Gluten-Free Lemon Cookie Cutouts

Gluten-Free Lemon Cookie CutOuts

These gluten-free lemon cookie cutouts are so delicious! This cookie can also be made with regular all-purpose flour.

Last weekend I made these gluten-free lemon cookie cutouts for my niece’s engagement party, they were a big hit!

The lemon taste is ever so faint, giving the cookies a nice flavoring and the icing on each cookie is just sweet enough!

I found this lemon cookie recipe some years ago and it works great as a cutout cookie. This cookie recipe is from the famous cookie cutter maker Ann Clark. The actual cookie recipe is made with all-purpose flour, I used gluten-free 1 to 1 flour instead. These cookies can be made with all-purpose regular flour as in the original recipe. I’ve used this recipe for Christmas cookie cutouts as well! The dough has just the right texture to make an excellent cutout cookie. These cookies keep their shape when baked with nice edges and they also taste amazing like a classic sugar cookie should!

A Few Simple Ingredients For Gluten-Free Lemon Cutout Cookies

There are a few simple ingredients to this cookie recipe. As you know there are many sugar cookie recipes and many claim to be the best for cut-out cookies. Well I think this recipe is the best Lol, and I have tried many through the years. With a few simple steps, you will have the perfect cut-out cookies.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Freshly Grated Lemon Zest
• 1 cup Unsalted butter, softened
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Gluten Free Vanilla Extract
• 2 1/2 cups Gluten Free 1 to 1 Flour or All-Purpose Flour for non- gluten-free cookies
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Ingredients and Substitution:

• Sugar~ I used granulated sugar for this recipe because I wanted the cookies to be light in color. Granulated sugar also brings structure to the cookie.
• Lemon Zest~ Freshly grated lemon zest gives an abundance of flavor to the cookie, for this cookie it is a must-have ingredient.
• Unsalted Butter~ This is a time to use really good butter. Measure this ingredient properly so the cookies are not flat. Use unsalted butter, salt is already included in the recipe.
• Egg ~ I use cage-free eggs but any large egg will do.
• Lemon Juice ~ I use the lemon juice from the lemon I zested. Fresh lemon juice works best.
• Vanilla Extract ~ You could use gluten-free imitation vanilla extract but you could also use real vanilla extract or the imitation as a substitution. Real does taste better but it is pricey, imitation works just as well and it’s what I had for this day. If you need to eat gluten-free make sure to read the ingredients as not all vanilla extracts are gluten-free.
• Gluten-Free Flour ~ 1 to 1 gluten-free flour by King Arthur Flour is one I like to use. (Any all-purpose regular flour will work in non-gluten-free cookies).
• Salt ~ This is an important ingredient in recipes as salt is a binder and helps with adding moisture to gluten-free cookies. Kosher salt works just as well.

Directions and Tips for CutOut Cookies

• Process together in a food processor for about 15 seconds the sugar and lemon zest.
• Next beat with an electric mixer the butter and lemon sugar mixture.
• Add to the mix, egg, fresh lemon juice, and gluten-free vanilla extract, and whisk together.
• Then incorporate with an electric mixer on low the gluten-free 1 to 1 flour ( or regular all-purpose flour if not make gluten-free cookies) and salt, until blended.
  

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm. I divide my dough into 4 quarters and then wrap each. I usually chill my dough overnight, but 6 hours will work. When dough is ready set out for a half hour or so to soften a little. It will be easier to roll out for cut-out cookies.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with your favorite cookie cutters,
• Transfer cookies onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone liners. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Let cookies cool slightly on cookie sheets, for 2 to 3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Decorate if you choose.

Lemon Icing or Frosting the cutout cookies

Icing Ingredients

• Powdered sugar
• Butter
• Fresh Lemon Juice
• Salt

• Melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, and mix with 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, 4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of salt to smooth.
  Or use this recipe which I like as well

Ingredients

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons of milk, ( I used lactose free milk)
• 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
  

• Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 4 tablespoons of milk ( any milk will do I used lactose-free milk) and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, mix all ingredients until smooth. For a thicker frosting add more powdered sugar.

Baking Tips For CutOut Cookies

• If the dough is too crumbly when making your quarters to chill your dough, you may have added too much flour. Add a tablespoon of egg white a little at a time until the dough is smooth to work with. Don’t overwork the dough or it will be tough.
• And if the dough is hard after chilling let it set out on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes before rolling out the dough.
• If the dough is too cold it will crumble and it will need to set out for 10-20 minutes on the counter to warm before rolling out the dough.
• Dough that gets too warm it will become too soft to roll out and form cut-out cookies. Place the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes or back into the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• If the cookies are not soft after they have been cooled then they were overbaked, they should bake only until lightly brown around the edges.

Frosting Cutout Cookies

The most important thing to remember when frosting your cut-out cookies is to make sure they are completely cooled. Otherwise, your frosting will drip off the cookie

Air quality is important when making any cookies. Your room should be cool not hot or humid. The frosting will not dry on the cookie if the room is hot.

If you are using food coloring and or different colors the frosting goes a long way so you can separate the frosting in separate bowls. Food coloring also goes a long way. Add one drop at a time for the desired color.

When using the decorating sugar sprinkles add them right after frosting the cookie the sugar will stick much better to the wet frosting.

Tips and Tricks To Making CutOut Cookies

• My first tip use a dusting of whatever type of flour you choose on your surface when rolling out the cookies. Don’t use too much, in this case, less is best.
• Dust or dip your cookie cutter in the light dusting of flour as well, it makes it easier to cut cookies.
• Also dust your rolling pin with just a light swipe of your hand across the rolling pin, not too much.
• Use parchment paper on your cookie sheet. This helps to keep the bottoms from sticking and getting too dark. Also, parchment paper can be used a few times. For this baking I only had Christmas paper!
• All ovens are different so keep an eye toon not letting the cookies over bake or you’ll have hard cookies.
• Do separate your dough in 4 quarters when chilling, it’s much easier to work with. I also put the dough into 6-8 round balls before rolling them out. This is so it’s easier to manage the cookie dough when rolling out the dough.
• When cooling cookies let the cookies start cooling on the cookie sheet after removing from the oven for 2-3 minutes. Then transfer the cookies onto a wire rack for complete cooling. If you do not have wire racks ( it’s a great baking investment) transfer cookies with the parchment paper to cool on a counter.
• Frosting the cookie cutouts can also be done on the wire rack in case of dripping.
• A neat little cookie frosting tool is a sprayer, this is great for dusting cookies with edible glitter or iridescence of color. You add the sugar type to the sprayer and spray the cookie. it goes on beautifully. I used a sprayer for these cookies to give them that iridescent look.
• This is so important, don’t stack or pack the frosted cutout cookies until they are completely dry. Cookies take time to dry, depending on the air quality in the home it could take hours.
• If you want to do piping around the cookie and don’t have a piper use a freezer bag. Place the freezer bag in a glass or cup, open it in the glass, and then fill it with the frosting you are going to use on the cookie. It’s much easier to add the frosting this way. Then remove, seal, and tie the end with a tie, you are then ready to clip a very little piece at the end of the bag. Cut the bag on the seam at the end of the bag. This helps with the flow of the frosting and adding it to the cutout cookie.

How To Store Gluten-Free Lemon CutOut Cookies

These gluten-free lemon cutout cookies can be stored for up to 3 months in the freezer. Storing the cookies in an airtight freezer-proof container will keep the cookies from getting that freezer-burnt taste. Place cookies in a single layer using parchment paper between each layer. Make sure the cookies are completely dry, you could chill the cookies for a bit before doing this as well. When taking the frozen cookies out of the freezer be sure to unstack the cookies to thaw so the frosting doesn’t stick to the other cookie and remove the parchment paper.

I hope you enjoy this Gluten-Free Lemon Cookie CutOuts recipe as much as my family and the guest did!

Thank you for stopping by and reading all about my Gluten-Free Lemon Cookie CutOuts recipe!

If you like cookies you may like this recipe and any of my gluten-free cookie recipes can be made with all-purpose flour. https://houseofmar.com/the-best-gluten-free-italian-anisette-or-s-shape-cookies/

Blessings to a beautiful day!

Mary Anne,

These are some items I use to help make my baking easier,

Best wishes!