A soft and flaky sugar cookie with just the right amount of lemon flavor is this sugar cookie recipe with lemon extract. The sweet secret ingredient of lemon extract makes a refreshing and light sugar cookie that’s perfect by itself or glazed with any icing!
After having one of these lemon sugar cookies, I was obsessed. There’s just something about the extra sweetness a hint of lemon flavoring that brings these cookies to the next level. This unique cookie is a no-fuss, non-sticky sugar cookie that keeps its shape when baked perfect for any Christmas gathering, birthday party, or Easter celebration. Iced with a good buttercream icing, we haven’t had a disappointed guest yet!
How to make an Lemon Sugar Cookie
Gather your ingredients. Soften your butter by laying it out on the counter. Melted butter leaves your dough sticky and tacky.
First, in a stand mixer(or using a large bowl and handheld mixer), cream together your softened butter, sugar, eggs, and almond and vanilla extract making sure to scrape the sides at least once. Then mix in the milk and when that’s incorporated mix in the lemon extract until it’s combined as well.
Third, in a separate large bowl, lightly whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt. Then slowly add this to your mixer scraping the bottom and sides until everything is combined.
Scoop the dough onto the middle of a sheet of plastic wrap making a mound or ball of dough. Next, bring the plastic wrap in on all sides so the dough is completely contained and covered. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours(up to 5 days) before rolling it out.
How to Roll Out and Bake Sugar Cookies
Fourth, Sprinkle your counter with a good dusting of flour and uncover and place the chilled dough in the center of the floured surface. Sprinkle more flour on top of the dough. Taking a rolling pin, roll out the dough into 1/4-inch thickness, and then using your favorite cookie cutters cut out the shapes. Keep the shapes close together so you don’t waste dough. Save all scraps for the second round of rolling and cutting. Transfer the cut out cookie dough shapes to a non-stick cookie baking sheet.
Bake the sugar cookies with lemon in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 8-10 minutes. Once the edges are turning golden brown remove the cookies from the oven, let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Now repeat steps four and five until all the cookie dough is cut into shapes and baked.
Once cooled enjoy these sugar cookies with lemon extract plain or ice them with your favorite icing. We can’t get enough of this simple buttercream icing and put it on everything. It’s light and fluffy and the perfect addition to these cookies. Simply color the icing with gel food coloring and place the icing into piping bags and you are set for the next holiday cookie decorating party!
Tips for Baking Easy Sugar Cookies
This is our easy go-to sugar cookie recipe and we want you to have as much success with it as we have had so here are some tips for making the perfect sugar cookie!
- I am going to say it again, soften your butter, do not melt it. I always soften mine on our counter by simply setting it out the day before on the counter. However, if your house is too cold, try using your bread-proof button on your oven and place it in there for a few minutes up to 5 minutes. You should be able to dent your butter with your finger.
- When placing the dough on the plastic wrap, the dough will be sticky. The ball forms mainly once you pull up all the sides of the wrap. Placing the dough in plactic wrap saves you time and muscle from trying to get formed hard cookie dough out of a bowl later. Unwrapping it is so much easier!
- Chilling the dough is key. It keeps the dough from getting too sticky and the helps the cookies keep their shape while baking. If the dough is getting sticky, chill it. If your shapes are spreading, chill your cut out cookie shapes on the sheets before baking them too.
- Also, try rolling your dough thinner(1/8th thickeness) if your shapes are still spreading.
- To roll out the second round of dough, chill the dough in between sets if you have time and add more flour to the counter and top of dough when rolling.
- You are adding flour to every round of rolling out the cookie dough so make sure your shapes a spaced close together as to not waste any dough.
- If the dough is not releasing from the cookie cutter, try dipping the bottom edges of cookie cutter in flour first before cutting out the dough shapes.
- Try to bake cookies that are all the same size in each batch. Otherwise smaller cookies could burn while you are waiting on large cookies to bake.
Most importantly have fun with this sugar cookie recipe with lemon extract!
Other Holiday Dessert Ideas
More festive cookies? These are even easier. Just switch out the rainbow sprinkles for Christmas sprinkles! Sprinkles make them fun and the cake batter keeps them fluffy and sweet. This simple cake cookies recipe is easy to execute so you can have a great cookie anytime!
These look yummy too! These lemon cake cookies are super easy and super delicious! Made with only 4 easy ingredients of lemon cake mix, Cool Whip, an egg and powdered sugar, this cookie recipe can be ready in just 15 minutes.
Want more of that sweet lemon flavor? A soft homemade pie crust filled with a creamy lemon filling, baked, and sprinkled with powdered sugar is this marvelous lemon pie recipe!
You can’t go wrong with this rich chocolate dessert! A tasty chocolate crumb crust followed by a creamy caramel and chopped pecan middle and topped with a decadent drizzle of melted chocolate is this gooey chocolate-caramel fantasy dessert. Mouth-watering and fancy-looking this rich chocolate dessert actually keeps it simple in the kitchen.
Sugar Cookie Recipe with Lemon Extract
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups butter softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 Tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 4 cups flour
- 3 Tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, cream together your softened butter, sugar, eggs, and almond and vanilla extract making sure to scrape the sides at least once. You can also you a large bowl and a hand-held mixer as well. Then mix in the milk and when that's incorporated mix in the lemon extract until it's combined as well.
- Next, in a separate large bowl, lightly whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt. Then slowly add this to your mixer scraping the bottom and sides until everything is combined.
- Scoop the dough onto the middle of a sheet of plastic wrap making a mound or ball of dough. Next, bring the plastic wrap in on all sides so the dough is completely contained and covered. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours(up to 5 days) before rolling it out.
- Sprinkle your counter with a good dusting of flour and uncover and place the chilled dough in the center of the floured surface. Sprinkle more flour on top of the dough. Taking a rolling pin, roll out the dough into 1/4-inch thickness, and then using your favorite cookie cutters cut out the shapes. Keep the shapes close together so you don't waste dough. Save all scraps for the second round of rolling and cutting. Transfer the cut out cookie dough shapes to a non-stick cookie baking sheet.
- Bake the sugar cookies with lemon in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 8-10 minutes. Once the edges are turning golden brown remove the cookies from the oven, let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Once cooled enjoy these sugar cookies with lemon extract plain or ice them with your favorite icing. We can't get enough of this simple buttercream icing and put it on everything. It's light and fluffy and the perfect addition to these cookies.
Notes
- I am going to say it again, soften your butter, do not melt it. I always soften mine on our counter by simply setting it out the day before on the counter. However, if your house is too cold, try using your bread-proof button on your oven and place it in there for a few minutes up to 5 minutes. You should be able to dent your butter with your finger.
- When placing the dough on the plastic wrap, the dough will be sticky. The ball forms mainly once you pull up all the sides of the wrap. Placing the dough in plastic wrap saves you time and muscle from trying to get formed hard cookie dough out of a bowl later. Unwrapping it is so much easier!
- Chilling the dough is key. It keeps the dough from getting too sticky and helps the cookies keep their shape while baking. If the dough is getting sticky, chill it. If your shapes are spreading, chill your cut out cookie shapes on the sheets before baking them too.
- Also, try rolling your dough thinner(1/8th thickness) if your shapes are still spreading.
- To roll out the second round of dough, chill the dough in between sets if you have time and add more flour to the counter and top of the dough when rolling.
- You are adding flour to every round of rolling out the cookie dough so make sure your shapes a spaced close together as to not waste any dough.
- If the dough is not releasing from the cookie cutter, try dipping the bottom edges of the cookie cutter in flour first before cutting out the dough shapes.
- Try to bake cookies that are all the same size in each batch. Otherwise smaller cookies could burn while you are waiting on large cookies to bake.
Just made these (with 3 Tablespoons of Baking Powder) and they were delicious. I used Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetner instead of flour on the sticky dough so it would roll it out. They were delicious. I will be making these cookies again.
Is this supposed to be made with baking powder or baking soda? The ingredients list says powder, but the directions say soda.
Sorry, Tara for the confusion. It’s baking powder. Thank you!