Lemon Crinkle Cookies
My Lemon Crinkle Cookies are the perfect choice when you want a treat that’s bright, sweet, and a fun change from your typical cookies. They’re soft, tender, packed with fresh lemon flavor, and topped with that classic crinkly powdered-sugar coating that makes them look so gorgeous.
Ingredients
For the Cookie -
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour spoon and leveled (327 grams)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
- 3/4 cup 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
- 1/2 cup lemon juice at room temperature (juice of about 3 lemons)
- 1 packed tablespoon lemon zest zest of 2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Rolling -
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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In a bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or using a bowl and handheld electric mixer) cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes on medium speed.
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Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and optional food coloring, mixing for 15 seconds just until incorporated. The mixture will look weirdly curdled at this point.
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Add the flour mixture into the liquid ingredients and mix on low speed until the flour mixed through. Increase to medium speed and mix until a soft sticky dough forms.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for an hour (or up to 3 hours).
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Remove the bowl of dough from the fridge and scoop 1-tablespoonfuls of the dough and roll into balls. If the dough sticks to your hands, spray them with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
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Roll each ball of dough into granulated sugar.
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Then, roll each ball of dough into the confectioner's sugar. Don’t shake off excess confectioners sugar since it’s better to have more on the cookie than less, since some will melt in the oven.
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Place each rolled dough onto the baking sheet, keeping each cookie 2-inches apart. You may need to return leftover cookie dough to the fridge while the first two pans bake, and then continue with prepping a third pan of cookies once they're out of the oven.
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Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are slightly golden and the center is puffed and looks slightly underbaked. The cookies will continue to harden and spread a bit as they cool.
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Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Notes:
- The dough is rolled in granulated sugar first, which prevents the butter from turning the confectioner's sugar yellow.
- For a super-yellow cookie color, add 2 drops of yellow food coloring during step 3, when adding the eggs.