With the perfect combination of sweet and tart, these Lemon Drop Cookies are a real crowd pleaser. Great for potlucks, parties, and holiday cookie swaps!
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt then set aside.
Blend the lemon zest with the sugar, rubbing it together with your fingers.TIP - Rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar before combining it with the other ingredients helps release the lemon oils while enhancing the flavor.
With a mixer, cream the shortening then gradually add the lemon-sugar.
Add egg, lemon juice, and water; beat until combined.
Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. The dough will be looser and stickier than a traditional cookie dough.
Drop by level tablespoons (a cookie scoop is perfect!) onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
How to Make the Glaze
Combine all three ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
Use a 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon to add glaze to the center of each cookie. Use the back of the spoon to gently spread the glaze. Let glaze harden for a couple hours before storing or stacking the cookies.
Notes
Have at least 2 lemons on hand to make this recipe.
Whenever you have a recipe that calls for fresh squeezed lemon juice, be sure to zest the lemon skin first. You can store that zest in a sandwich bag in your freezer to use in other recipes. We use lemon zest in lots of things from roasted asparagus to pink lemonade cake!
The consistency of this cookie dough is in between cake batter and cookie dough. That's what gives these cookies their soft, cakey texture.
As with most baked goods, it's important to properly measure your flour. To do so, use the scoop and sweep method when measuring. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with the back end of a butter knife. This will help prevent dry, crumbly, or dense cookies. Never tap the measuring cup on a surface when you are measuring flour, this will compact the flour and you'll end up with way more than what you actually need.