Lemon Sugar Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Lemon sugar cookies with lemon cream cheese frosting are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a delicate texture and a bright burst of fresh lemon flavor. Easy to make, with no rolling required!
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Keyword drop sugar cookies, lemon cream cheese frosting, lemon sugar cookies
Candy sprinklescandy pearls, or sparkling sugar (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Make the cookie dough:
Using a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer, beat together the butter, oil, sugar, and powdered sugar until well blended. Continue to mix while adding in the egg and bakery emulsions.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, one cup at a time. Mix to combine after each addition.
Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 12 balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes, or until the bottoms and edges of the cookies are browned slightly.
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Repeat the scooping and baking process to make 12 more cookies.
Make the frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add butter and cream cheese. Beat on medium speed with the whisk attachment for about 1 minute, until smooth.
Add 1 cup of powdered sugar, and beat until combined. Repeat with 1 more cup of powdered sugar.
Add lemon juice, lemon zest, bakery emulsions, and salt, and beat until combined.
Add the remaining powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating until combined after each addition, for a total of 6-8 cups, until the frosting is the texture you want.
Optionally, you can add up to one tablespoon cornstarch if you want to thicken the frosting without adding more sugar. Do not add more than one tablespoon of cornstarch, or this will affect the taste of the frosting.
Beat for 2-3 additional minutes, until frosting is smooth, thick, and fluffy.
Frost and decorate the cookies:
Using a pastry bag fitted with a star or round tip, pipe frosting onto each cookie in a swirl pattern, starting from the outside of the cookie and working toward the center.
Alternatively, you can frost the cookies with an offset spatula, butter knife, or spoon.
Immediately after frosting each cookie, add sprinkles, candy pearls, or sparkling sugar to decorate (optional).
Notes
Note: You can substitute salted butter for unsalted butter. If using salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe.