Old-Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies

4.1

(478)

These giant treats couldn’t be simpler to make.

Servings:

20

These lemon sugar cookies are sure to delight. They’re large treats, about 3 ½ inches across, with a sparkly, crackly top thanks to a double layer of coarse sanding sugar. Underneath is a classic sugar cookie that‘s simple to make. We use a mixer to speed up the process, but these old-fashioned cookies could and would have been made by hand back in the day. They get their lemon flavor from a combination of lemon zest and juice and their sweetness and chew from a mix of granulated and light-brown sugar.

Old fashioned sugar cookie — Credit:
decorvow

Directions

Preheat oven and prep baking sheets; combine dry ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
Mix lemon zest and sugars; add butter:

Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Add eggs, then lemon juice; add flour mixture:

Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Scoop cookies onto baking sheet:

Scoop dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop; space cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula.
Sprinkle with sanding sugar:

Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush; sprinkle with more sanding sugar.
Bake and cool:

Bake cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks using a spatula; let cool completely.