Mini heart shaped citrus zingers sugar cookies topped with cream cheese frosting and pastel sprinklers. These little treats are flavored with lemon, lime, and orange.
Frosted Citrus Sugar Cookies
I’d like to think of these little zingers sugar cookie as the grown up version of candy conversation hearts from elementary school Valentine’s exchanges.
The cookie with a heart outline means I think you’re great! The zig zag striped one means you drive me crazy, but I think I like you. And the frosted cookie with the confetti sprinkles means you have stinky feet, but I still love you.
Very Forgiving Sugar Cookie Dough
I’m sharing these citrus zingers sugar cookies over at BHG’s Delish Dish blog.
These are not your average sugar cookies. They’re made with a touch of almond flour and a whole lot of citrus.
To showcase the bounty of winter citrus, I used a combination of lemon, lime, and orange. It’s a bright pop of flavor sure to cure any winter blues.
These sugar cookies are great to make with children or any cookie making newbies. The dough does not require any chill time. Since the dough does not spread in the oven, no need to worry about spacing them on the baking sheet.
The dough is so forgiving that you can roll the scraps together over and over and over again without messing with the integrity or quality of the dough.
Recommended Tools:
- These little heart shape cookie cutter are my favorite for Valentine’s Day. It’s cute and small! They make the ideal bite-sized treats. (I also used it to make the pups’ sweet potato dog treats.)
- These leveling dough guides are great to have! They making rolling out doughs and fondant to a desired thickness much easier! The guides ensure that you have even thickness throughout.
Citrus Zingers Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon each: finely shredded orange, lemon, and lime zest
- 4 teaspoon each: freshly squeezed orange, lemon, and lime juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup almond flour, (ground almonds)
Frosting:
- 4 oz cream cheese,, softened
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon each: freshly squeezed orange, lemon, and lime juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- red food coloring, as desired
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or using an electric hand mixer), beat butter for smooth. Add sugar, orange zest, lemon zest, and lime zest. Beat until well smooth and well incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add in orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, and vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
- Add in half of flour mixture. Mix on low speed until almost combined. Add in remaining flour and almond flour. Mix on low speed until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Divide dough in half. Work with one half at a time. Roll dough to a thickness of ¼-inch on a lightly floured work surface. Use 1 ½-inch heart cookie cutter (or desired cookie cutter shape and size), to punch shapes. Repeat with other dough half.
- Place cutouts on prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes minutes. Then, transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be frosted once cooled to room temperature.
Frosting:
- Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, citrus juices, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to beat until smooth. If desired, tint frosting with red food coloring. Spread frosting over cookies as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
This is such a wonderful recipe! We love citrus so much and this recipe has it all. Almond flour has become very expensive recently. Can I increase the all-purpose flour by 3/4 cup and eliminate the almond flour, or will that adversely affect the recipe?
Hi there! I have not tested this recipe using almond flour alternatives. The cookies will not have same texture if you sub in all-purpose flour for almond flour. If you like the flavors of these sugar cookies, I suggest you try these triple citrus shortbread bars.
Wow. It isn’t often that I pin roll-out,cut-out cookie recipes, but the recipe looks scrumptious, and t h e dough looks like it behaves well. I plan on replacing t h e fruit juices with the respective Boylston oils, as I am kind of over the top about citrus flavors. Can’t wait to make these!
Thanks Susan! Happy baking! :)
These look delicious! Can’t wait to try these out!
These cookies are fabulous! I love the citrus in them!
These are so cute! Love the citrus flavor! Can’t wait to try! :D
Love the zesty idea!
These are so beautiful!!!
Thanks Amanda! :)
I love the addition of the almond flour here. These are so cute and must be delicious with the citrus accents!
Thanks so much Andrea! I’m all about citrus these days! :)
I can’t imagine dating again, scary thought! Love these cookies – great flavors and perfect to give my Valentine!
Super scary! Thanks Erin! :)