We made it to day five of week of cookies, where I share a holiday cookie recipe for your cookie tray or gift giving. Today I want to share with you my recipe for Lemon Coconut Snowball Cookies. These snowball cookies are quick and easy because they require only 5 ingredients for the dough, and another three ingredients for the topping. The cookie base is a buttery, lemon flavored shortbread. Topping the cookie is a light lemon icing, which is then rolled in shredded coconut. These sweet little cookies are festive and fun for the winter, with very little effort.
If I had to limit my cookie tray to just two or three cookies, I’m pretty sure these would make the cut. They look fancy and festive with very little work. Shortbread cookies have the most simple dough to make, requiring only three ingredients for a basic shortbread. This makes it a great option for the holidays. You don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen!
There are no eggs and no leaveners in these cookies, so the ingredient list fairly short. The base of all shortbread cookies consists of butter, flour, and sugar. For these cookies I also add some vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt to amp up the flavor.
When I make a lemon recipe, I try to use the entire lemon if at all possible. For these cookies, I use the lemon zest in the dough and then the lemon juice in the icing. I prefer the taste of using a fresh lemon, but you can substitute these with lemon extract if needed.
1 teaspoon of lemon zest = 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract
3 tablespoons of lemon juice = 3/4 teaspoon of lemon extract
Lemon Coconut Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Lemon Icing
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
Lemon Cookies
- In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add lemon zest and vanilla and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, sift (or whisk) together flour and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until a dough forms. Shape into a disc and cover in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and unwrap. Using a small two teaspoon scoop (or your hands), form 1 inch balls of dough and place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges of cookies begin to lightly brown. Remove from baking sheet to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before icing, about 30 minutes.
Lemon Icing
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine lemon juice and powdered sugar for the icing. Stir until sugar is completely incorporated and icing is smooth. Pour shredded coconut in a separate bowl.
Dip tops of cookies into icing, tapping off excess before dipping into the shredded coconut. Allow to harden before storing, about one hour.
[…] is one of my favorite ingredients, especially in baked goods. See my Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars or Lemon Coconut Snowball Cookies if you’re a lemon lover like me. This pie is one of my new summer favorites. […]