Italian Lemon Drop Cookies

My son graduated from high school this year.

GRADUATED.

I was sitting in the arena (the high school has a nice auditorium, which is in no way large enough to handle the graduation crowd) watching the kids line up, when I realized that I am THE MOM of the graduate.  The. Mom.

Holy crap, I’m old.

Having a kid that is done with school is a weird thing. Very weird.  And, as I always do when things feel weird, or uncomfortable, or sad, or I’m just hungry, I decided to comfort myself with cookies.

This time, the cookies were lemon, and the recipe was…  well, to be honest… stolen. From this blog here.

The lemon flavor in these comes from lemon extract, so be sure you have some of that on hand before baking. Although, I think they would taste great with other extracts, too, like orange or almond.

These cookies are different than your average cookie. They are kind of spongy, cakey, and very soft. The recipe calls for milk, which is not something you see in most cookie recipes.  Robb told me the dough tasted more like cake batter than cookie dough. And I agreed with him on that.

I did modify the icing just a skosh. The original recipe called for a lot more than I thought was really necessary. I cut it in half and still had plenty. And I added a little yellow food color, just to get the point across about what flavor people would be biting into.

Let’s just say, I love surprises. Except when I am eating. I prefer to have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to taste before I start tasting it.

But it is a good cookie for those days when you feel weird about how old your kids are. Or when you feel old about how weird your kids are, because that happens too.

Check out these fun lemon cookies from my friends!

Strawberry Lemonade Madeleines from Crumb: A Food Blog
Lemon Crackle Cookies from Posed Perfection
Bakery Style Sugar Cookies from Tastes of Lizzy T
Lemon Meringue French Macarons from Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt
Lemonade Cookies from Kelli’s Kitchen

Print Recipe

Italian Lemon Drop Cookies

A spongey, cakey lemon cookie with lemon icing.

Cook Time10 mins

Servings: 2 dozen

Ingredients

For Cookies:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 cups flour

For Icing:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
• yellow food coloring

Instructions

For Cookies:

• Cream oil, sugar, milk, eggs, and extract until well combined. Add baking powder and flour and mix just until combined. Dough should be soft and sticky.
• Use a spoon or cookie scoop to drop spoonfuls of dough onto a greased or lined baking sheet. (If you prefer to use your hands, coat them in flour first.)
• Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and let cool.

For Icing:

• Combine all ingredients well, using as much food coloring as needed to achieve desired color.
• Frost cooled cookies. If storing, let frosted cookie sit out for about an hour to let the icing dry and harden. Store in an airtight container between layers of wax paper.