The Best Small-Batch Lemon Sugar Cookies {with Almond Extract}

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This recipe for the Best Small-Batch Lemon Sugar Cookies with Almond Extract yields the softest, most flavorful sugar cookies you will ever eat. Ready in less than an hour from start to finish, these small-batch lemon sugar cookies are perfect for Christmas cut-out cookies.

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THE Recipe for Soft, Chewy, and Flavorful Sugar Cookies

Cut-out sugar cookies have featured large in every single Christmas I’ve ever celebrated. And over those 30-odd Christmases, I have both eaten and tried many new recipes for Christmas sugar cookies–always in search of that “perfect” cookie.

And, friends, I can honestly say that these Small-Batch Lemon Sugar Cookies with Almond are it. Soft. Chewy. Perfectly sweet. Great for cutting out or rolling in sugar. Flavorful.

Easy Small-Batch Sugar Cookies

Please tell me I am not the only one who has one problem with sugar cookies: Thanks to large-batch recipes for these cookies, too many of them end up on my kitchen counter, growing stale for weeks after Christmastide has ended. What is the solution? Make a smaller batch, of course! This recipe makes the perfect amount, in my experience. And they are such quick and easy lemon sugar cookies that I don’t mind making them several times throughout the holiday season. (Any excuse to taste the dough again will do. Haha.)

What Makes Sugar Cookies Soft and Chewy in the Middle?

The most important factors of making a sugar cookie perfectly soft and chewy are 1) the ratio of flour to liquid (namely, butter and extracts and eggs), 2) handling, and 3) baking time. To make super soft cookies, it is necessary to use a good amount of butter and other liquids in the recipe. (This Lemon-Almond Sugar Cookies recipe pairs 1/2 cup of butter, an egg, and multiple extracts with only 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour.) It is also important to handle the cookies as little as absolutely necessary, because too much handling will melt the butter, resulting in crispy cookies. And speaking of crispiness, the baking time should be short (at most 9-10 minutes) so that the cookies are slightly underbaked. (Don’t worry: They can set while cooling.)

Best Sugar Cookies with Almond Extract

After a few years of baking Christmas sugar cookies, I quickly learned that they simply taste better with almond extract. Similar to wedding cake icing, sugar cookies get a huge flavor boost from a few teaspoons of almond flavoring.

But for perfect cut-out sugar cookies, don’t stop with just almond extract.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies with Lemon

Lemon Sugar Cookies are no new invention. They have been in great cooks’ repertoires for years. Whether you prefer your sugar cookies with lemon zest or sugar cookies with lemon juice, you have to agree that the addition of lemon makes the cookies mmm-uh!

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies for Decorating

Can you have both flavorful sugar cookies and great cookies for decorating? This Lemon-Almond Sugar Cookies Recipe answers a resounding yes! You don’t have to sacrifice flavor simply to make cut-out cookies. My children loved using this very recipe on Christmas Eve this year. I cannot say that the edges of the cookies did not expand at all, but they all maintained their shapes well, while still keeping their delicious lemon-almond flavor.

Soft and Chewy Drop Sugar Cookies

If cut-out lemon sugar cookies are not your thing, then never fear: You can use this same recipe to simply make drop sugar cookies. (In fact, this is my favorite way to eat them.) Simply make balls of dough, roll them in sugar, chill the dough balls for thirty minutes, and then pop them in the oven for ten minutes. Voila!The most flavorful and easy lemon sugar cookies.

Ingredients for a Small Batch of Lemon Sugar Cookies with Almond Extract

To make the Best Small-Batch Lemon Sugar Cookies, you will need:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (for rolling – optional, but highly recommended)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• Zest of one lemon -or- 2 tsp lemon juice

How to Make Small-Batch Lemon Sugar Cookies

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the softened butter, lemon juice or zest, and 1 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix well.
3. Measure the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a separate bowl and mix well. Add to the butter mixture and mix well to combine. Do not over-mix. As soon as they dough comes together, turn off the mixer.
4. If making drop sugar cookies: Pour the 1/4 cup granulated sugar into a wide and shallow bowl. Roll the sugar cookie dough into 30 small balls and roll them in the sugar to coat. Place in a single layer on a tray in the fridge. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, and then place them about 2-3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. If making cut-out sugar cookies:Cover the bowl with a damp cloth (or cling wrap) and put the entire bowl of dough into the fridge. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and (on a lightly floured surface) roll the dough out to about a 1-inch thickness. (Don’t skimp here!) Cut with cookie cutters. Repeat rolling out the dough and cutting out shapes until all the dough has been used. Place about 2-3 inches apart on cookies sheets.
5. Bake at 350F (150C) for 9-10 minutes. Do not over-bake. (I usually pull my cookies out of the oven at the first sign of browning on the bottom.) They still might be a bit gooey-looking on the top, but they will set up. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.
6. Enjoy!

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