Cookie Recipes

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients

- 2 and 1/2 Cups (313g) All-Purpose Flour, Spooned And Leveled

- 1 Tsp Cornstarch*

- 1 Tsp Baking Soda

- 1/2 Tsp Salt

- 3/4 Cup (1.5 sticks; 170g) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

- 1 Cup + 2 Tbsp (225g) Granulated Sugar

- 1 Large Egg, Room Temperature

-1/4 Cup (60ml) Fresh or Bottled Lemon Juice, Room Temperature*

- 1 Tbs Lemon Zest* (Packed Tbsp, it's a lot of zest!)

- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

For Rolling

- 3 Tbsps (35g) Granulated Sugar (Optional, see step 6)

- 1 Cup (120g) Confectioners' Sugar

Directions

- Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a medium (small) bowl. Set aside.

- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 1 minute. Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Mixture will appear curdled and that's ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Dough is thick, creamy, and sticky.

- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough

- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll

- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside

- Roll in sugar: Scoop and roll balls of dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each, into balls. (Each dough ball should weigh about 20g.) Some readers have had trouble with the confectioners' sugar melting/absorbing into the cookie dough balls, so to prevent that, you can roll the balls in the granulated sugar first. And then roll each ball very generously in the confectioners' sugar. If you want lots of confectioners' sugar to show on the baked cookies, roll 2-3x in sugar! Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.

- Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Tip: If they aren't really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2–3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking

- Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool

- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week

Notes From Cookbook (Sally's Baking Recipes)

- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can chill for up to 3 days, so this is a great make-ahead recipe. Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls (that are not coated in confectioners' sugar) freeze well up to 3 months. When it's time to bake the cookies, remove them from the freezer and thaw on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Roll into confectioners' sugar as instructed and bake

- Cornstarch: If you don't have cornstarch, you can leave it out. It helps maintain a thicker, softer cookie but test batches without it were still intact and delicious

- Lemons: I usually need 1–2 lemons to yield 1/4 cup (60ml) juice and 1 Tbsp zest. Feel free to replace the lemon with another citrus fruit, or try using Meyer lemons

Notes

- Made four types of cookies for my birthday and these were the absolute biggest hit. Everyone loved them