Lemon Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you don't add enough sugar to cookies? ›

Flavor flat-out: Cookies won't be sweet, obviously! Sugar adds sweetness and balances other flavors. Texture troubles: They might be drier and crumblier, as sugar helps hold moisture and creates a chewier texture. Browning bummer: Expect a paler color, as sugar helps with browning during baking.

Lemon Sugar Cookie Dough

In the first step, adding lemon zest with the sugar and butter ensures that the mixing process will work on the zest to release those citrusy lemon flavors. Fresh lemon juice is also added in a later step with the vanilla and egg.

This is a common baking mistake, and it's easily fixable. Adding too much sugar to cookie dough can result in a number of issues, such as making the dough too sticky, causing it to spread too much during baking, and making the final product overly sweet.

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Cutting added sugars can help to keep your blood glucose levels within healthy parameters and makes it easier to control weight, both of which lower your diabetes risk. Added sugars contribute to excess calories, and excess calorie intake leads to weight gain.

Lower Heart Disease Risk

Less added sugar can lower those levels and may help stop weight gain and fat buildup linked to heart disease. If you get more than 20% of your calories from added sugar -- even if you're at a healthy weight -- you may be able to lower your heart disease risk when you cut back.

Here are some signs to look out for: Colour: Raw or undercooked cookies tend to have a pale appearance, lacking that golden or slightly browned hue that indicates they're fully baked. Watch for cookies that still have a doughy or unbaked look. Texture: Touch the surface of the cookies gently.

Chilling cookie dough makes the cookies much more flavorful, with that blissful caramelized butterscotch flavor, and it makes them thicker, chewier, and browner.

The higher the proportion of butter to other ingredients, the more tender your cookie will be (and consequently, the more it will spread as it bakes). I found that a ratio of 1 part flour to 1 part sugar to 0.8 parts butter was about right for a cookie that has moderate spread and doesn't end up cakey.

The moisture contributed by the milk will also increase spread and hydrate more of the starches in the flour. These hydrated (gelatinized) starches support the structure of the air pocket wall, keeping the cookies from collapsing once cooled. By holding more water, they also help keep the cookies softer over time.

What is the best sugar for baking cookies? ›

Granulated sugar: Derived from either sugarcane or sugar beets, this is the most commonly used sugar in baking, and for good reason. It's neutral in flavor and has medium-sized, uniform crystals that are small enough to dissolve into batters and large enough to create air pockets when creamed with butter.

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

Undermixed butter and sugar looks gritty and chunky, which can lead to dense cookies and cakes. It is possible to overmix the butter and sugar. If you overmix, the butter will separate out of the mixture and it will be grainy and soupy. Be sure to stop once your butter becomes light and fluffy.

You may notice visible pockets of flour, streaks of butter, or uneven coloration. When overmixed, though, cookie dough will feel dense, greasy, heavy, and warm. It may be tough to roll out or work with, just like overmixed pie dough.

Sugar creates texture

Sugar easily binds with water, which accomplishes two main things. 1) It locks in moisture, keeping your baked goods from drying out; and 2) It inhibits the development of gluten which keeps your cookies, cakes and sweet breads softer. Variances in sugar type will create different outcomes here.

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

Brown sugar adds a dense chewiness to certain types of baked goods like cookies. When brown sugar is replaced with white sugar, you may end up with a slightly crispier result. Still, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. White sugar can be used to replace brown sugar, producing only slight changes in texture and flavor.

Too much moisture: Excess moisture, either from ingredients like eggs or butter, can result in soft cookies. Be precise with ingredient measurements. Butter temperature: Using overly soft or melted butter can lead to softer cookies. Ensure your butter is at the right temperature specified in the recipe.