Air Fryer Lemon Drop Cookies

Air Fryer Lemon Drop Cookies turn out soft all around, tangy, sweet, and refreshing. They are a fun summer dessert or baking project for kids and teenagers.

They are air fried in an egg bites mold, creating small cookie balls instead of the traditional flat cookie. I have this set of air fryer/instant pot accessories and I love it! This makes them a fun treat to pop into kids' lunch boxes, to take on road trips or summer vacations, or to bring to the office.

Lemon desserts should be enjoyed all spring and summer long. When you're done trying these cookies, make sure to check out this super simple lemon olive oil cake and strawberry lemonade bread.

Air fryer cookies are small batch approved— keep the dough in the fridge until ready to use and make just enough to fit in the egg bite mold at a time. This way you won't eat too many in too short of a time!

Because it doesn't take long to make them, pop a batch in the air fryer when you're ready for fresh cookies.There is also less cleanup involved than when oven baking cookies. With the air fryer, you are cleaning 1 silicone egg bite mold when finished. There is no scrubbing baking sheets or working with parchment paper!

And in the summer when it's hot, the air fryer won't heat up your entire kitchen.

In addition to making these sweet and refreshing lemon cookies, you can use the air fryer method to convert any of your oven-baked sugar cookies into air fried cookies.

Use this method to make Pink Sugar Cookies for Valentine's Day or Soft Sugar Cookies for Christmas. Or any of your favorite sugar cookies!

In addition to traditional baking ingredients (sugar, butter, flour, baking powder/soda, salt), you need:

• Lemon extract. If you can't find it, add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Lemon juice. Fresh squeezed lemon juice tastes the best. For a more subdued lemon flavor, bottled lemon juice is fine to use.
• Yellow food coloring. Optional, and only adds bright yellow color to the cookies. Add as much or as little as you'd like.

💡 Tip: Your egg bite mold may have come with a cover. Do not use the cover when air frying cookies.

1. First, make the dough. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined. Add the lemon extract and eggs. Continue beating on medium until mixed and fluffy.
2. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Pour the lemon juice on top of the baking soda (it should fizzle). Beat on low until the flour is mostly incorporated into the batter. Switch the speed to medium and beat until batter is uniform and smooth.
3. Add the milk and food coloring. Add as much food coloring until you get to the shade you like. Beat on medium until smooth.
4. Chill the dough until ready to use. This can be anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days. For immediate use, put in the freezer for 30 minutes and then make the cookies.

💡 Tip: The dough can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 1 week before using. For longer storage, wrap in plastic and freeze for 2 months. Bring to room temperature on the counter.

Once the batter is ready, it's time to air fry!

1. Spray an egg bite mold lightly with cooking oil. Add 2 tablespoons of dough (rolling to form a ball) to each hole and put the mold in the air fryer basket. Close the lid and set to 375° for 8 minutes. Note: if the dough sticks to your hands, lightly flour them.
2. Once done, insert a toothpick into the center of 1 cookie. If too wet, add another minute.
3. Remove the egg bite mold from the air fryer using a sling and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing.

💡 Tip: Cookies can easily be removed from an egg bite mold by loosening 1 side with a butter knife. Then press up on the bottom of the mold and the cookie will pop out. 

Storing

Counter: store lemon drop cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Freezer: freeze for up to 6 months in an airtight plastic bag.

I hope you've enjoyed this recipe! I'd love to hear how it turned out in the comments below.