lemony goodness, featuring lemon juice, zest, and lemon extract. Combined with dough that is very similar to my Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies, these Soft & Chewy Lemon Cookies miiiiight just be in the running for my new favorite cookie. 😍 I love that each bite of these cookies features the perfect balance of both sweetness and tartness. Coating them with sugar before baking really elevates the texture of the cookies AND makes them look sparkly and pretty too! This is the recipe if you want a lemon dessert option for your holiday cookie trays! Check out my other recipes in my 2024 Holiday Cookie Series for more inspiration. Some of my favorites are the Pumpkin Pie Cookies, Gingerbread Snickerdoodles, and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies.
Unsalted Butter: Let the butter soften to room temperature for easier creaming with sugar. This helps create a tender and chewy texture. I use unsalted butter, but if you must use salted butter, simply omit the extra salt listed later in the ingredients. Granulated Sugar: You’ll need some for the dough itself and extra for rolling the cookie dough balls in before baking. Eggs: Eggs add moisture and act as a binding agent, contributing to the cookie’s structure. The extra egg yolk adds richness and tenderness to the cookie, and it also binds the dough all together. Allow your eggs to sit out of the fridge and get to room temperature before using them. (Room temperature eggs blend more evenly into the batter than cold eggs do.) Flour: I use all-purpose flour; I have not tested this recipe with other flour varieties. Measure it correctly using the spoon-and-level method to avoid dense cookies. Lemon zest: Use a zester to shave off 1 tbsp. of lemon zest. Pro tip: When making the dough, rub the lemon zest and sugars together between your fingertips to help release the natural oils in the lemon and infuse even more lemon flavor into the cookies. Lemon extract: You can use 2 tsp. of lemon extract or 1 tsp. of lemon extract and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, depending on your preference. Lemon juice: I prefer using fresh lemon juice from the lemon I zested, but bottled lemon juice is fine as well. Other ingredients needed: salt, cornstarch, baking soda
