These Lemon Sugar Cookies are another riff on these Best Ever Frosted Sugar Cookies that Molly made in 2014. I waxed poetic on them again when I made them in Chocolate Peppermint for Christmas a few years ago. This is yet another riff on them – this time spring themed for Easter. Truly, I don’t think I’ll get tired of this recipe and all the variations you can do with it. This lemon version seriously did not disappoint. Just the right level of lemon – the flavor in the cookie comes from just lemon zest, and the frosting is vanilla.

I’ve found that once you develop a reputation as a “baker,” people will often consider you to be some kind of mysterious pro. As if you have some tricks up your sleeve that makes your baking good. Truly, baking is just a matter of following instructions, and you get marginally better with each new time you make something. But there are very very few true “tricks” or “hacks” that will greatly advance your baking skills. It’s not as much a mystery as people seem to think! Maybe I shouldn’t spoil that secret.

That being said, the lemon flavor in this comes from infusing the sugar with lemon zest. And I will say that the secret of rubbing citrus zest into sugar to maximize the flavor is a baking “hack” that really does make all the difference. I’m pretty sure I learned it the first time from Joy the Baker, but I’m not sure which recipe any more.

It can come in handy for any citrus recipe, but it’s also a great technique for turning any recipe into a citrus recipe. I really hate the flavor of lemon extract, and sometimes lemon juice doesn’t fit into a recipe, and doesn’t have enough flavor. But with lemon zest and sugar, you can make anything citrus flavored!

And that… really worked with these lemon sugar cookies. Amazing how just the zest of one lemon can totally transform a recipe.

Also, in my opinion, the sprinkles are an essential part of this recipe. They make these cookies look adorable, and you can make them fit for any season. Maybe it’s just that it makes them feel akin to Lofthouse Cookies, but they add a certain something.

Something about being back in the Midwest for a proper Spring again has felt really nice. So many things are making me realize I haven’t gotten to enjoy a proper spring transition in 6 years. The closest I got was the Spring I spent in Indy during 2020, and… I was a bit preoccupied with other things going on then. So it’s nice to appreciate the little details – I felt a wave of happiness listening to the birdsong the other day and realizing it was the kind I was used to. I’m looking forward to April showers and May flowers, even if the weather is still doing that classic Midwestern cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon.

Anyways… the TL;DR is that these lemon sugar cookies taste a lot like Spring 🙂

Lemon Sugar Cookies for Easter

Author: Audrey
Array: Array
Total Time: 0 hours

Ingredients

For the Lemon Cookies:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
Zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp glucose
2 eggs
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cups milk powder
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

For the Vanilla Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean powder (if you have it. If not, just use vanilla extract!)
2 tablespoons heavy cream

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Instructions

Make the sugar cookies:

Measure out your sugar into a small bowl, and zest the lemon into it. Massage the lemon zest into the sugar until it is well incorporated and smells strongly of lemon. This step is crucial!
Combine the butter, lemon sugar, and glucose in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.Scrape down the sides, add in the eggs and vanilla and beat for 7-8 minutes.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add in the flour, milk powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together – no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Using a 2 3/4 oz. ice cream scoop (1/3 cup measure) portion out the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet – you should get 15-20 large balls of dough. Pat the tops of the cookie balls flat – wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 1 week. Do not bake the cookies from room temp – they will not bake properly!
Heat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the chilled dough at least 4 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes – the cookies will puff, crackle and spread. The cookies should look lightly browned on the edges (golden brown on the bottom) – the centers will show just the beginning signs of color. If they haven’t reached that color yet, leave them in a for an extra minute or two. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before frosting.

Make the frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft, about 1 minute.
Add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar, the salt, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated.
Add another 2 cups sugar and the cream. Add remaining 2 cups of sugar as needed to thicken the frosting. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Frost cookies generously. Fill a bowl with sprinkles. Place cookies frosting side down into bowl of sprinkles and press firmly to coat.