• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In the bowl of a stand mixture, cream the butter. Add the sugars and eggs and continue to beat until smooth. Beat in the lemon juice, vanilla, extract, and lemon zest.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
• Place heaping teaspoons of dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten a bit with the palm of your hand. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until cookies are set on the edges and no longer jiggly in the center. Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

• Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium high speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, beating on low speed and increasing the speed slowly as the sugar is incorporated. Add the lemon zest and juice, to taste. I like a lot of lemon flavor, so I always use the full 3 teaspoons.
• Pipe or spread the cream cheese frosting on a lemon cookie and sandwich with a second cookie. Store the finished cookies in the fridge. I love the taste of these cold directly out of the fridge, but they can set out at room temperature for several hours and be fine.