I love anything citrus so these lemon cream cheese cookies definitely hit the spot! They’re packed with buttery, cream cheesy, tangy goodness! With just the right amount of lemon, they’re sure to make your lips pucker! Cream cheese is what gives these cookies a soft and delicate texture. Light and airy is what I’m aiming for….making these the perfect after dinner dessert!
Let’s Get Started!
You want your batter to be well homogenized, a broken batter makes a sad cookie. To avoid this, start off by bringing all ingredients to room temperature. Also, scrape your bowl in between each ingredient addition, this will keep a well mixed batter with no ingredients left in the bottom of the bowl.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and cream cheese on medium speed for about 30 seconds. With mixer on low, gradually add sugar and beat for about 1 minute until light and fluffy. With mixer on stir, add eggs one at a time until just combined.
Now onto flavor!
When it comes to adding lemon in any baked good don’t be shy! You want to make sure you get enough of that citrus to flavor your dough. My first tip is…never rinse your lemons when zesting! This removes the oils which takes away flavor. I also always zest right into my ingredients, if you zest into a separate bowl you’ll lose some of the oils to the bowl. In this lemon cookie recipe I zest right into my flour mixture after it’s been sifted.
The next critical part is when you add the juice to ensure you don’t wind up with a curdled batter. With a flavor such as vanilla, I would add that right in with the butter, however lemon is a different story. Make your batter stronger by adding about ¼ of the flour mixture until just combined. Now it’s safe to add the lemon juice and mix until combined.
With mixer on stir, gradually add the rest of the flour. Once all of the flour is in, beat on low for about 30 seconds, do not over mix. Store your dough in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic and flattened to about a 1.5-2” thickness. Dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week and the freezer up to 6 months.
I always recommend making your cookie dough 12-24 hours before baking. This is going to give your batter the ultimate flavor! Why? Fat is the flavor absorber so you want your fat (cream cheese and butter) and flavor (lemon) to marry for as long as possible!
I like a cookie that holds its shape! To achieve this I roll out my dough when it’s the perfect temp, not too cold and not to warm, about 50-60°F. If you go too cold you’ll get cracks in the dough. Roll dough out to about 1/4” thickness and cut your shapes. Once shapes are cut and a sheet pan is filled pop cookies into the fridge for at least 5-7 minutes. This will ensure your cookies don’t turn into melting snowmen in the oven!
With your oven at 375°F bake cookies on a sheet pan with parchment paper for 10-12 minutes. Halfway through baking, flip your cookie sheet 360° and switch baking racks. This will help your cookies get an even sun tan! Cookies are done when bottoms are just golden around the edges. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to cooling rack immediately to stop baking. Once cooled, it’s time to frost!
Let’s talk frosting! You can top these lovely lemon treats with your favorite frosting. A simple glaze or royal icing for decorated cookies works great. For this lemon cookie recipe I used a delicious Lemon Buttercream from Sally’s Baking Addiction! The two pair wonderfully!
Inspired by my go-to sugar cookie recipe, I found years ago (click here for original) I decided to adapt it into a lemon cream cheese dream!
If you love anything lemon, these are right up your alley! Soft, delicate and packed with the perfect amount of tang! These lemon cream cheese cookies are always the highlight on a dessert table!
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
- 8 ounces full fat cream cheese, at room temp
- 1 large egg, at room temp
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, sifted
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour, sifted (plus more for rolling out dough)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Zest of 2 lemons
For the Frosting:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
- 4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- Pinch of salt
*Frosting recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction, recipe link can be found in the instructions.
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and cream cheese on medium speed for about 30 seconds. With mixer on low, gradually add sugar and beat for about 1 minute until light and fluffy.
- With mixer on stir, add eggs one at a time until just combined. Meanwhile, zest lemons into the sifted flour mixture. Add about ¼ of the flour to the batter and mix until just combined.
- With mixer still on stir, gradually add the rest of the flour and mix until combined. Do not over mix. Wrap dough in plastic and flatten to about 1.5-2” thickness. Store in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
- When ready to bake set oven to 375°F. Let dough come to about 50-60°F, then roll out to about 1/4” thickness. Cut desired shapes, place on cookie sheet with parchment paper and chill for 5-7 minutes.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Halfway through baking, flip your cookie sheet 360° and switch baking racks. Cookies are done when bottoms are just golden around the edges. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to cooling rack immediately to stop baking.
- Once cooled, top with your favorite frosting or glaze. For this recipe I used Lemon Buttercream. To get the full frosting recipe click here
Yield: This recipe yields about 30-32 cookies rolled out to about 1/4" thickness and cut with a 3" circle cutter.
Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container in a dry place for up to 1 week. Freeze cookies for up to 6 months, let thaw for 1 hour before eating.
