Soft Chewy Lemon Cookies (Printable version)

Tender, zesty lemon cookies with a chewy texture and bright citrus flavor.

# What you'll need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
02 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
03 - ½ teaspoon salt

→ Wet Ingredients

04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1¼ cups granulated sugar
06 - 1 large egg
07 - 1 egg yolk
08 - 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
09 - ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
10 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

→ For Rolling

11 - ½ cup granulated sugar (optional, for coating)

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
04 - Beat in the egg, then the egg yolk, followed by the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed just until incorporated. Do not overmix.
06 - Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of dough and roll into balls. If desired, roll each ball in granulated sugar for a sparkling coating.
07 - Place the cookie balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets to allow for spreading.
08 - Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers remain soft and slightly underbaked.
09 - Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The texture lands somewhere between a sugar cookie and a cloud, tender and soft with edges that barely crisp.
  • Real lemon juice and double the zest give you a flavor that tastes like actual citrus, not like candy.
  • They come together in under thirty minutes from bowl to cooling rack, which makes them dangerously easy to repeat.
02 -
  • Underbaking by a hair is the single most important thing you can do for soft cookies, because they continue cooking on the hot pan after you pull them.
  • Measuring flour by scooping directly with the cup packs it down and can add up to twenty percent too much, leaving you with dry dense cookies.
03 -
  • Strain your lemon juice through a fine mesh sieve to catch any seeds or pulp that could create bitter spots in the dough.
  • Zesting directly into the sugar and rubbing it together with your fingers releases oils you will never get from dumping zest into the bowl, and it makes the whole kitchen smell incredible.

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