Frosted Lemon Cookies
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure PolicyHas anyone ever mentioned a food or flavor to you and then no matter how hard you try, you can’t get it out of your mind? If you have something to eat, regardless of how wonderful that food is, it just can’t compare with the flavor or taste of that one thing the person mentioned.
This, friends, is the story of my life.
Earlier this week a friend told me he was making lemon cookies. (Yes, the same friend who made the Brussels sprouts. – I’m starting to think he’s my muse.) You guessed it. I haven’t for the life of me been able to get lemon cookies out of my brain.
So yesterday morning I made lemon cookies. Consider my lemon-cookie-craving satisfied.
While I love a plain ol’ lemon sugar cookie, I decided to amp these up a bit with a lemon cream cheese frosting. (This is like the spring version of my fall frosted pumpkin cookies.) This worked out perfectly because my friends over at KRAFT challenged me to Twist That Dish!
Challenge accepted.
Making a lemon cream cheese frosting was a no brainer and super simple. Cream cheese frosting is one of my favorites, so adding a touch of lemon to it could only make it that much better. Tart and tangy go beautifully together.
The combination of tangy, sweet, and citrus is perfectly balanced. None of the elements fight for the center of flavor attention. They just work together beautifully
The actual cookie is delicious, too. It has a slightly crunchy exterior with a soft center. That’s cookie perfection, friends.
Enough talk. Let’s whip up a batch.
They are that simple. If you are craving a bright citrusy taste of spring, give these cookies a try. Enjoy and happy baking!
Frosted Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 4 – 5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, vegetable shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy (about five minutes). Then, mix in the vanilla, egg, and lemon zest.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixture and begin to combine. Then add the milk and lemon juice. Mix until just incorporated.
- Roll the dough into one-inch sized balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Flatten the balls with your hand. Baked for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies just begin to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before frosting.
- In the meantime, mix up the frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Next, slowly begin to incorporate the confectioner’s sugar with the mixer on low. Then, add the fresh lemon juice, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
Amazing! Love a frosted cookie and the lemon is perfect in these.
I am making these right now!! My husband and son won’t keep their hands off of them. I haven’t even frosted them yet and they love them. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
So happy to hear that! Enjoy.
xo Michael
These are delicious ! Co-worker brought them in as a treat and also showed us your website for more recipes. Which brings me to why I’m writing…you mentioned Cherry Cream Cheese Bars but I could not find anything on them on your blog. Are they under another heading or just not on here ?
I made these last weekend for Easter. They were a hit with the extended family and with my coworkers who got the leftovers! Thanks for a great recipe. I actually liked them best when they were a couple days old and got a little chewy.
do these need to be kept in the fridge (due to the icing)?
Paula, Technically yes, you should always refrigerate anything with cream cheese frosting. Just take them out of the refrigerator an hour or two before serving so that the frosting has time to come to room temperature.
xo Michael
Michael my milk-allergic son is going to SO thrilled when I make these. If I substitute the milk for soy milk he can have it! Sadly, I will have to skip the cream cheese frosting, but I’ll make my standard frosting and add the lemon flavor and he won’t know the difference. THANK YOU!
Danielle, have you ever tried the Tofutti cream cheese? I have a dairy allergy too and use it quite a bit for recipes. It works best when you add another flavor to it like this recipe does. I miss the real Philadelphia stuff but just can’t have it anymore.
Thanks for sharing this tip Kristen! 🙂
xo Michael
Oh my these look good ~ and now they’re stuck in my head too! Love lemon and love cream cheese frosting so these have to be a home run 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration and excellent post! Bwg ~~~
They really are! Thank so much BWG. 🙂
xo Michael