1-Hour Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies

By joeyanne

Sweet and tangy 1-Hour Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies are rich, moist, and exploding with zesty lemon flavor. Make a batch for any holiday event or your child's bak sale. They make great additions to a tea time spread or birthday dessert table. Package these treats in decorative gift boxes and gift them--they make a scrumptious treat any time of the year!

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Flour organic all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 (8-ounce) package Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest, from 2 large lemons, freshly grated
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon Boyajian lemon oil, omit for gluten-free variation
• 1/8 teaspoon Chefmaster natural yellow gel-based food coloring
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or 3/4 teaspoon regular table salt
• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted, for rolling and dusting cookies

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 75mins
Adapted from wickedgoodkitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder until well blended. Set aside.

Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or handheld electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until well blended, creamy and smooth.

Beat in sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, lemon oil, food coloring, and salt; mix until well combined, light and fluffy, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula when necessary.

Add egg and egg yolk and beat well until creamy and light, about 1 to 2 minutes on medium speed. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture and mix until just fully incorporated. Dough will be very sticky.

Cover work bowl and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, arrange oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 325ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Place confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl; set aside.

Measure enough dough to roll into generous 1-inch balls, using a 1 1/3-inch spring-loaded cookie scoop or by measuring a generous tablespoon of dough with a measuring spoon, making sure scoops are in equal amounts. This is important for evenly baked cookies.

Roll dough between palms of hands to achieve a small rounded ball. Roll in confectioners’ sugar to lightly coat.

Place dough balls on prepared baking sheets at least 2-inches apart. Bake in preheated oven until cookies have spread into round cookie shapes and are puffed and crackly, about 14 minutes. Do not over-bake. The cookies will still be soft in the centers. If they start to brown around the edges, they have baked too long. The underside of the cookies should be only very lightly browned. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet.

Once completely cooled, carefully remove cookies from baking sheet using a thin metal cookie spatula and transfer to an airtight container. Repeat with remaining dough on prepared cookie sheets. If desired, chill the cookies in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Before serving, dust cookies with additional confectioners’ sugar. Serve cookies chilled or at room temperature.