Lemonade Sugar Cookies

Summer is almost here, and I absolutely love it. Sunny filled days past your normal dinner hours, awesome natural light for food blogging, the new season of Breaking Bad (I watched seasons 1 through 3 last week on Netflix and I'm currently waiting for Season 4 to stream), and the need for simple summery treats.

I'm all about baking scrumptious sweets these days because of my weak sweet tooth. Which totally defeats the purpose of losing those post-pregnancy pounds. If I want something sweet, my rule is that I have to make it and share it. Baby steps, I tell myself. I won't tell you how many more pounds that I have to go, but I have been dropping the weight slowly but surely.

I don't consider myself on a diet really, but I'm making healthy eating choices and counting calories to help shed the baby weight. These cookies are a little splurge on those days when I needed a little sugary pick-me up. I'm a fan of all things citrus and I knew I had to make these cookies ASAP before my harvest of Meyer lemons would dwindle down again. You can easily substitute using limes or oranges to make these cookies, too. 

Soft, sweet and a taste of summer all in a cookie! 

Lemonade Sugar Cookies
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Adapted from I Was Born to Cook
{Printable Recipe}
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
8 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Coarse Sanding sugar (preferably yellow)

Preparation:

Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of stand mixer, cream together the butter and lemon zest. Add the vegetable oil and sugar and mix until combined. Add the eggs, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Add the reserved dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The dough will be very sticky and loose.

Chill the dough for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) before baking.

When ready to bake cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Using a small sized cookie scooper, about 1 tablespoon, roll dough into round balls and roll in sugar. Place on prepared cookie sheets with at least 2 inch space.

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are just about firm on the top when gently pressed. The bottoms will be a light golden brown and the tops should be pale in color. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets before transferring to the cooling rack. 

Yield: 3 dozen 

Review: My new favorite way to bake up a batch of sugar cookies especially for the summer days. If you don't have the coarse yellow sanding sugar, you can opt to use other colors. However, the color yellow makes me very happy and when your adorable little girl wears it, too. It will definitely bring a smile to your face.