Ingredients (~18 cookies)
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large lemon, zested
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar. Set aside.
Make the Lemon Sugar
Combine the lemon zest with 3/4 cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Use your fingers to massage the sugar into the zest for ~30-45 seconds.
The sugar should resemble wet sand and smell intensely lemony when ready.
Cream the Butter and Cream Cheese
In a large bowl, combine 1/3 cup softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup softened butter, and the lemon sugar. Mix until light and fluffy, ~2-3 minutes with a hand mixer.
Both the butter and cream cheese should be truly soft – if they’re cold, the mixture won’t come together smoothly.
Add the Wet Ingredients
Add the whole egg, egg yolk, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp lemon extract, and 2 Tbsp lemon juice. Mix until just incorporated.
The mixture might look slightly curdled at first but will come together as you mix.
Combine with Flour Mixture
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until the flour is just combined – don’t overmix or the cookies will be tough.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
Chill the Dough
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
This step is important – the dough will be too soft to scoop properly without chilling.
Bake the Cookies
Preheat your oven to 375F.
Use a cookie scoop or spoon to portion the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them ~2 inches apart. You’ll get about 8-10 cookies per sheet.
Keep unused dough refrigerated between batches – warm dough spreads too much and makes flat cookies.
Bake for ~10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The cookies are done when the edges are just set but the centers still look slightly underbaked.
Cool and Dust
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for ~3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Once completely cool, dust generously with powdered sugar. The cookies are best eaten the same day but will keep covered for 2-3 days.
Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
Ingredients (~18 cookies)
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large lemon zested
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/3 cup cream cheese softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Whisk together 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar in a medium bowl.
- Massage zest from 1 large lemon with 3/4 cup granulated sugar for 30-45 seconds until it resembles wet sand.
- Beat 1/3 cup softened butter, 1/3 cup softened cream cheese, and lemon sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add 1 large egg, 1 egg yolk, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp lemon extract, and 2 Tbsp lemon juice and mix until incorporated.
- Gradually add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Cover and refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Scoop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until edges are set but centers look slightly underbaked.
- Cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
- Dust cooled cookies generously with powdered sugar.
