Lemon Half Moon Cookies

Lemon Half Moon Cookies. The classic New York City cookie with a blast of citrusy lemon flavor. Soft baked cookies with a cake-like texture, topped with the classic frosting of half vanilla and half lemon! These cookies are light and airy and packed with mouth puckering lemon flavor!

So I did not realize that half-moon cookies were only a New York thing until I left upstate New York and could not find them anywhere! So I decided to make my own and figured I could have some fun with it. Since spring is right around the corner, I am craving lemon! If you are looking for more lemon recipes check these out:

Rosemary Lemon Bars

Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE

• Super easy to make
• The cookies are soft, pillowy, and delicious
• The vanilla frosting is decadent
• The lemon frosting is tart and packed with lemon flavor

OTHER HALF-MOON COOKIE FLAVOR COMBINATIONS TO TRY

• Chocolate and vanilla. You could always stick with the basics and go with half chocolate frosting and half vanilla frosting. It is kind of plain but there must be a reason it has stayed iconic for all these years.
• Strawberry and lemon. Think of a strawberry lemonade type flavor. Half of the cookie will have lemon frosting and the other half of the cookie will have strawberry frosting. Delicious!
• Peanut butter and jelly. Half peanut butter frosting and the other half can bee a jelly based frosting of your choice like grape jelly or strawberry jelly. Honestly this sounds amazing!

KEY INGREDIENTS AND SUBSITUTIONS

• BUTTER. The salted butter gives these cookies a soft buttery taste and texture. That extra layer of salt will balance out the sweetness perfectly.
• SUGAR. White sugar gives these cookies the best texture and perfect level of sweetness.
• SOUR CREAM. This is a key ingredient. The sour cream makes these cookies SUPER moist and airy.
• LEMON. This adds a bright citrus flavor. Use the zest in the cookies and the juice in the frosting. If you don't want to juice lemons, you can use bottled lemon juice.
• POWDERED SUGAR. Using powdered sugar makes for a velvety smooth frosting.
• CORN SYRUP. The corn syrup is important in making the frosting hold up.
• YELLOW FOOD COLORING. Totally for decorative purposes. This makes the cookies fun and colorful and matches the lemon flavor. I would say start with 4 drops and add more if desired. 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Half Moon Cookies

• In a large bowl, add your butter and sugar. Mix with a spatula until combined and smooth. Add your egg, vanilla, and lemon zest. Mix until combined.
• In the same bowl sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; sifting about half of this mixture into the bowl. Mix until evenly combined.
• Add about half of your sour cream to the bowl and mix until combined. Sift the remainder of your flour mixture into the bowl and mix until combined. Add the remaining sour cream and mix until combined.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop out your cookies and place them on your prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Dunk you fingers in water and then smooth out the tops of your cookie balls. DO NOT FLATTEN.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
• Let cool completely.

Vanilla Frosting

• In a medium bowl, combine your powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, and corn syrup. Mix until combined.

Lemon Frosting

• In a medium bowl, combine your powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, lemon juice, and corn syrup. Mix until combined. Add your food coloring and mix until color is even.

Frost your cookies

• You will be frosting the bottoms of these cookies! Flip your cookies over, and start frosting on the flat side. Using a spatula, frost half of each cookie with the vanilla frosting and then frost the other half with the lemon frosting. The goal is to make it look like half moons!
• Let the frosting set/harden completely. About 1 hour.

BAKING TIPS

1. Alternate your flour and your sour cream when mixing your batter in order to great a super tender cake like cookie!
2. This recipe uses more baking powder than baking soda because they are supposed to rise upward and they are supposed to have a cake like texture.

FAQ

FREEZING AND STORING

These cookies should be stored wrapped in plastic wrap, and placed in an air tight container for up to 3 days. You can freeze them like this for up to 3 months.

Lastly, if you try out these Lemon Half Moon Cookies, be sure to leave a comment/rating on how it turned out. I love hearing from you guys and will try my best to reply to every comment! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!