These sugar cookies take me straight back to the mall bakery where, at twelve years old, I would pick the biggest cookie I could find. My mom would drop my cousin—my best friend—and me at the mall for a few hours while we hunted for something to spend our money on. One afternoon we both fell for a floral romper with a lace collar at a shop called 5-7-9. I still remember the pearl buttons. Since neither of us had enough cash, we pooled our money and shared the romper: she wore it to church one Sunday and I wore it the next. Looking back, the idea that the same outfit fit us both makes me laugh—she was almost a stick and I was decidedly not. When I asked if I was fat (as adolescent girls tend to), she would call me “pleasantly plump,” which made me feel a whole lot better.
Remember when life was simple enough that you could share a romper and then stop by the bakery to get a sugar cookie the size of your face? If someone wants to split a pair of Tieks with me—one week you, one week me—I’m in. Those mall trips and bakery cookies stick with you.
What transports me back to that bakery is the subtle lemon and butter flavor in these cookies. I usually prefer thick, soft cookies, but these thin bakery-style cookies have a lovely balance: crisp edges with a slightly chewy center. I like to finish them with coarse sparkling sugar for an extra crunchy sweetness.
I first discovered a similar idea in Jaclyn’s Glazed Lemon Cookies on Cooking Classy and adapted her recipe to make cookies that are more like traditional sugar cookies and a touch less lemony. I love her recipes and used them as inspiration for this version.
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Bakery Style Sugar Cookies
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- Author: Julie
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
A thin, delicate, buttery sugar cookie with a hint of lemon and a sprinkle of sparkling sugar on top.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon butter flavoring (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of one lemon
- sparkling sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until combined. Stir in the vanilla, butter flavoring (if using), lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop (or a rounded spoon), portion the dough into balls. I made 24 cookies. Dip the top of each dough ball into sparkling sugar and place them on a silicone-lined or parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them apart—these cookies will spread while baking.
- Bake for 11–13 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers are slightly soft. Cool on the baking sheet briefly, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
This recipe was adapted from Cooking Classy’s Glazed Lemon Cookies. The adjustments here create a thinner, bakery-style sugar cookie with a gentle lemon note rather than an intense lemon flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 141
- Sugar: 11g
- Sodium: 130mg
- Fat: 6.3g
- Saturated Fat: 3.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.0g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 1.6g
- Cholesterol: 31mg