Ingredients
Equipment
Method
For the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the granulated sugar. Zest one lemon into the bowl. Turn the mixer on low for a few seconds. This helps the oils release from the zest and into the sugar. Enjoy the delicious smell.
- To the mixer, add the butter, oil, and vanilla, to the granulated sugar and lemon zest mixture. Beat until very creamy, about 5 minutes. You can also do this with a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
- Add the eggs and sour cream. I do this all in one addition, but you can definitely add the eggs in two additions if your mixer performs better that way. Mix well until completely combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 5 cups flour, and ½ teaspoon each of baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixer in one addition and mix on low speed until combined with no floury pockets. This only takes about 15 seconds in my mixer. The dough will kind of resemble Play-Doh. Do not over mix. If your mixer bowl does not have a lid, cover the top of the bowl loosely with a kitchen towel so you do not spray flour everywhere. Be careful not to put your fingers anywhere near the mixing mechanism.
- On your lined baking sheets, scoop out cookies with a volume of 1 and ½ Tablespoons. I use a #40 (medium) cookie scoop to do this. Leave about an inch and a half of space in all directions between cookies.
- Spray the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass with cooking spray, or rub with a little vegetable oil. Dip the bottom of the glass in granulated sugar (I put my sugar in a small bowl), and lightly press each cookie until it is between ¼ inch and ½ inch in thickness, dipping the glass in sugar again in between each cookie. No need to re-spray the glass.
- Bake the cookies for between 7 and 9 minutes until set, but not browned. 8 minutes is perfect in my oven. If overcooked, the cookies will be dry and not nearly as soft.
- Remove cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (I use the cookie paddles on my Bosch), add the softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract and zest of one lemon. Beat until combined and smooth.
- Add the heavy cream and beat until smooth.
- Add the salt, and powdered sugar. Beat until very smooth and voluminous, about 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, and mix to combine.
- If the frosting looks too thick, add a little more cream and mix.
- Frost your cookies, add sprinkles if you like, and enjoy!
Notes
NOTE ABOUT THE FROSTING: The frosting recipe makes enough to frost 2 batches of cookies. If you are making one batch, you can either freeze the extra frosting or make half of the frosting recipe. That's a little awkward because it only uses half of a block of cream cheese.
Store covered. I store my cookies in a cake saver. They can stay out at room temperature for about a day, but after that should go in the fridge. You can eat them chilled (yum) or let them come back to room temperature before enjoying.
To freeze after frosting, lay out cookies in one layer on a baking tray. Freeze until solid, then you can put them in Ziplock freezer bags. Thaw them uncovered at room temperature a couple of hours before you serve them.
To freeze the cookie dough, press out cookies as outlined above. Freeze in a single layer on a lined baking tray until solid. Store in Ziplock freezer bags. To bake, Put cookies on a lined baking tray and bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Check them at 8. Proceed with frosting after they are cool.