Crisp and crumbly Meyer Lemon Cookies are buttery, citrusy, and slightly sweet with a lovely hint of Meyer lemon zest. These slice-and-bake treats are the perfect sable cookie for tea time!
Although I don’t crave for sweets as much as when I was younger, when Meyer lemons are in season, I get excited to make Meyer lemon sweets. These deep golden winter citrus are such a special treat that it’s too hard to pass on. My family and I especially love Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake which I make several times every season. I also love these crispy, crumbly, buttery sables, Meyer Lemon Cookies (マイヤーレモンサブレ).
Watch How to Make Meyer Lemon Cookies (Sables)
Watch Meyer Lemon Cookies video on YouTube
Get Meyer Lemons for Meyer Lemon Cookies
What is Meyer Lemon?
Meyer lemons are smaller and rounder, and less acidic and sweeter than standard lemons. Their rind has a floral fragrance when zested. It’s known as a cross between lemon and mandarin oranges (also called tangerines).
Do you have these lemons in your country? I had never seen or tasted this type of lemon while growing up in Japan. I recently learned that Meyer lemons were first introduced in the U.S. from China in the early 20th century. Isn’t it surprising to learn that the fruit originated from the East? It’s easy to make the assumption that they are of European origin when they bear a western name. As a matter of fact, the lemons actually get their name from Frank Meyer, who was a United States Department of Agriculture explorer who traveled to Asia to collect new plant species.
When is Meyer Lemon Season?
These lemons are usually available from late November to May in California. My friend who brought these Meyer lemons for me said she had been harvesting a lot of fruits in her backyard this past January. What a lovely sight it must have been to see a blooming Meyer lemon tree in the backyard, especially in the depths of winter!
Are These Cookies or Sablés?
If you were wondering the question, I’m happy we’re on the same page. Yes, these are SABLES! A sablé is a classic French butter cookie originating from Normandy region. Sable in French translates to ‘sand’ as the texture of these cookies are crumbly and melt in your mouth.
My original intention was to name this recipe Meyer Lemon Sablés, but the term is not commonly known in the U.S. So I named it simply Meyer Lemon Cookies, hoping that more people will search this term.
In Japan, sables are a much more popular type of cookies than American-style cookies probably due to the influence from the UK and European countries in our history. I grew up eating different kinds of sables, and I’ve shared some of my favorite sables using unique Japanese flavors such as cherry blossom, matcha, and black sesame flavors (Browse JOC cookie recipes).
Meyer Lemon Cookies – Substitute Suggestions:
Meyer Lemon Zest: To replace the zest of 1 Meyer lemon, simply swap in the zest of 1/2 a tangerine and 1/2 a regular lemon.
Cake Flour: I use King Arthur’s cake flour for convenience, but you can make cake flour by mixing all-purpose flour and cornstarch. For 1 cup cake flour, prepare 1 cup all-purpose flour, then take away 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Be sure to sift the flour to distribute the cornstarch well before using it in your cake batter.
If you’re thinking to try out these darling citrus for the first time, grab them from your winter markets or grocery stores while they are still in season and make these Meyer lemon cookies! The buttery cookies make a bright company for Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, tea break or someone you know who is in need of a little cheer to get over the winter blues.
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Meyer Lemon Cookies (Sables)
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter (8 Tbsp, 1 stick; at room temperature)
- 3½ Tbsp confectioners’ sugar (1 oz)
- 1 cup cake flour (weigh your ingredients; click the Metric button for measurements; or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off; you can make homemade cake flour)
- 1.4 oz almond flour/meal (⅓ cup + 2 tsp; blanched)
- 3 Meyer lemons (for the zest only)
- 2 tsp whole milk
- 2 Tbsp white sparkling sugar (its large grains do not melt and disappear, and it has a nice look and crunch; if you can‘t find it, substitute granulated sugar)
Instructions
To Make Dough
- Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
- Cut 4 oz unsalted butter into smaller pieces (so that they will soften faster). It’s important to soften (not melt) the butter before we start.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add 3½ Tbsp confectioners’ sugar and blend until soft and light. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Sift 1 cup cake flour and 1.4 oz almond flour/meal (⅓ cup + 2 tsp) into the bowl.
- Add the zest from 3 Meyer lemons. Make sure you just zest the yellow peel, not the pith (white bitter part).
- Add 2 tsp whole milk and mix all together with the silicone spatula.
- At the beginning, the dough is crumbly, but it eventually will come together into a ball.
- Because the dough will be still too soft to roll into a log shape, take out the dough from the bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Take out the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Shape the dough into a cylinder, about 1½ inches (4 cm) in diameter.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours. Optional: you can place the dough on a bed of rice while chilling. It helps to keep the dough in nice cylindrical shape, so your cookie slices won’t be flat on one side.
To Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the oven temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner.
- Take out the cookie log (dough) from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. In a tray that fits the cookie dough, sprinkle 2 Tbsp white sparkling sugar on the log. Roll the cookie log on the sparkling sugar until the log is covered.
- The sugar should stick without any issue. However, before rolling, you could also wrap the dough with a damp paper towel so that the dough will be slightly wet or brush egg wash on the dough (the traditional method).
- With a sharp knife, slice the dough into rounds ⅓ inch (7 mm) thick. Place them on the baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of space between the cookies.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC) and bake the cookies for about 25 minutes, or until the edge of the cookies start to get golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
To Store
- If you pack the cookies in an airtight container, they will keep for at least 4 days. You can also freeze the unbaked log of dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting and baking. Do not let the dough fully defrost.
Notes
- Fluff up the flour several times with a spoon.
- Using the spoon, sprinkle the flour into your dry measuring cup (the one that measures exactly a cup at the top).
- Scrape off the excess with a knife.
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Hi, Vanessa! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe.
There is information at the end of the recipe marked “To Store”.
We hope you like the various methods to save these delicious cookies!🤗
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Hi Suzanne! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Nami’s recipe!
Thank you for your kind feedback!😊
Great cookie Nami. I’m going to try switching to orange zest on next batch.
Steve
Hi Steve! Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
The orange zest version also sounds delicious. Please let us know how it goes!
Happy Baking!
I love these cookies! Not much else to say except they’re excellent. Great texture and not too sweet. I’ll definitely make these again.
Hi Mike! Aww. Thank you very much for your kind words! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Nami’s recipe!
Happy Baking! 😊
I cannot use almond flour. Is there a substitute that I can use for the Myer Lemon
Cookies recipe
Hi Toni, Thank you very much for checking the JOC recipe!
You can substitute almond flour with coconut flour in some recipes, but we have never experimented with it before and unsure how the outcome will be.
All-purpose flour is another option, but the texture will not be the same. We hope this helps!
Re: Meyer Lemon Cookies:
Recipe calls for 1/3 c. almond flour—I’m having difficulty finding this so can I substitute regular flour?
Thank you,
Hi Frances, Thank you for trying this recipe. Sure, you can substitute it with regular flour. However, it will be a different texture. We hope this helps!
What happens if you leave the dough log in the refrigerator overnight?
Hi Christie,
If you leave the dough in the refrigerator too long, it may lose the lemon peel flavor.
You can freeze the unbaked log of dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting and baking. (Do not let the dough fully defrost.) 😉
We hope this helps!