Lemon Cut Out Cookies

a lemon cut out cookie with a bite taken out stacked on another cookie on a blue and white towel on a wooden cutting board.

5 from 1 vote

Lemon Cut Out Cookies are soft, buttery, lemon shortbread cookies bursting with fresh lemon flavor that require no chilling and hold their shape perfectly when baked. Perfect cookies for Easter, Valentine's Day, or Christmas cookie platters.

Prep Time20

Cook Time12

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 131kcal

Author: Cara Lanz

Ingredients

1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Start on low speed (so you don't get powdered sugar all over the place!), then increase speed to medium-high.
Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and whip until fluffy again and the liquid has been absorbed.
Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until just combined. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball, Divide the dough into two portions and pat them into thick discs.
Roll out each portion of dough on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of parchment paper to ¼" thickness. Cut with 2-3" cookie cutters, re-rolling and cutting the scraps.
There is no need to chill the dough to prevent spreading. If the dough is too soft to work with, cover and chill the dough for at least 30-60 minutes, up to overnight.
Place the cutouts at least one inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the bottoms just start to turn light golden brown.
Cool cookies on the pan for 2-3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

Notes

This recipe makes about 16-24 cookies, depending on how thick you roll the dough and the size of your cookie cutters.
To easily roll the dough to an even thickness, use rolling pin guides or place dowels or thin cutting boards on either side of the rolling pin.
There is no need to chill the dough to prevent spreading. If the dough is too soft to work with, wrap the discs in plastic wrap, and chill for 30-60 minutes.
Check the baking time early so they don't overbake and become dry.

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