These Sour Cream Lemon Cookies are the perfect balance of tangy citrus and soft, pillowy texture that will have you reaching for seconds. The combination of fresh lemon zest and creamy sour cream creates cookies that are incredibly moist and bursting with bright flavor!
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👩🍳 The sour cream in this recipe creates the most tender, cake-like cookies you’ve ever tasted!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Sour Cream Lemon Cookies
Proper Mixing: Add the dry and wet ingredients alternately to prevent overmixing the gluten in the flour. Start and end with the flour mixture, mixing just until combined after each addition. Overmixing will result in tough, chewy cookies instead of tender ones.
Fresh Zest: Grate your lemon zest fresh for the best flavor – pre-packaged zest lacks the bright oils that make these cookies special. Use a microplane grater and only zest the yellow part of the peel, avoiding the bitter white pith underneath.
I always warm my lemon in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before zesting to release more essential oils. This simple trick intensifies the citrus flavor and makes zesting much easier.
While rainbow sprinkles are classic, these sour cream drop cookies are a blank canvas for creativity. Try sparkling sugar for elegance, colored sugar for holidays, or even a simple glaze for extra sweetness. The neutral base flavor pairs well with almost any topping you can imagine.
You can enjoy them straight from the oven as a delightful dessert or pack them in lunchboxes for a sweet surprise! I love pairing them with a cup of coffee in the morning or serving them alongside fresh berries for an elegant finish to dinner.
🩷 Melissa
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Sour Cream Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon emulsion optional
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 cup sour cream
- Rainbow sprinkles or Sparkling Sugars
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookies sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon emulsion (if using), and lemon zest. Mix until well blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Add half the sour cream. Add another third of the flour mixture. Add remaining sour cream and remaining flour mixture and mix until blended.
- Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop the dough about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Top with sprinkles.
- Bake until the edged of the cookies are lightly browned, about 11 – 13 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheets for 3 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Adding a slice of bread to the container helps maintain moisture.
- For longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
How To Make Sour Cream Drop Cookies
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F and line cookie sheets with parchment. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Step 2: Beat butter and sugar until creamy (3 minutes). Add eggs, vanilla, lemon emulsion, and lemon zest until blended.
Step 3: Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream to butter mixture on low speed, starting and ending with flour.
Step 4: Scoop dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheets, top with sprinkles, and bake 11-13 minutes until edges are lightly browned.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, the lemon emulsion is optional and adds extra lemon flavor, but the cookies are delicious with just the fresh lemon zest. You can substitute with an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract if desired.
While sour cream works best, you can substitute with an equal amount of Greek yogurt. The texture may be slightly different, but they’ll still be delicious and soft.
Make sure your butter isn’t too warm and that you are measuring flour correctly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off. Chilling the dough for 30 minutes before baking can also help prevent spreading.
More Amazing Cookie Recipes to Consider
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lorenzo
Thank you I love your video
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Oh these are so pretty with the coloured sugar mum! I love all sorts of cookies and I love lemon and sour cream 😀 xxx
Jenny
Thank you so much for participating in the C4KC fundraiser last month! We hope you got your Mediavine spatula in addition to all the other awesome swag.
(These lemon drop cookies look amazing!)
~Jenny, Mediavine Marketing Associate
Barbara Schieving
I did – thanks Jenny! The spatula came a few days after I snapped the picture.
J
Is lemon emulsion the same as lemon flavor?
Barbara Schieving
According to the website: What is a baking emulsion? A baking emulsion is a flavor suspended in a base containing mostly water. In contrast, baking extracts are flavors suspended in a base containing mostly alcohol. Our Bakery Emulsions are not compromised by the flavor of alcohol and don’t “bake-out” when exposed to heat like an extract flavor. Use anywhere you would a baking extract – in cakes, cookies, cheesecakes, frostings and more. http://www.lorannoils.com/bakery-emulsions/lemon-natural-bakery-emulsion-0758-emulsion
Carol
Ohhhh those look so good! I just love lemon-and those cookies shout SPRING with all those pretty colors on top. Aren’t those emulsions the best? I use them all the time. What a great helper you have-the perfect hand model….and taste tester too? 🙂 Those cookies look WAYYY too hard to resist. I’ve been contemplating what to make for dessert when the family comes for Corned Beef and Cabbage….a plate of these just might be the ticket (beside the Italian Ricotta Cheesecake from the pressure cooker that is!). I have all the ingredients on hand too….perfect!!! Can’t wait to try them.