Meyer Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I was given this recipe years ago, but struggled to find Meyer lemons at WinCo (where I normally grocery shop). A few weeks ago I was at the coast and someone had a bin at the end of their driveway, full of Meyer lemons. There was a sign that said, "take what you want." You better believe I did! 

These cookies are just as yummy as I remember. A bit messy to make, but so worth it. 

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp lemon extract
• 1/4 tsp orange extract
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp Meyer lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In a mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extracts, egg, zest, and juice until well-combined. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again to make sure everything is incorporated. 

Stir in flour mixture until just combined, making sure to scrape bottom of the bowl to get all flour mixed. Sift confectioner's sugar onto a large plate. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, or use a tablespoon to scoop. Roll balls in confectioner's sugar and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. 

Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies begin to turn light golden and the tops are matte. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

NOTE: The dough was crazy gooey. I have no idea how the writer of this recipe expected you to be able to form balls of it in order to coat it in powdered sugar. I ended up using my tablespoon to scoop the dough out, plop it on the plate and Tyler tossed some powdered sugar on top. Then he was able to pick it up and put it on the cookie sheet. Maybe next time I will try cooling the dough in the fridge for a bit before measuring it out. 

After I made these a second time, I tried chilling the dough for at least an hour. That helped a LOT. Chilling the dough also made the resulting cookies a bit fluffier; not as crunchy or spread out. Our family was actually a fan of the non-chilled cookies vs the chilled ones, but no way will I go through all that goo again. 

Makes 24-36 cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Recipe from Roberta Welk, who got it from https://whiteonricecouple.com/