Perfect and Easy Lemon Cut-Out Sugar Cookies Recipe

I love lemons and I also love to bake cookies.  I can eat lemons by themselves with just a little bit of salt.  So, these lemon cut-out sugar cookies are great for any lemon lover.  And don’t worry these lemon cookies will be a hit with anybody who has a sweet tooth, not just lemon lovers.  And this is the best recipe for chewy sugar cookies you can use.

And making cookies from scratch is actually cheaper than buying a package of cookies.  So, that makes it great if you’re on a budget.  

 In these cookies I use a lemon extract to give the cookies a great lemon flavor.  You can use actual fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to flavor the cookies, but to me it doesn’t give the cookies a lemony enough flavor.  And using the extract makes these soft sugar cookies the best.

This is a really easy recipe, because it has just a few ingredients and a few simple steps.  And instead of frosting the cookies, I dipped the cut cookie dough in sugar before I baked the cookies.  But these lemon sugar cookies would be great with royal icing, buttercream icing or probably any kind of icing you can think of.

And this recipe doesn’t take very long to make.  It takes longer to chill the cookies dough than it does to actually make and bake the cookies.

And for the best results and easier handling, set the butter out on the counter for a little bit before using it.  Because room temperature butter is a lot easier to mix than cold butter.

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Substitutes 

Instead of using lemon extract you could use any kinds of extract flavor.  There’s almond extract, vanilla extract, cherry extract, orange extract and so many more different flavors you could use in this recipe or in any other cookie recipe.  

But, instead of extract you could use actual lemon juice and zest if that’s what you prefer.

If you prefer you can use unsalted butter and add a little salt.  But, I always like to use salted butter in my recipes.  So, this recipe calls for salted butter.

I like to use a electric mixer to make my lemon cut out sugar cookies, to me it’s easier.  But, you can mix the ingredients by hand if you don’t have a mixer or just prefer to do it by hand.  It’s really what’s easier or what you prefer to use.

Ingredients

And this recipe makes approx. 80, 1 1/2″ cookies.  I know that sounds like a lot, but if you make bigger cookies it will make less.  But, the smaller cutout cookies will make the perfect treat for a party or a baby shower.

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salted butter (room temperature)
• Sugar
• Egg
• Lemon extract

That’s all you need for this lemon sugar cookie recipe, just six ingredients.  And you’ll need a little extra sugar, so you can dip the cookies in sugar before baking.  And I love how the sugar makes the cookies sparkle.

And if you like the cute flower cookie cutter I used in this recipe find it Here. Or, there are a ton of different cookie cutter you could use, there’s all kinds of cute ones online.

Don’t want to make this recipe now, save on your Pinterest for later Here.

Instructions

Step 1:  The first step is to mix the flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl and set dry ingredients to the side.

Step 2:  Place the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, and with a hand mixer or a stand mixer mix the butter sugar mixture for a minute. 

Step 3:  Next add the egg and the lemon extract to the butter sugar mixture, and mix until combined.

Step 4:  Now add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients mixture a little bit at a time until all is combined.  And you’ll have to stop and scrap the sides of the bowl a few times to make sure all of it gets mixed.  The dough should not be sticky, but soft.

Step 5:  Take the mixed sugar cookie dough and wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

Step 6:   After you have chilled the dough, now preheat the oven to 375 F and line baking sheets or cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Step 7:  On the lightly floured surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  And using some fun cookie cutters, cut the dough into fun shapes.  And re-roll the dough and continue cutting the cookies until all the dough is used.

Step 8:  Take the cut cookies and gently dip the top of the cookies in sugar and place the cookies on a cookie sheet about an inch apart.  (If you’re going to use icing to decorate your cookies, then I wouldn’t dip the cookies in sugar.)

Step 9:  Bake the cookies for 8 minutes until the cookies are a little puffy. (I like to bake the cookies using one sheet at a time.)  Let the baked cookies sit on the sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack or plate to cool.

These lemon cut-out cookies are great and this would be the perfect cookies recipe for Christmas sugar cookies if you use red and green colored sugar sprinkles.  I like to store my cookies in a airtight container or in a zip-lock baggie.  

​And I don’t have a cooling rack so I’ll just place my cookies on a plate or on foil to cool.

I hope you enjoy these lemon cut-out sugar cookies and happy baking.

Check out my other sweet recipes

• The easiest sugar, cinnamon tortilla sopapilla recipe
• The best chocolate covered gummy bears candies recipe

And be sure to check out all my other posts.  I have posts on sewing, quilting, tatting (both needle and shuttle tatting), and felt crafts, and I’m think about adding a embroidery section on my blog.  And you’ll never know what other kind of crafts I’ll learn to post about.