Lemon Sugar Cookies with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Delicious lemon infused sugar cookies piped with pretty lemon buttercream rosettes!
Servings: 24 3-inch cookies
Ingredients
LEMON SUGAR COOKIES:
- 3 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/8 salt
- 1 c. butter softened
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 1 lg. egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 T. lemon juice
- Wilton lemon yellow gel food coloring optional
LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
- 3/4 c. butter softened
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 T. milk or cream
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 T. lemon juice
- 6 c. confectioner's sugar (about 1-1/2 lbs)
- Yellow sparkling sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- COOKIES: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice; beat for another minute.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture; beat until all of the flour is incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture will look crumbly at first; keep blending until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Using a toothpick, add a small amount of yellow gel food coloring if desired; beat until well combined, adding more until you reach the desired shade of yellow.
- Remove half of the dough from the bowl and form it into a smooth ball. Roll the dough ball out onto a lightly floured work surface to 1/4-inch thick (do not make them thinner, you want the cookies to be on the thick side) and cut it into 3-inch circles with a cookie or biscuit cutter. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Place 8 cut-out cookies per baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden and the centers are just barely set.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a minute or two, and then carefully remove them to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating
- FROSTING: In the bowl of a stand mixer using a whisk attachment, beat butter, vanilla, milk, lemon juice, and zest for 30 seconds. Add in confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency. (If the frosting is a bit too thick add more milk a teaspoon at a time.)
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag with a Wilton 2D drop flower tip. Begin piping in a tight circle in the middle of the cookie. Continue piping frosting in a circular motion until you reach the outside of the cookie. Sprinkle frosted cookies with yellow sparkling sugar.
- Cook’s Note: The frosting will set but don’t stack the cookies that have been frosted with a rosette or you will squish them. Cookies frosted with an offset spatula can be stacked once set.
YUMMMM AND EASY