Adorable Chick Lemon Cookies Recipe (with Video)

Cookie dough:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cornstarch, and 1 tsp salt.
2. In a large bowl, use hand mixer to cream the 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tbsp lemon zest, and 3 tbsp lemon juice on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape bottom of bowl.
3. Add egg, 1 tsp lemon extract, and yellow food coloring. If using liquid/gel food coloring, add 2-3 drops. If using powder, add a little less than ⅛ tsp. Mix on medium speed until combined.
4. Add all of the dry ingredients at once and use hand mixer on low-medium speed. Once most of the dries are incorporated, clean off hand mixer beaters and fold batter using rubber spatula until no dry flour remains.
Shaping & baking the chicks:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line one baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
2. Use medium cookie dough scoop to gather dough (about 1 ½-2 tablespoons each). Shape into ball, place onto lined baking tray, and flatten slightly with palm of your hand. This will be the chick's head.
3. For the tufts of hair, take about ¼ tsp of dough, roll shape into ball, and place on top of the head. Repeat with a slightly bigger or smaller piece of dough, and place it next to the other ball. Place chicks about 3-4 inches apart.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should look slightly puffy + soft, and the edges should be set + firm. They should retain their yellow color and not be browned at all.
5. Let cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cool completely.
Decorating:
1. To add the faces, use black, white, orange, and pick colored melted white chocolate with oil-based food coloring. Place into small piping bags and cut a small tip. Use the black for the eyes, white for the very top edge of the eyes, orange for the beak, and pink for the blush.
2. ***If you don't have oil-based food coloring, then the chocolate will seize/become lumpy. To counter this, stir in a tsp of neutral oil (canola, vegetable) at a time, until it becomes smooth again.