Spring always seems to arrive first in the kitchen. Sugar on the counter, citrus being zested, flowers picked from the garden. These cookies came from that place. They’re soft and cake-y, lightly scented with lilac and finished with a lemon glaze. There’s room to play with other florals — lavender, chamomile, or a touch of orange blossom or rose — all lending their own softness to the dough.
Variations
Lavender or chamomile sugar:
Measure 1 cup sugar and remove 2 tablespoons. Place the 2 tablespoons in a spice grinder or blender with 2 teaspoons culinary lavender or 1–2 tablespoons dried chamomile. Grind until fine, then stir back into the remaining sugar.
Floral waters:
Use the seeds from a scraped vanilla bean pod in place of vanilla extract, then add 1–2 teaspoons rosewater or orange blossom water to the dough.
Glaze variations:
Swap the lemon juice for orange juice, or leave out the citrus entirely and whisk in ¼–½ teaspoon matcha powder. Brewed tea or a reduced berry syrup can also be used for part of the glaze liquid.
If florals aren’t your thing:
Add ¼ teaspoon almond extract or ground cardamom along with citrus zest.
Ingredients
All-purpose flour. Forms the base of the dough. Hayden Flour Mills All-Purpose Sonora is my go-to here.
Tapioca starch. Keeps the cookies especially soft; arrowroot or cornstarch work as substitutes.
Unsalted butter. Softened to room temperature for a smooth, cohesive dough.
Eggs. Provide structure and lift; an extra yolk adds richness.
Lilac-infused sugar. Sweetens the dough and adds a gentle floral note.
Sour cream. Adds moisture and tenderness, giving the cookies their soft texture.
Vanilla. Brings a sweet, creamy flavor; I like Singing Dog Double Strength Vanilla.
Lemon zest. Adds a bright citrus note that lifts the florals.
Lilac Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Description
adapted from Frolic and Fare
Ingredients
2 ¼ (270g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp tapioca starch
½ tsp salt
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) lilac infused sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
¼ cup (60g) sour cream, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Lemon Glaze
2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp whole milk
juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and tapioca in a large bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter, lilac sugar and lemon zest until fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla. Add the sour cream and mix until combined, scraping the bowl down as needed.
- On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients.
- Shape the dough into a disc, then cover in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll the dough out to ¼ inch, then use a round circular cookie cutter to cut the cookies; reroll the scraps and cut the remaining cookies.
- Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets and bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to get golden on the bottom. Set aside to cool completely.
Lemon Icing
- Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice and vanilla. Drizzle in the milk whisking until smooth. Adjust the glaze adding more powdered sugar or lemon juice for the desired consistency.
- Top the cookies with a generous layer of lemon icing. Allow the icing to set.
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