Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Cookies

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer), add the butter, sugars, egg, lemon extract* (See Notes), and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Add the lemon zest (tip - make sure to only use the bright yellow part and not the white pith which is bitter), honey, optional yellow food color ** (see Notes) start with 1/2 teaspoon), and beat on medium speed momentarily to incorporate. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda; do not mix yet. Tip - Keep the baking soda in a little mound on top of the other dry ingredients.
4. Squeeze the lemon juice directly over the baking soda mound. It will bubble and foam, which means the baking soda is good and active, which translates to better tasting and better-textured cookies. Beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute; do not overmix.
5. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Tips - Do not bake with unchilled dough, as it will spread when baking. However, don't forget about the bowl and chill it for more than 2 hours because the dough will get too firm and will be difficult, crumbly, and necessarily challenging to scoop out.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners; set aside.
7. Using a small cookie scoop, form approximately 24 equally-sized mounds of dough balls.

Rolling

1. To a small/medium bowl add the granulated sugar and in a separate small/medium bowl add the confectioners' sugar.
2. Roll each dough ball first in granulated sugar, then in confectioners' sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all dough balls have been rolled. Tip - If you want a heavier looking appearance (or taste) of powdered sugar, roll each dough ball a second or even a third time through the confectioners' sugar. It has a way of almost disappearing into the cold/moist dough so I always roll 2-3x. You will need to use more sugar if you decide to do roll them extra times.
3. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are just set and done. Baking Tips - I always bake one sheet of cookies at a time on the center rack of my oven, rotating the baking sheet once midway through baking to ensure the most even baking results. I find that baking two sheets at once results in the sheet underneath not baking quite as nicely although your results may vary. Baking time will vary depending on your oven, climate, the exact size of your dough balls, and so forth. Bake until done, whatever that means, for you. Watch your cookies not the clock. If for some reason your cookies aren't spreading (could be you over-floured the dough, or it was exceptionally cold going into the oven), but about halfway through the baking time, remove the baking sheet from the oven and give is a light 'slam' on your counter or burners, or allow it to fall about 2 inches. This whack will help encourage the cookies to spread a bit if they aren't already so that the crinkle appearance can develop.
4. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Storage

1. Cookies will keep airtight at room temp for up to 5 days.

Freezing

1. You can freeze baked cookies but the appearance of the powdered sugar look will greatly minimize during the freezing/thawing process. I find it better to freeze unbaked dough balls airtight for up to 3 months, and before baking the dough, roll them through the two sugars. You don't need to thaw the dough balls fully and they can be semi-frozen going into the oven, noting you may need to add a couple minutes to the overall baking time.