Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until well-creamed.

Add sugar and lemon zest and mix again until creamy.

Stir in the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated.

Add the egg yolk and beat until just combined.

Fold in the flour using a silicone spatula until well incorporated. (scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl several times - the mixture is dry. Be sure to incorporate the crumbs that fall to the bottom of the bowl.

Form the dough into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk (about 1" thick), cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll it out to about ¼" thickness.

Lightly flour the cookie cutters and cut out the shapes.

Transfer the cut cookie dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing at least 1" apart.

Re-combine the dough scraps, roll it out again, and cut the dough repeating until you have used all of the dough to get the maximum number of cookies from it.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.