Name: Soft Frosted Sour Cream Lemon Cookies Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 58 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (113 gm); 1 cup granulated sugar (201 gm); 1 teaspoon lemon zest (5 ml); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml); 1 large egg, room temperature; 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream (123 gm); 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (7.5 gm); 1/4 teaspoon salt (1.5 gm); 4 cups all-purpose flour (scooped and leveled) (500 gm); 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (113 gm); 2 cups powdered sugar (242 gm); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml); 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 ml); 2 tablespoon milk (30 ml)

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These frosted sour cream lemon cookies are delicious light and a soft cookie that is ideal for making any day of the week. A rolled-out cookie dough that can be cut into any shape, these are tender, soft, brightly flavored, and perfect with or without the easy frosting added. Add this to your snack menu today!

Sour Cream Lemon Cookies

Cookies are never a bad idea in our house, but sometimes those heavier flavors can feel like just a bit too much. Lemon is a great dessert flavor because the tart pairs great with sugar and makes them feel nice and light. A great after-dinner treat or excellent choice to tuck into your lunch box.

If you like lemon-flavored items, you might also really like this lemon-lime bundt cake. It's super easy to make and is another light but delicious dessert that is ideal for serving any day of the week.

How Can I Make My Cookies More Lemony?

These cookies themselves include lemon zest. This adds a nice amount of lemon flavor to the recipe, but if you want more, you can add either additional zest or a tablespoon of lemon juice into the mixture. The lighter lemon of the cookie is great, however, with the brighter lemon in the frosting.

This lemon cake with lemon glaze has a more distinct lemon flavor that you might prefer if you want a more distinct lemon flavor in your dessert. Another option would be these lemon cheesecake bars with strawberry topping. So good and super easy to make.

Do I Have to Add Frosting to These Cookies?

You do not have to frost these lemon cookies. They are great with and without the frosting. If you are not going to add a frosting to the top, I do like the addition of sanding sugar or a lemon glaze on top for more flavor. Sprinkles are an excellent choice whether you use icing or not.

What Should I Decorate These Cookies With?

As you can see, some have a few cute little sprinkles on top. If you are wanting to add something like that or even icing, there are some great ideas to add to the cookies.

For decorating them with icing, you might want to check out this sugar cookie recipe for the glaze and icing options. Great tutorials you can use to decorate your cookies with seasonal themes.

Do You Need to Refrigerate Frosted Cookies?

The cookies themselves do not need to be refrigerated, however, if frosted, they should be kept in the refrigerator. I prefer keeping the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to serve, then only icing those I will be eating. This makes it easy to stack the cookies in an airtight container to store and just pop the frosting into the refrigerator until ready to use.

Ingredients for Cookies

Unsalted butter
Granulated sugar
Lemon zest
Vanilla extract
Egg
Sour cream
Baking powder
Salt
All-purpose flour

Ingredients for Frosting

Unsalted butter
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract
Lemon juice
Milk

Handy Kitchen Tools

How to Make Sour Cream Lemon Cookies

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. It will be pale yellow.

To the butter mixture, add the egg, vanilla, and sour cream, and continue beating until well incorporated.

Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just combined.

Once a dough forms, divide it in half and place ½ onto a piece of parchment paper. Top it with a second piece of parchment paper, then use the rolling pin to roll it into an even ¼" to ½" thick rectangle of dough.

Once rolled out, repeat with the second portion of dough.

Transfer both rectangles of dough, still in the parchment paper, into the refrigerator for 30-minutes or the freezer for 15-minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the cookie dough from the freezer or refrigerator and remove the top layer of parchment paper.

Dust the cookie cutters lightly with flour, then carefully cut out cookies and move them to the waiting baking sheets. You may need to form and roll the dough out a second time to use it all for cookies.

Bake the cookies for 6 to 8 minutes until the edges are firm and very lightly browned.

Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

How to Make Frosting

In a large bowl, combine the butter and powdered sugar and beat together until combined.

Add in the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and milk and beat until desired consistency.

Once the cookies have cooled, spread the frosting in an even layer onto the cookie then top with a few sprinkles or colored sugar.

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Chef's Tip

When measuring flour for this recipe, scoop the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon or different measuring cup. Once full and overflowing, use the flat side of a knife or spatula to level the measuring cup. A scooped cup of flour versus the measured and leveled will weigh different and cause a difference in the texture of the cookie. It is important to scoop then level or weigh using a food scale to make the recipe correctly.

More Cookie Recipes

If you are looking for more cookie recipes, there are some amazing choices below to choose from. Whether you want light and easy or rich and chocolatey, this list has some of our favorite recipes. Make sure to bookmark, pin, or print the recipes and add them to your menu soon!

📖 Recipe

Yield: 24