Hey everyone! I’m excited to share a delicious rollout strawberry lemon sugar cookie recipe with you. These cookies are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, and they’re sure to be a hit with your friends and family. I love to pair these cookies with lemon royal icing. Just use my Royal Icing recipe but replace part of the water with lemon juice. I like to do half water and half lemon juice.
I’m excited to share my perfect recipe with everyone after spending a lot of time experimenting with different ingredients. The cookie community has been incredibly helpful with their suggestions and feedback, which allowed me to fine-tune my recipe to perfection. Thank you all for your support and suggestions. I couldn’t have done it without you!
So, let’s get baking! Grab your apron, and let’s dive into the world of strawberry lemon sugar cookies together. Trust me, the end result will be worth all the effort.
About the Ingredients
Cream cheese: Is one of my favorite ingredients for roll-out cookies. It adds a hint of tanginess and richness to the cookie dough. Keep in mind to not let it reach room temperature.
Butter: I use brand-name butter cut into squares and keep it cool before using it to prevent spreading. Once I’m ready to use it, I wait until it reaches a soft consistency, but I don’t let it reach room temperature.
Flavors: Feel free to experiment with different flavors, swapping them out for your personal favorites. I use LorAnn for their Strawberry Emulsions and Nielsen-Massey for top-quality vanilla paste.
Eggs: Large eggs are a standard size to ensure consistent results, so using them helps maintain consistency in the recipe’s proportions and moisture content. I use two large egg yolks because they have more fat, and a higher fat content adds moisture and tenderness to my cookie. The fat in egg yolks helps emulsify the ingredients in the dough. Also, using only egg yolks reduces the protein content in the recipe, resulting in a softer and moister cookie.
Flour: I prefer King Arthur’s All-Purpose Flour as my primary flour choice due to its consistent quality and reliability. This flour has a protein content of approximately 11.7%, which is higher than other all-purpose flour. The added protein provides stability and structure to your roll-out cookie dough, resulting in better shape retention during baking and less spreading. Additionally, the protein content of flour has an impact on the texture of baked goods. In general, higher protein content results in a slightly chewier texture.
Confectioners’ sugar: It helps control moisture, provides stability to the dough, and gives your cookies the perfect texture and appearance. Plus, it helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking, so you get perfectly shaped treats every time.
Freeze-dried strawberries: These are a convenient and effective way to add intense strawberry flavor, vibrant color, and a unique texture to your sugar cookies without compromising their structure. I like to use these Freeze-Dried strawberries and put them in the food processor.
A few tips about my Recipe
Here are some tips that, as a non-baker, I didn’t know when I started baking cookies in 2012.
Creaming Butter: Creaming the butter, cream cheese, and sugar for the perfect cookie is crucial. The air pockets expand during baking, resulting in a softer and more delicate texture. This process also establishes a stable structure in the dough. As the sugar crystals dissolve and mix with the fat, they trap air and create a semi-solid matrix that supports the cookies while baking. Consequently, they hold their shape and don’t spread excessively.
I roll out my dough to a thickness of 5/16“. To prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin, I suggest using powdered sugar or plastic wrap instead of flour, which can dry the dough and make the cookies too hard.
To minimize the number of scraps, I recommend cutting shapes as close together as possible, maybe cutting minis if you have big spaces. Additionally, I’ve learned that the more I roll out my dough, the more the cookies spread. So, it’s best to avoid kneading the scraps when re-rolling them and try not to handle them too much since the warmth from your hands may cause the dough to spread more during baking.
I like using almost frozen dough to cut out precise shapes and avoid spreading. I even pop the dough back in the freezer when I re-roll it for consistency. And let me tell you, using Chua mats has made a massive difference in my baked cookies. My cookies come out with a delightful texture on the bottom and barely any spreading. Lastly, as soon as my cookies come out of the oven, I use a fondant smoother to flatten the surface and cover them with a sheet lid to trap the moisture.
Strawberry Lemon Roll-Out Sugar Cookie
Description
I’m excited to share a delicious rollout strawberry lemon sugar cookie recipe with you. These cookies are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, and they’re sure to be a hit with your friends and family. I love to pair these cookies with lemon royal icing. Just use my Royal Icing recipe but replace part of the water with lemon juice. I like to do half water and half lemon juice.
Ingredients
Instructions
- In your stand-alone mixer bowl, add butter, cream cheese, and sugars. Use your paddle attachment at medium speed and mix until light and fluffy. Note that butter and cream cheese must be soft to the touch but not at room temperature.
- Whisk the egg, egg yolks, vanilla, and strawberry emulsion in a medium bowl.
- Once the mixture is combined, gradually add it to your butter, cream cheese, and sugar at a lower mixing speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl if needed.
- Add lemon zest, freeze-dried strawberries, baking powder, lemon juice, and salt, and mix until incorporated.
- Add 5 cups of flour and mix. While the mixer is still running, add the remaining flour ½ a cup at a time. If needed, add the remaining ½ cup of flour. You will know your dough is ready when it doesn’t stick to the sides of the mixing bowl, but the dough is still tacky.
- Roll out your dough on parchment paper to the desired thickness with a precision rolling pin. I roll all my cookies at 5/16”. Don’t use flour when rolling your dough, as it may dry it. It is better to cover it with saran wrap and then roll your dough.
- Place your rolled-out dough between parchment papers on a baking pan, cover with saran wrap or/a sheet lid, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes – 1 hour, more if needed. I love freezing my dough because it is easier to handle, maintains shape, reduces spreading, and saves time by allowing me to prep my dough a few days ahead if needed.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper or Chua Mats. I like to use Chua Mats; they even provide baking and less spreading.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Leave at least 1″ space between each cookie. Once you cut out the shapes, save the scraps and re-roll your dough.
- Poke holes in the center of your cookies before baking with a fork. Poking holes is a good idea because it prevents air bubbles, provides more even baking, controls spread, and reduces cracking.
- Bake for 14 – 16 minutes, until the dough has a matte look or longer if you like golden edges. When you remove them from the oven, these cookies might appear soft but will firm up as they cool.
- Pull cookies out of the oven and use a fondant smoother or a flat kitchen utensil to smooth out the cookie’s surface.
- Leave your cookies on your baking sheet to cool before transferring them to a cooling rack or decorating.
I attempted to make this recipe but it did not turn out. The mixture is too dry and powdery rather than doughy. Not sure what I did wrong. Any suggestions?
Mmm, try adding less flour
Hi, if I wanted to half this recipe would I use one egg plus 1 yolk?
Hi, yes!