2sticksunsalted buttersoftened at room temperature
1cupgranulated sugar
1teaspoonlemon extract
1largeegg
Icing
2cupspowdered sugar
1tablespoonlemon extract
1tablespoonwater
yellow gel food coloring
Instructions
Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt with a fork. Mix well and set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric hand or stand mixer. Mix until smooth and fully combined.
Add egg and lemon extract. Mix again until smooth.
Add flour mixture in, half at a time, and mix until fully combined and dough-like.
Place cookie dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before you roll out the cookie dough.
Remove dough from the bowl and place it on a flat, lightly floured surface.
Using your hands, flatten the dough pressing downward.
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick.
Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut rounds from dough and place the cutouts on the prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
Using a lemon cookie stamp or an inspirational phrase cookie stamp, create your pattern on the top of the cutouts. Press the stamp firmly into the dough until the indentations make it at least half way through.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
When done, allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan before making the icing.
Icing
In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon extract, water and about 2 inches of yellow gel food coloring. Mix with a fork until fully combined and smooth. It will be very thick at first.
When the icing is at the perfect consistency, spoon out about 1 tablespoon onto the back (non-pressed side) of the cookie. Use your spoon to push the icing around so it naturally levels and covers the entire surface.
Do this for each cookie, working one at a time.
When all of your cookies are covered in icing, allow them to sit at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight so that the icing completely hardens before serving.
Recipe Tips
Icing Tip: The icing can react differently depending on where you live and what type of powdered sugar you use. To create icing that hardens, stays in the cookie, is mess-free, and tasty; you need to nail the consistency. This is done by adding more powdered sugar or water/extract as needed. The consistency needs to be thick, slow to fall off a spoon, and the coloring should be more matte than glossy.Perfect Icing: When the icing is perfect, you will be able to spoon out 1 tablespoon and not have it be runny or pour over the cookie. It should spread well but needs a little encouragement from your spoon. If your icing isn’t like this while spooning out onto the cookies, adjust your ingredients.Cookie Stamp: This is the key part of making Girl Scout Lemonades because these cookies have been sold with a pattern on one side similar to a lemon or flour or an inspirational phrase.Stamp Tip: Stamp in flour before you stamp the cookie. This will help prevent dough from sticking to the stamp after pressing.Cookie Texture: Once the cookies are at room temperature, they should be able to stand up on their own, without folding over. They will be a soft cookie but should still have a slight crunch and maintain their shape.Girl Scout Cookie Trick: Girl Scout cookies are known to be most enjoyable when stored inside the refrigerator or even the freezer!