Lemon Crinkle Cookies

  This recipe is from a blog called Fresh April Flours. It's simple, straight forward, and it's the perfect new addition to your Christmas Cookie platter. If you're like me, you like to have lots of different colors of cookies on the platter, and this may or may not be what called me to this recipe in the first place. You make them in sort of the same manner as you make Snickerdoodles. Roll the dough into balls, then roll the balls around in sugar (in this case powdered sugar) and then you bake them. But the fun thing about this recipe is that the powdered sugar separates as the cookies spread out, creating a sort of crackled crinkle look. Fun, right? And btw, they taste absolutely AMAZING! All that fresh lemon zest gives you the burst of lemon that you love. So, I'll say this once again, this recipe goes out to all of my readers who always ask for "anything lemon." If you're a fan of lemon, I promise you'll love 'em! Better make a double batch!

 


1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 
1/4 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp baking powder 
1/8 tsp baking soda 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1 large egg room temperature 
1 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice 
zest of one lemon 
4 drops yellow food coloring, if desired 
1/2 cup powdered sugar


 In a medium size bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (approximately 2-3 minutes). Beat in vanilla, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Add the food coloring, if using. Mix until just combined. Cover bowl and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. If chilling longer than 1 hour, allow to sit at room temperature about 15 minutes before rolling into balls. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. Pour the powdered sugar onto a large plate. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop the dough out of the bowl and roll into a ball with your hands. Dough ball does not need to be perfect. Roll the ball of dough generously in the powdered sugar. Place no more than 8 balls of dough on a baking sheet at one time (4 rows of 2). Chill dough you are not using. Bake cookies for 13-14 minutes or until cookies look mostly matte (not wet or shiny). Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 10 days. Baked cookies freeze well, up to 2 months. Rolled cookie dough can be frozen up to 3 months. Roll in powdered sugar before baking and bake frozen. Add another 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Tips:
 To get the best TRUE lemon flavor, it's always best to use fresh lemon zest, instead of extracts. Use a microplane to grate just the yellow portion of the lemon peel. Stop as soon as you get to the white part because that has a bitter taste. Definitely not what we're going for!