Imagine a tender, sweet, perfectly delicate, just barely lemon-y cookie and when you take a bite, the cookie just melts away deliciously. The cookie is not too chewy, not crumbly, not really even gooey, like the title implies, it is just so good. Most of the time recipes for this variety of cookie call for using a cake box mix, but this recipe is completely from scratch and takes just minutes to make. If you wanted the cookie to have a bit more of a strong lemon flavor, I would suggest adding a small amount of lemon extract or lemon oil but I found the very subtle hint of lemon here to be very satisfying and not at all overwhelming. Other recipes also suggest adding a few drops of yellow food coloring to emphasize the lemon-y aspect, but that is up to you. Oh and I almost forget about the best part of this cookie - the powdered sugar coating melts into this ever so slightly crunchy shell that is amazing!!!
Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup powdered/confectioner's sugar
Preheat the oven to 325F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease well with non-stick spray. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer or wire whisk until well combined. Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice and continue to mix together. When everything is well incorporated, add in the baking powder, salt, and flour and mix until everything just comes together in a soft dough. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop out approximate 1 inch balls of dough and roll each dough ball in powdered/confectioner's sugar. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the tray and bake for about 14 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the trays for 2-3 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. These can be stored in an air tight container for several days.
