5 stars (based on 3 reviews)
If you love levain bakery
You have to try these homemade, chunky lemon cookies
They are bright, thick and my new favorite cookie
Copycat Levain Bakery Lemon Cookies
Recipe
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Prep Time: 15 min
- 1 cup unsalted butter* melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- zest from one lemon
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled (*see note below)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 1/4 cups lemon chips, separated (I ordered mine off of amazon)
- When measuring your flour, be sure not to scoop your measuring cup into the flour (that is too much flour!) You want to spoon your flour into your measuring cup (spoonful by spoonful) until the cup is full. Then use a knife to scrape off the top, excess flour. This tip will ensure that you are not using too much flour in your recipes.
- To get that classic Levain cookie shape, try making your balls of dough a little taller than usual. Height helps the cookies maintain shape and not spread too far. You can also pinch a few areas of each cookie dough ball. The end result will look like the balls of dough have dimples (small dents) all over.
- Chilling cookie dough is a sure way to improve the flavor of your cookies! The chilling process allows the flour to moisten and the sugars and butter to get acquainted… which creates an almost butterscotch/caramel-like flavor to your cookies! It is heavenly! Try not to skip this step!
- When baking your cookies, try not to crowd your pan as your cookies will spread. For this recipe, I usually bake 3 cookies at a time.
- I often bake ugly looking cookies (LOL). To avoid ugly cookies, and to create uniformed cookies, I take a cup or cookie cutter and place it over each cookie- give it a nice swirl, which helps the cookie return to a circular shape. Its a bomb technique, and no skill required!
Bake Time: 10 min
Yields: 8-16 cookies
What you need
Lemon Cookies
What to do
1. Place butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Let the butter melt and then let it cool. Once cool, pour into a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment.
2. Mix the butter, lemon zest and sugars on medium speed for about 90 seconds. *Hand mixer and/or whisk also works. Let the mix rest for about 10-15 minutes (this allows the zest and sugars to become friends!). Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined.
3. Sift all dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Give the dry mix a good whisk or two so everything is combined. Add the dry to your butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low until flour is barely combined. Add 2 cups of lemon chips.
4. At this point, I like to cover and chill my dough for 24 hrs (*see note below). You can also bake right away. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Important Note: Let your cookie dough come to room temp before baking. If the butter is too cold when baking, your cookies will spread and that is no good!
5. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, form dough into about 8-16 cookies, depending on size. I like my cookies big and chunky, so I my recipe produced 8 cookies. Place 3-4 cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 10 minutes, or when edges browning and tops are slightly brown. (*see note about shaping cookies below). Remove from oven, add a few more lemon chips on top and… INHALEIT!!!
2. Mix the butter, lemon zest and sugars on medium speed for about 90 seconds. *Hand mixer and/or whisk also works. Let the mix rest for about 10-15 minutes (this allows the zest and sugars to become friends!). Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined.
3. Sift all dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Give the dry mix a good whisk or two so everything is combined. Add the dry to your butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low until flour is barely combined. Add 2 cups of lemon chips.
4. At this point, I like to cover and chill my dough for 24 hrs (*see note below). You can also bake right away. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Important Note: Let your cookie dough come to room temp before baking. If the butter is too cold when baking, your cookies will spread and that is no good!
5. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, form dough into about 8-16 cookies, depending on size. I like my cookies big and chunky, so I my recipe produced 8 cookies. Place 3-4 cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 10 minutes, or when edges browning and tops are slightly brown. (*see note about shaping cookies below). Remove from oven, add a few more lemon chips on top and… INHALEIT!!!
Helpful tips
