Crispy Sugar Cookies with Lightly Lemon Frosting

Happy National Sugar Cookie Day!

The last time I made sugar cookies, they were moist and soft. And delicious. This time, I followed a different recipe that gave me cookies that were dry and crispy. And delicious.

I love sugar cookies topped with frosting. My favorite are the Lofthouse cookies you get at the grocery store in those little clear plastic containers. But as delicious as they are, they aren't exactly tight-budget-friendly. So I make my own cookies. I have yet to find a recipe for cookies and frosting exactly like those store-bought ones, but I have found several that I really like.

I particularly like recipes that don't require any refrigeration, or having to be rolled out. I'm a time-saver at heart, as long as it saves money as well. I figure, making cookies instead of buying them saves money, and not refrigerating or rolling and cutting the dough saves time. Sounds good to me!


Crispy Sugar Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat sugar, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, and egg in large bowl until smooth. Gradually stir in flour.

Shape dough by teaspoonfuls into balls (they don't have to be evenly shaped). Place dough ball on ungreased baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Press dough gently with bottom of lightly floured, flat-bottomed glass. Cookie should be about 1/4-inch thick.

Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just golden brown. Cool cookies on baking sheet 1 minute, then remove to wire rack. Cool.


Lightly Lemon Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Pinch salt (only needed if you use unsalted butter)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, confectioners' sugar, milk, and salt if needed, until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. When you first start beating, the frosting will be very dry and crumbly. You'll be tempted to add more milk. Don't! After the 3 or 4 minutes of beating, the frosting will be thick and rich and creamy, and absolutely perfect! Beat in the lemon extract and food coloring. Spread or pipe onto cookies.

To make this into a more intensely lemon-flavored frosting, use lemon juice instead of milk.

I piped several different designs on my cookies, just for fun. Here's a few: