This Lemon Meltaway Cookies recipe produces a melt-in-your-mouth lemon cookie topped with a sweet lemon glaze and garnished with lemon zest.
I have a lot of friends who LOVE citrus-inspired desserts. I also have a lot of friends who say lemon just isn’t their cup of tea. Well today this one is exclusively for the lemon lovers.
These are packed with lemon zest and freshly-squeezed lemon juice. The cookie itself is actually not overly sweet, so the lemon glaze comes in to bring these to perfect sweetness.
How to make lemon meltaway cookies
These Lemon Meltaway Cookies start by creaming butter and powdered sugar together. Then you add lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract. You will notice this recipe does NOT include lemon extract. I have a confession: I HATE lemon extract. To me, it tastes like lemon cleaning products. Yuck. So I avoid it at all costs. And luckily, the lemon zest and juice pack a perfect lemon punch all on their own.
Then, mix together dry ingredients. This includes flour, cornstarch and salt. The cornstarch is key here. This is part of what makes these cookies so shortbread-like and crumbly. Don’t skip it.
You add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just until combined. Be careful not to overmix, otherwise you risk working the gluten too much which can result in a tougher cookie.
Now, wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for either 30 minutes in the freezer or at least 2 hours in the fridge. When the dough is properly chilled, it will be easier to work with. Roll it out to ⅜th-inch thickness and punch out circles using a 3-inch cutter.
Finally, make the glaze with powdered sugar, lemon juice and heavy cream. Spoon it over the cookies and finish them by grating fresh lemon zest while the glaze is still wet.
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Why you should chill your cookie dough
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Chilling cookie dough is important for letting the flavors meld properly, hydrating the flour, making the dough easier to work with and preventing spreading in the oven for cut out cookies.
When I make cut out cookies, I always make sure to freeze them solid before baking. This will ensure your cookies keep their shape that you worked so hard to make. The more time in the freezer the better, but you can start checking their firmness after 10 minutes.
For these Lemon Meltaway Cookies, they need at least 30 minutes in the freezer after mixing and then 10 more minutes after cutting them out before they can head to the oven.
Tips for lemon meltaway cookies
Again, do not skip chilling the dough. Chilling is important for the flavors to meld and so the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
Start with less powdered sugar. Keep adding until you have your desired consistency. I like my glaze thick enough so that it does not drip all the way off the cookie.
I pipe my glaze, but you could just dip the cookies or spoon it on. Adjust your glaze consistency accordingly.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon cookie dough
- 193 g unsalted butter (14 tbsp) room temperature
- 56 g powdered sugar (½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 200 g all purpose flour (1 ½ cups)
- 35 g cornstarch (¼ cup)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon glaze
- 1 ¾-2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream or half and half or milk
- lemon zest for garnish
Instructions
Do ahead
- This dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated, about a minute more.
- Add the 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and vanilla and mix on low.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Place the cookie dough on plastic wrap and wrap tight. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface to ⅜ inch thick. Punch out circles with a 3-inch cutter.
- Place on a parchment lined baking tray and pop in the freezer for at least 15-20 minutes.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Do not overbake as these cookies should not take on a lot of color. Remove from the oven and let rest on the tray 5 minutes.
- Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Make the glaze
- Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and heavy cream. Whisk until there are no lumps.
- Spoon or pipe onto cooled cookies. Sprinkle lemon zest over the top while the glaze is still wet.
- Allow the glaze to fully set before storing in an airtight container.
Hey
What if I don't have corn starch,can I use corn flour
Please 🥺 reply
Hi! Yes, I believe cornflour is the same as cornstarch so you should be ok! If it is white/powdery it should be the same. If it is yellow/mealy then maybe not. Happy baking!!