EASIEST LEMON SUGAR COOKIES (NO FRIDGE REQUIRED!)

EASIEST LEMON SUGAR COOKIES (NO FRIDGE REQUIRED!)

I was never much of a lemon cookie fas as a kid - but who was? With chocolate chip, peanut butter, and the pervasive M&M sprinkled cookies of the 90s, it really was no competition. But as an adult, I've grown a real appreciation for the flavor of fresh meyer lemon! Its a little sweeter and more full-bodied than the flavor of a traditional lemon, but I'd even take a regular old lemon here. Because lemon is GOOD. these are like the cookies you WISH you'd been eating in the 90s! These cookies are:

fluffy
chewy
soft
perfectly sweetened
drizzled in fresh lemon glaze
and SUPER lemon-y!

You're going to love them as much as I do. Especially when you realize that they are like the sugar cookies younger, cooler, hipper cousin. They whip up in minutes and require NO REFRIGERATION. Yup, you read that right! Most sugar cookie recipes call for at least 1-3 hours in the fridge both batter making to ensure a proper shape and texture as the cookies cook; otherwise, they'd melt all over the pan into a sheet-pan sized cookies that's not actually appetizing at all. So here's the thing - these babies, they go from prep bowl straight to sheet pan straight to oven - it literally couldn't get any easier than that. So let's put on over our day sweatpants and get to baking - you'll have fresh, warm cookies in an hour!

INGREDIENTS:
COOKIES
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)
1/2 cup unsalted ghee (or butter, room temp)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons lemon juice

GLAZE
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice

​DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with a non-stick spray or parchment paper, and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, salt. In a separate large mixing bowl beat the butter for a few seconds, add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat or whisk until fully combined.

Add in the dry ingredients, and  continue mixing until a fluffy batter forms.

Drop cookie dough by the spoonful, or using a 1-2 inch cookie scoop, onto the prepared cookie sheet. We used a two inch scoop for big, bakery-sized cookies! Bake until light golden on edges, approximately 12- 14 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool on the cookie sheet about 5 minutes and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.

While cooling, prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together until well combined. Drizzle over the top of the cookies. Allow to sit and dry, glaze will harden after about 10-20 minutes.

Leftovers can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Enjoy!

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