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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Lemon Spritz Cookies

    Published: Apr 9, 2022 · Updated: Sep 22, 2024 · by Barbara · This post may contain links on which I could make a small commission if an item is purchased · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Spring is here...

    Adding lemon zest and juice gives these cookies a buttery lemon melt in your mouth bite-size cookie. They are light, which is a pleasant change from heavy winter cookies.

    Flower spritz cookies for feature image sitting on a wire rack.

    Now that it is spring, all I want is lemon. So I decided to update my lemon spritz cookies.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Cookies
    • Icing
    • How to Make Spritz Cookies
    • First the Cookie Dough
    • Cookie Press
    • Now for the Icing
    • Can't Get enough Lemon...
    • Storage
    • Recipe

    Ingredients

    Cookies

    Ingredients for lemon spritz cookies.
    Jump to Recipe for Amounts

    Fine Grain Salt - I used fine-grain sea salt because this salt dissolves more quickly than my regular Kosher salt. In addition, these cookies are small, and I wanted to ensure that the salt was evenly distributed in the cookies.

    All-Purpose Flour - My favorite choice for all-around cookie baking is King Arthur All-Purpose Flour. I have used this brand for years and never had any issues with the results.

    Pure Vanilla Extract - I have yet to try making vanilla extract, but that may be coming in the future. But for now, I do buy pure vanilla extract, but I know the price is high for this spice. So my go-to brand is McCormick All Natural Pure Vanilla Extract. My advice is to buy the best you can, and your family will love whatever you make.

    Lemon Juice and Zest - Please buy fresh lemons and juice and zest them. The lemon juice you buy in the little lemon-shaped container will never taste as good as what you squeeze and zest yourself. If I could, I would grow a lemon tree in my backyard.

    Icing

    Ingredients to make lemon icing for cookies.

    Milk - I used 2% for this recipe. But you can certainly use the whole or 1% to get that creamy icing.

    Coloring Gel - I Cake Craft Color Gel, and I love the colors. The 12 pack I have used for all my cookies.

    How to Make Spritz Cookies

    First the Cookie Dough

    Weigh or measure the flour and salt into a bowl. Next, I run a whisk through to blend. Then weigh or measure the powdered sugar. Now add the room temperature butter and powdered sugar to a mixer and turn it onto a low speed until they are incorporated, then turn the mixer speed up to medium for a couple of minutes.

    How butter and powdered sugar look after mixed for three minutes.

    Light and creamy looking after 2 to 3 minutes of mixing.

    Cookie dough after egg is added.

    After adding the lemon juice, zest, vanilla extract, and egg, it looks a little lumpy.

    How the cookie dough should look if put between your fingers after the flour has been added.

    Turn the mixer down and slowly add the flour mixture. Don't over mix; you can always finish by making sure the flour is incorporated using a spatula to get any loose flour on the bottom of the mixer bowl.

    Cookie Press

    Take your cookie dough press out and decide on the design you want. Since I am adding icing, I decided on a flower. Once the cylinder is filled, you want to make sure the press is straight up and down with one hand pushing it flat against the sheet pan.

    How to hold and use a cookie press on a cookie sheet pan.

    Take about ⅓ of the cookies dough and place it on a lightly floured pastry mat or counter. Roll it so that it is skinnier than the cylinder and then slide it in. Make sure the plunger is pulled back to get the dough in. Flatten it at the end and take off any excess that sticks past the end.

    Roll the cookie dough on a lightly floured pastry mat so you can add to the cylinder of the spritz gun.
    How full to fill the cylinder of a spritz gun.

    Add the disk that has the shape and screw on the end piece. If you have problems with your cookie press, here is a YouTube video from Kuhn, the maker of the cookie press I use. Here is a link if you are thinking of purchasing a Kuhn Rikon Cookie Press.

    How the cookie dough should look after the cylinder has been filled and the cap screwed on a cookie press.
    Spritz flower cookies on a cookie sheet pan ready for the oven.

    Make sure you are not using a nonstick cookie sheet pan. The cookie dough needs to stick to the pan when using the cookie press. So press these cookies straight onto a clean, cool sheet pan free of parchment paper and any nonstick spray. These cookies do not spread, so you can easily get 24 cookies on a pan.

    Bake for 9-11 minutes at 350°F (175°C or 180°C). Move them to a cooling rack once they are out of the oven.

    Now for the Icing

    Once your cookies are baked and cooled, it is time to make the icing. Add the powdered sugar, Crisco, and butter into a mixer bowl and mix until all are blended. Stop and scrape down the sides and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, milk, and 1 or 2 drops of yellow coloring gel. The icing I am holding in the piping bag has 2 drops of yellow coloring gel.

    If the icing is too thick, you can add a little more milk. If it is too runny, add a little powdered sugar. You can't go wrong with this icing. Using a Wilton #14 tip (a small star), add the icing to a piping bag and pipe icing in the middle of the flower-shaped cookies.

    Adding lemon icing onto finished small flower cookies.

    Let them sit on the rack for about an hour, so the icing hardens enough to store the cookies in a container. These cookies are just a little ray of sunshine and defiantly put a smile on my face.

    Single flower spritz cookie with center yellow icing.

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    Storage

    The great thing about spritz is they store very nicely. Once the icing has had a chance to set, I keep the cookies in a plastic container with a lid. They stay fresh for 7-10 days if they last that long.

    Recipe

    Flower spritz cookies for feature image sitting on a wire rack.
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    Lemon Spritz Cookies

    Barbara Hall
    These are small cookies in size but big in lemon flavor. The icing also has lemon zest and juice. So double the lemon taste.
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    5 from 5 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Bake Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 50 minutes mins
    Course Cookies
    Cuisine American
    Servings 85 cookies
    Calories 52 kcal

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    Ingredients
     

    Cookies

    • 2 ½ cups (312.5 g) All-purpose flour
    • ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) Fine salt
    • 1 cup (227 g) Unsalted butter room temperature
    • 1 cup (120 g) Powdered sugar
    • 1 (1) Egg
    • 1 (1) Lemon zested medium size
    • 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) Lemon juice
    • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vanilla extract

    Icing

    • 1 ½ cups (180 g) Powdered sugar
    • 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon juice
    • ½ Tablespoon (0.5 Tablespoon) Lemon zest
    • 2 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons) Unsalted butter room temperature
    • ⅛ cup (25.63 g) Crisco shortening room temperature
    • 2 teasspoons (2 teasspoons) Milk add a little more if needed
    • 2 drops (2 drops) Yellow food coloring gel

    Instructions
     

    Cookies

    • Weigh out the flour and salt in a large bowl, I run a whisk through to blend and set it aside. Zest and juice 1 medium lemon for your cookies dough. Weigh or measure your powdered sugar. Now to combine!
    • On a low speed of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Next, turn the mixer to medium speed for about 3 minutes till light and fluffy. Now, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
    • Next, add the egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice and beat for about 1 minute. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides. Finally, add the flour mixture and mix for about a minute but don't over mix the dough.
    • Fill your cookie press with the dough according to the instruction of your press. On an ungreased cookie sheet pan, press out your cookie mixture. You can put these close together; the cookies do not spread. I got 5 across and 6 rows down on my cookie sheet.
    • Bake 9-11 minutes at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) F. They will look pale in color but leave them on the pan for a couple of minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Make sure they are completely cooled before adding the icing.

    Icing

    • Add Crisco, butter, and powdered sugar, to a mixer bowl and blend on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the remaining ingredients, including 1 to 2 drops of yellow food coloring gel. Mix on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes.
    • Add the icing to a piping bag with a small star tip and pipe little centers to your flower cookie. It will take about an hour for the icing to set so you can store the cookies.

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    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.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 52kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 39mgPotassium: 6mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 78IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    5 from 5 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Barbara Hall, the baker and photographer behind My Cookie Journey, a blog devoted to creating and sharing unique cookie recipes. A retired IT pro, I now spend my day's baking, styling, and snapping photos of cookies that have been featured in multiple regional magazines.

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