Soft, Frosted Lemon Sugar Cookies

I love lemons.

I love limes.

I love oranges.

I suppose you could say, I am a girl with a need for a little bit of citrus in her life. Especially when Spring shines her pretty (and sometimes RAINY) face around town, I get to craving everything lemon. These Lemon Cream Cheese Tarts, and these fabulous Lemon Cookies with White Chocolate are two of my all time favorite ways to use lemon. If you are in the mood for something healthy with a hint of lemon give this Penne Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes a go. Fabulous, truly.

Now, if you love sugar cookies and you happen to love lemon you are in a great deal of luck, dear reader. The Soft Frosted Lemon Sugar cookies I am sharing today have a wonderful soft and chewy texture. The frosting is sweet with just a hint of lemon. I’ve made them twice in the past couple of weeks. Because I love lemons (and limes and oranges) as I have previously mentioned.

Let’s make them, man. You, me and a pretty lemon or two….

Time: 60 minutes
Yield: 48 cookies
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

COOKIES:
1 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
3 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tb Instant Lemon Pudding Mix

FROSTING:
1/2 C butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
4 Tb milk
2 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp fresh lemon juice (more if you like a lot of lemon kick)
dash salt
yellow food coloring

1. Grab 1 cup of softened butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Toss them into your stand mixer, or large mixing bowl and beat them on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

2. Add 2 eggs,

1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon lemon extract. Beat for an additional 2 minutes or until the mixture is light and slightly fluffy. Sorry about the stain on my lemon extract…she must have gotten something spilled on her. How embarracing, right!

3. Into a separate bowl add 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss it around a bit to combine.

4. Grab yourself a box of instant lemon pudding.

Measure out 3 tablespoons and add it to the dry ingredients. Toss it all together to combine.
5. Add the dry ingredients to your mixer and beat until well combined.

6. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on the sheet.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes or until the tops…

are cracked like this. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cook for a couple more minutes on the hot cookie sheet.
8. Remove them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

9. To make the frosting beat 1/2 cup of softened butter until smooth.
10. Add 4 cups powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons milk, 2 teaspoons lemon extract, 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, a dash of salt and a few drops of yellow food coloring. Beat the mixture until it’s nice and smooth.

11. When the cookies have cooled completely frost them. Serve and enjoy!

Store leftovers in an airtight container.

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