Lemon Sugar Cookies with Edible Flower Sprinkles

I’ve decided that the only thing better than actually receiving flowers, is eating them! So for Valentine’s Day, I set out to make a lemony sugar cookie, coated with just a hint of pink icing and decorated with a sprinkle of vibrant, edible flowers! 

The result is almost too beautiful to eat!  And delicious! I'm looking forward to making these for bridal showers and springtime celebrations alike and think they'd be just as pretty cut into the shape of a circle or square with fluted edges. 

If you’re new to edible flowers, please note that they do not impart any real flavor. And whether you serve them fresh or slightly dried, you’ll find the texture of the soft cookie and slight crunch of the icing will completely distract you from their own delicate texture.

In other words, they’re just for looks! 

I like to get my edible flowers from the herb section at either Sprouts or Whole Foods Market. You might also be able to find them at your local Farmer’s Market in the spring and summer or you could always grow your own! Just be sure that they are organically grown and free of pesticides. 

Now to make these cookies, I simply used scissors to cut the petals into a sort of floral confetti. Then, I iced the cookies using a “flooding” technique and sprinkled on the flowers. Once the icing dries, they are ready to serve! If you make these in advance of your celebration, you may notice the flowers lose a bit of moisture and begin to dry out. They’ll look more like colorful potpourri and will be just as beautiful! 

How to Ice the Perfect Cookie: 

There are lots of techniques when it comes to icing cookies, but I find the flooding technique to work best. For these cookies, I didn't bother with creating an "outline", but simply used royal icing adjusted to a flooding consistency (with a bit of water) to create the little hearts. For a great step-by-step tutorial packed with helpful information, check out  Julia Usher's video here. Disclaimer: It's lengthy, but you'll be glad you watched it!  

Note: One lesson I've learned the hard way is that sometimes too much food coloring can alter the icing's texture. In my experience, the icing tends to take on a filmy look and becomes sticky. I'm sure there are ways to avoid this, but I just kept it safe and use the tiniest little drop of red in about 1 cup of royal icing to get the soft shade of pink shown above. 

As always, I hope you enjoy this recipe and thanks for stopping by! 

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LEMON SUGAR COOKIES w/ 
EDIBLE FLOWER SPRINKLES

INGREDIENTS

for the icing:

• 2 egg whites
• 3-4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

for the cookies:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. lemon +  1Tbsp. lemon zest

INSTRUCTIONS

Make the Dough: 

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Then, add in the eggs and mix until just combined. Lastly, add in the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix just until combined. 
2. Next, take your dry ingredients and slowly incorporate them into the wet ingredients, stirring or mixing until just combined. Use your hands to fold the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to rest while you prepare the icing. 

Make the Icing: 

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, add the two egg whites and beat on high with the whisk attachment (or your handheld mixer) until foamy. Then, slowly add in the confectioner's sugar, about 1 cup at a time, until mixed together. Lastly, add in the lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix on medium high speed until soft peaks form and the icing is nice and thick. The icing is the right consistency when it clings to the whisk and doesn't drip. Or as Julia Usher says, it should be like "glue". 
2. Once your icing is ready, divide it up into two bowls (one for white icing and one for pink), or as many bowls as you'll have colors. Then, add in a bit of water to each bowl, about 1 tsp per 1 cup of icing and stir until the consistency is thin enough to run off the spoon and pool, but not so thin that it's watery and will run off the cookie (again ,check out her video for visuals!). 

Make the Cookies: 

1. Once the icing has been made, remove the cookie dough from the fridge and let set out for about 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough (I like to work in batches) to 1/4" thickness. Cut out the cookies using your favorite cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Be sure to give the cookies a little bit of space in case they puff up. 
2. Bake each sheet of cookies for 6-8 minutes or until they are set and just barely starting to color. Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.  

Decorate! 

1. Once the cookies have cooled, you're ready to decorate! Use scissors to cut the edible flowers into small strips of confetti. Then, ice each cookie using the flooding method demonstrated in the video linked above and here. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the icing and sprinkle the cookies with your flowers. Set aside to dry completely. Then serve and enjoy!