Easy Lemon Drop Cookies

Preperation time
20 m
Skills level

Serving size
24 cookies
Country of origin

Preparation time: 20 m
Cooking time: 14-15 minutes m
Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 (8-ounce) brick of light cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tablespoons salted butter, softened
  • 1 egg, premixed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla, clear if you can find it
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large lemon squeezed and zest of 1 lemon
  • Icing:
  • 4 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of clear vanilla extract, a little drizzle of water (or more lemon juice) and lemon zest
Recipe Type:
Course:

These are tangy, a bit sweet, cakey and you cannot stop eating them! In fact, they disappear in one day, so hide some for yourself. This recipe will yield about 24 medium-sized cookies. Feel free to load up on the lemon and lemon zest to get them extra tangy. Here are the simple directions.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, add the softened butter and mix for 1-2 minutes until it becomes creamy. Then add the cream cheese.  Mix until the butter and cheese have combined and become fluffy and creamy, roughly 2 minutes. Next, add the sugar and mix for 1 minute. Then add the vanilla and mix. Clear vanilla extract comes in handy here. I use Casa Bella Vida’s Vanilla made in Mexico. https://casabellavida.net/, It is very good! I highly recommend it. Premix the egg and add it to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix until creamy. Last, add the juice of 1 large lemon and the lemon zest.

Note: If the butter is cold, put it in a microwave-safe bowl and in the microwave for 10 seconds, it should not be melted because it will curdle the cheese.

Next, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well to fully incorporate all the ingredients. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two stages. It will form a dough. If it’s a bit sticky, add a tablespoon of flour or more. It’s a cakey cookie, so the little extra flour, will not impact the texture of the cookie.

Scoop up about a heaping tablespoon of the lemon drop dough and place it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with 2 cookies across and 4 cookies down. Place one baking sheet in the oven at a time for roughly 14 minutes or until the cookies are golden on the bottom. It’s okay if the top is golden, but not too brown. The icing will cover up any browning. I usually turn pan halfway after 9 minutes, then bake another 5 minutes.

In the meantime, pour roughly 4 cups or more of powdered sugar in a bowl, a squeeze of lemon (or a drizzle of water), and a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and mix until its smooth. As a final step, add some lemon zest to the icing.

Use the stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand mixer to remove any visible lumps.

Once cookies are done, place them on a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes.

Dip the top of the cookie in the icing and let it harden.

You will love these so much. These can be frozen, defrosted, and then iced once thawed.