Lemon Cream Cheese Crinkle Cookies

Bringing you some sunshine in cookie form today! Soft, slightly gooey, unmistakably lemony and rich with a combination of butter and cream cheese. Rolled in plenty of powdered sugar to create cute little crinkles as the cookies bake. They are just so good!

About three years ago, I’d made these cookies from a recipe by Wicked Good Kitchen (unfortunately that site no longer seems to be available). It used both food colour and lemon oil, neither of which I had or wanted to use. I made up for the lemony flavour by simply adding more juice and didn’t mind the cookies looking pale yellow, not bright yellow. The proof is in the pudding, er, cookie. Having said that, if you’d like to add a little colour, go right ahead!

The recipe and the photos needed a bit of an upgrade, so I got to work. This time around I halved the recipe, turned it into a one-bowl dough, skipped the extra egg yolk because just one whole egg is more convenient and didn’t affect the cookies in any way, rolled the dough balls in powdered sugar for the crinkles (which I had skipped earlier) and made sure to chill the dough a nice long time to make it easier to scoop (more on that below).

I also tried two baking times for the cookies because I realised I liked them a bit soft and gooey for which they need to be slightly underbaked. As they cool, they firm up without becoming dry. The crisp sugary tops contrast beautifully with that gooey inside and the lemony flavours make sure the cookies don’t become unbearably sweet. The cream cheese adds a subtle tang and delicious flavour too and it should not be skipped. Try these soon!!

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Lemon Cream Cheese Crinkle Cookies

Soft and gooey lemon cream cheese cookies with crinkly sugar tops

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Makes: 14 cookies

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Ingredients

  

• 70 gms cream cheese, at room temp (1/4 cup) (see notes)
• 55 gms butter, at room temp (1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup caster sugar (95 gms)
• 3 tsps lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 egg (I haven't tried any substitutes)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 3 tbsps all-purpose flour (150 gms)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt, if using unsalted butter
• 1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar (170 gms; see notes)

Instructions

• Beat the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl using a hand mixer, until smooth and creamy, then beat in the sugar, till fluffy.
• Add the lemon zest and juice and beat briefly (the juice might cause the butter to curdle a bit but that's ok).
• Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
• Now sift in the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, and fold to combine into a thick and sticky dough. It's almost like cake batter at this stage.
• Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour and preferably 2 hours, to make sure you can scoop it.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 165 C and lightly grease a baking tray or line it with a silicone mat.
• Sift the icing sugar into a large, rimmed plate or tray. Use a cookie scoop (highly recommended here) or a spoon to form equal sized portions of the dough, about 1.5 tablespoons each. Roll them in the sugar and place them on the prepared tray, an inch apart. Work quickly here because the dough absorbs this sugar coating quite fast.
• Bake for 10 minutes until the cookies have puffed and the tops have crinkly patches of sugar. These cookies are baked at a relatively low temperature so they will not brown and will remain soft on the top. Leave them to cool at room temperature and they will firm up, remaining slightly gooey in the center. If you prefer to bake them longer, 12 to 14 minutes is fine, keeping in mind that as they cool, they will become a little cakey and will no longer be gooey.
• These cookies are best eaten the day they are made as once they're covered, the sugar on top can go a little damp (especially in humid weather) and the cookies soften further. However, they will still taste great and can be stored at room temperature for 3 to 4 days or in the fridge for about a week, where they won't soften as quickly. Happy baking!

Notes

*I don't recommend skipping the cream cheese here. It adds flavour and richness and while you could probably use a little more butter in its place, the cookies won't taste exactly the same.

*If you choose to skip the icing sugar coating, the cookies will still be delicious but you should add a couple of extra tablespoons sugar to the dough.

*If using regular Indian lemons, you need 2 to 3 of them for the zest and juice.

*Add a couple of drops of yellow food colouring if you'd like brighter cookies.

*Prep time does not include dough chilling time. Cook time is per batch of cookies.

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