Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies (Not Cakey)
Have you ever made a lemon cookie recipe that turned out to be soft and cakey? So have I. And whilst there is nothing wrong with soft lemon crinkle cookies, we all love a good chewy cookie that's bursting with fresh lemons (plus a little lemon extract!). Here, we will talk you through the method for making these Chewy Lemon Cookies that have great texture and lots of vibrant flavour!
Equipment
- Lemon Zester
Ingredients
- 50 g caster sugar or white granulated sugar
- 1 lemon all zest + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 170 g unsalted butter
- 1 egg large
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon lemon essence
- 230 g plain flour all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- a drop of yellow food colouring optional
Instructions
- Place the butter in a small saucepan and leave it to melt. Keep on heating it until it just starts to brown. Then take it off the heat and leave to cool down.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the caster sugar and lemon zest. With your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils from the lemon zest.
- Add the brown sugar and pour in the melted butter. Using an electric handheld mixer, beat the mixture until the sugar starts to dissolve, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add an egg and an egg yolk, alongside lemon juice and lemon essence and beat again until light and fluffy.
- In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and, using a rubber spatula fold until well combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (cling film) and place the mixture in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- Preheat the oven to 170 C Fan. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the chilled cookie dough into 16 portions and shape tight balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, spread out with plenty of space in between.
- TIP: if you are working in a warm kitchen and your cookie balls warm up too quickly, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. This will prevent them from spreading too much in the oven.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. They should still be very soft in the middle, but should have browned crispy edges.
- Leave the chewy lemon cookies to cool down and firm up on the baking sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Calories: 198kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 116mgPotassium: 49mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 298IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!