Lemon Sugar Cookies

When a friend said that he once had these amazing lemon sugar cookies, I knew that I had to create a recipe like that for his birthday.

These cookies didn't really turn out as I had envisioned, but they're still awesome. It's a sugar cookie base, with a delicious lemon glaze on top. I totally recommend this to anyone who loves lemons (a.k.a. my sister), or anyone who wants to experiment and recreate this pretty simple and super cool recipe!

First of all, I'd like to point out that this isn't my own original sugar cookie recipe. I found this on Pinterest and I can't take credit for it. Therefore, you can use any sugar cookie recipe that you know of, but I'll tell you about the one I used as well. You'll need 3/4 cup of butter, which is 1.5 sticks. You'll also need 1 cup of regular sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp of vanilla, 2.5 cups of flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp of salt.
The first step is to beat the sugar and butter together in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer. It works best if the butter is softened and the mixer is on high. Beat until fluffy, this may take a few minutes. Then beat in the egg until it is mixed in. Next, do the same with the yolk and vanilla. Lastly, stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. You should end up with a batter.

Spoon the cookies onto greased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. I baked mine on two sheets for 10 minutes, switching the sheet's racks at 5 minutes so that each tray got the same amount of heat for the same amount of time. Once they are done, leave them to cool for a while. Next step is the "glaze."

The icing which I created was a mix of powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar), milk, and lemon extract. I did not record any exact measurements for the amount of each ingredient, but simply added them as I needed them. Add more milk to your mixture to make it thinner, and add more sugar to thicken it up. Watch the amount of extract you put in. You don't want to add too, too much because it will be too sour and ruin the taste. But you also want to add enough so that the cookie stays true to it's name. Once you are satisfied with your icing, make sure that the cookies are cooled before you add it on to them.

Here comes the part that I should have, yet didn't expect.

This type of icing is pretty runny, remember, it's not frosting (although that's a good idea, you could try that). I used a spoon to drizzle it onto the cookies once they were completely cooled. It was kind of a mess. The icing ran off the sides and to the bottom and onto the plate, and that didn't make me very happy. So I ended up putting my plate of iced cookies into the fridge, and this worked very well. The icing, which turned out to be more like a glaze, hardened and the cookies were solid, and not too messy anymore.

Overall this turned out to be a really successful recipe (and by the way, my friend loved them...and so did my sister). Leave suggestions down below and tell me your thoughts. I'd love to know if you create or recreate this recipe and how it works out!

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1.5 sticks of butter (3/4 cup)
• 1 cup regular sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2.5 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• Milk
• Lemon Extract

Directions

1. Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy
2. Beat in egg and then beat in yolk and vanilla
3. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt
4. Spoon batter onto greased pan and bake for 8-12 minutes at 350
5. Combine amounts of powdered sugar and milk to create an icing substance that is neither too thin nor too thick
6. Add  lemon extract into icing so that it tastes lemony, but isn't too strong
7. Drizzle icing onto completely cooled cookies and allow to harden in the refrigerator so that it is not too messy
8. Enjoy!