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These Lemon Star Cookies are quite possibly some of the best lemony sugar cookies we’ve ever baked!

We found the recipe for these wonderful Lemon Star Cookies over on Heirloom Meals where blogger Carole Murko credits this fantastic recipe to her neighbors Ruth Ann and Katie Galvin. (I sure do wish the Galvins were our neighbors!) 😉

The texture of these Lemon Star Cookies is perfection – soft and light sugar cookies that literally melt in your mouth as you take a bite. The cookies are dipped in a delicious, sweet, super lemony icing that will make the taste buds of any lemon lover very happy!

We decided to top our Lemon Star Cookies with an extra drizzle of the icing that we colored with a touch of yellow food coloring – just for a little extra festive decoration. (That step is totally optional.)

Served with coffee or tea – these Lemon Star Cookies are a fantastic sweet treat at the holidays or any time of the year!

One last note: After frosting and drizzling, allow these cookies to set completely on a sheet tray before covering or stacking in an air tight container for storage. The cookies are fairly delicate, so if you do store them before serving, keep them flat so they don’t break.

Lemon Star Cookies

Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 8 mins
Total Time: 53 minutes
Yield: 52 cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2½ cups confectioner’s sugar
¼ to ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about one to two large lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Few drops yellow food coloring

Instructions

In a medium to large bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter with sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.
With the mixer running, slowly add the flour mixture until combined.
Place the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about an hour or less to firm it up so that it can be rolled. If left refrigerated too long, it will become too hard to roll and will need to soften a bit at room temperature.
While the dough is chilling, make the icing.
Place the butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy.
Alternate adding confectioners sugar and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. You may not need all of the lemon juice.
With the mixer running, drizzle in the vanilla then beat to combine into a smooth liquidy icing.
Remove one cup of the icing and mix with the yellow food coloring and set aside. Set the remaining icing aside as well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Flour a piece of parchment and place half the dough in the center. Flour the top and flatten with your hands, dust with flour again then place a second piece of parchment over the top.
Using a rolling pin, roll to ¼ inch thick over the top of the parchment.
Remove top parchment and set aside to use on the second half.
Using a 2 ½ inch star cookie cutter, press into the dough and make as many as you can. Pull away the extra scraps and set aside then pick up each star and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Place as many as you can on each sheet, as they do not spread.
Bake eight minutes and remove from oven.
Slip parchment onto cooling racks.
Repeat for second half of dough.
Roll up scraps and repeat with more stars. Keep reusing scraps until you have none left. The dough does not get tough if reused.
After all 52 have baked and cooled, set up a sheet tray with a rack and begin dipping each cookie face down into the icing only covering the top, then invert onto the rack. Repeat for all 52.
Place the one cup of the yellow icing into a small pastry bag with a small tip cut off the end and drizzle over the tops of each cookie.
Let sit uncovered until complexly set and no longer wet, about 3-4 hours. (Don’t cover pans with plastic until they are completely dry.) Once set, then you can stack them or cover them or store them without them sticking to each other.