Tart N' Tangy Lemonade Frosties

These lemonade cookies use frozen lemonade concentrate in both the dough and the frosting, doubling down on that tart citrus flavor. The result is a buttery drop cookie with a genuine pucker that cuts right through the sweetness.

The lemonade concentrate does something interesting in the dough. Because it’s acidic, it reacts with the baking soda to give the cookies a lighter, puffier texture than you’d get from a standard sugar cookie. The edges brown lightly while the centers stay soft.

The frosting follows the same idea: powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and more lemonade concentrate beaten together until spreadable. It sets into a firm, slightly tangy cap on each cookie.

Kitchen Tips

• Reserve a couple tablespoons of the lemonade concentrate for the frosting before adding the rest to the dough. It’s easy to forget and dump the whole can in.
• Beat the sugar, butter, and eggs a full 3 to 5 minutes. This long cream traps air and gives the cookies their light texture.
• Bake times vary by size. Check at 8 minutes for small cookies. Lightly browned edges are your signal.
• Cool the cookies completely before frosting. Warm cookies will melt the buttercream into a runny mess.

Variations

• Use frozen orange juice concentrate instead of lemonade for an orange creamsicle-style cookie.
• Add a teaspoon of lemon zest to the dough for an even more intense citrus hit.
• Tint the frosting with a drop of yellow food coloring for a brighter, more vibrant look.