I wanted to make cookies for the 4th of July but was not sure what I wanted. To me, the 4th of July holiday is the middle of summer, and nothing says summer more than lemons. I also needed something red, white, and blue to make it official. I thought flags, stars, watermelon, picnics, and family fun are my associations to the 4th of July. Now I just needed a cohesive idea to bring it all together.
My cookie is born; 4th of July Lemon Sugar Cookie which will be a roll-out cookie with two different sized star cookie cutters. To make them look festive, I am topping them with white frosting plus adding red and blue sugar sprinkles. Just like fireworks, the sprinkles look like an explosion of red and blue.
Recipe
4th of July Lemon Sugar Cookies
Barbara HallIngredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- 3 cups All-purpose flour 360 g
- 1 cup Butter unsalted 2 sticks room temperature
- 1 cup Sugar white 198 g
- 1 Egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking powder 6 g
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda 3 g
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Lemon zest
ICING FOR COOKIES
- 3 cups Powdered sugar 340 g
- 1 ½ tablespoon Lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon Lemon zest
- 4 tablespoon Butter unsalted ½ stick
- ¼ cup Crisco shortening
- 1 tablespoon Milk add a little more if needed
Instructions
COOKIE DOUGH
- To get enough lemon juice and zest for the cookies and the icing, you may need to use two lemons. Juice and zest the lemon/s into two separate bowls and set aside. Weigh or measure the white sugar into a small bowl and set it aside. Next weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl and run a whisk through to blend.
- In a stand or hand-held mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat for 2 to 4 minutes till it is light and fluffy. Stop and scrape down the sides. Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest and blend till incorporated. Turn the mixer down and gradually add the flour mixture. You don't want the dough to be sticky, so add a little more flour so it is like playdough and can form a ball in your hand. Cover and put in the refrigerator for half an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350° and line 2 cookie pans with parchment paper (I buy sheets that fit my ½ sheet cookie pan). I take a hardball size and put it between 2 sheets of parchment paper and using a rolling pin with thickness rings (I use a Uarter Rolling Pin with Thickness Rings) roll out ¼ inch thick dough. I have found this rolling pin to work great when I am doing sugar cookies.
- I made two different sizes of stars but put the same size on the pan. My little stars only needed 6 minutes, but my bigger star needed 7, almost 8 minutes. Put on the pan about 1-½ inches apart; they do not spread much at all. Pull them out when they are not shiny on the top anymore. They should not turn brown even on the edges they should be light in color all over. If you see browning along the sides, the cookies could be overbaked. Leave them on the pan for a couple of minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish.
ICING
- Combine powdered sugar, butter, shortening, lemon juice, lemon zest into a mixer bowl and start your mixer on low till the powdered sugar becomes incorporated. Then turn the speed up and mix till it is smooth. You want the icing thick enough to pipe but if it needs to be just a little thinner add 1 tablespoon of milk. If it becomes to thin, add a "little" powdered sugar to thicken it back up. Your decorating options are endless, so be creative.
Notes
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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