Lemon Sugar Cookies

In a bid to win the hearts of important people (boyfriend's parents), I baked these lemon sugar cookies!

Simple recipe. I was looking for a more shortbread-type recipe, but I could not find one. However, these Lemon Sugar Cookies by Crepes of Wrath are delicious. I could not find coarse or raw sugar at the supermarket that day, and made do with regular white sugar!

Recipe below from Crepes of Wrath:

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Serves: 20 cookies

Ingredients

2¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
 ½ teaspoon baking powder
 ½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened 
1½ cups white sugar
1 egg
 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons lemon extract
zest of 1 lemon
½ cup granulated or raw sugar for rolling cookies (I used raw sugar, which I think was an awesome choice)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or tin foil and spray lightly with Pam.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Rub together the zest and granulated sugar until the sugar is a pale yellow color. This helps to infuse all of the oils in the zest into the sugar and gives your cookies an even more lemony flavor. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).
4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, and lemon extract.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened
6. Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1½ inches apart.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden and set.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. As soon as the cookies have cooled, store them in an airtight container to keep them nice and soft.