A lightly chewy texture is the hallmark of these enticing sweet treats, which get rolled not once, but twice in a mixture of confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch before baking. Pictured with our Meyer Lemon–Lime Tartlets.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Serves: approximately 34
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
- Yellow food coloring
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line several rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and lemon zest with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Beat in egg. Beat in lemon juice, extracts, and desired amount of food coloring.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda until combined. Add to butter mixture, beating until incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch.
- Using a 2-teaspoon levered scoop, drop balls of dough into confectioners’ sugar mixture. Roll dough balls in mixture to coat generously. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Let sit for 1 minute before rolling balls in confectioners’ sugar mixture again to double coat. Return balls to prepared baking sheets.
- Bake until bottoms of cookies are light golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes. (Cookies will be moist and should seem underdone). Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper.
