This easy recipe makes soft lemon cookies that are perfectly chewy. Coat them in powdered sugar before baking for lemon crinkle cookies everyone will love!
One of the most popular recipes on my website is this one for these soft raspberry lemon cookies.
It’s been the most popular recipe almost from the day I posted it and it hasn’t slowed down. Everyone that makes those cookies loves them. Everyone I’ve made them for loves them. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that they seem to be popular with everyone that tries them.
Which, let’s be honest, is a little odd. With most recipes, some people love them, some hate them, some think they’re just okay….you don’t usually have the same response from everybody that tries it. And that’s totally fine, we can’t all like the same things.
But everyone likes those raspberry lemon cookies.
So it was really only logical to post a recipe for plain and simple, easy lemon cookies as well. Since clearly we all enjoy soft lemon cookies.
But really, what’s not to like?
They’re easy to make, filled with sweet and tangy lemon flavour from fresh lemon juice and lemon zest, and mix up easily in just a few minutes.
You do need to chill this dough, it’s way too sticky to roll into balls and coat in powdered sugar right after mixing it, but after chilling it for an hour it’s doable.
They bake up soft and chewy with that crackly, crinkly texture from the powdered sugar, and they stay soft and chewy for days.
They freeze well too, so you can make them ahead of time, although I would put wax paper between layers of cookies so they don’t stick together, as they are quite soft.
I think these soft lemon cookies disappeared in two days. There’s only five of us, that’s kind of ridiculous.
It really shouldn’t have surprised me though. Like I said, everyone loves lemon cookies!
How to make Lemon Cookies:
- When you store these cookies, you will want to place wax paper or parchment paper between layers of cookies as they tend to stick together sometimes, especially if it’s a bit humid (you can also freeze the baked cookies this way)
- Make sure you chill the dough before trying to shape the cookies as it will be far too sticky to roll in powdered sugar easily when it’s first mixed up. I actually find these cookies work best if you portion the cookie dough out into balls before chilling it (I use a cookie scoop). Then the dough stays nice and cold while rolling them in icing sugar so they bake a bit nicer.
- It’s best to coat the cookies excessively in powdered sugar before baking as the sugar tends to melt into the cookies. If you want the crackly look you need to coat them excessively so it doesn’t all melt away!
Here are some more great lemon recipes for you:
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Homemade Lemon Curd
- Strawberry Lemon Sweet Rolls
- Glazed Lemon Cranberry Muffins
- Raspberry Lemon Blondies
Lemon Cookies
These lemon cookies are soft and chewy and absolutely delicious. Coat them in powdered sugar before baking for amazing crinkle cookies everyone will love!
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Zest, 1 lemon
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 large Egg
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice, from 1 to 2 lemons
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- In a food processor, or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the sugar and lemon zest until well combined and the sugar is lightly yellow and fragrant.
- Add the softened butter to the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla, egg, and lemon juice and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour and mix until combined.
- Chill the dough for one hour. If your butter was really warm to start, chill for 2 hours. The butter should be soft enough to cream, but not so soft that if you pressed your finger against the side, it slides right through.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll the cookie dough into tablespoon sized balls, roll them in powdered sugar and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until they are just starting to brown on the edges and are no longer shiny. Do not over bake the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Some of the powdered sugar will melt into the cookies as they're baking. Coating them excessively in powdered sugar will help with getting the crackly look to the cookies.
It also helps if the cookie dough is quite cold. I like to scoop it into balls (with a cookie scoop) and chill it on a cookie sheet already portioned so that rolling it into tight balls and coating it in powdered sugar can be done quickly and it's going into the oven still cold.
If you prefer to weigh your flour, I get 5 ounces of flour per cup when I weigh it.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 110Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 38mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.
I’ve also shared this Lemon Cookies recipes over on Food Fanatic.
Kristy
Thursday 14th of March 2024
I made these today for my birthday! I wanted a lemon something and came across these. They came out so perfect. I can’t stop eating them now. These are going in my recipe book for our Christmas cookies. My grandmother and I have been making cookies and baklava since I was a little girl. Now my daughter joins us! Thank you so much,
LL
Thursday 30th of June 2022
Followed directions to a T. They were flat but didn’t mind that. Taste was great. My issue- I baked for 10 mins and let cool per directions. I had a hard time getting them off the parchment paper - they were stuck so the bottoms crumbled. Cake like texture on the inside. Again tasted great but the thin cookies had no real bottom. Any suggestions? I guess I could spray the parchment paper? But isn’t that why we use parchment paper so we don’t have to spray?
Stacey
Monday 4th of July 2022
I haven't had that happen, but I think maybe they weren't baked quite long enough if they were sticking to the parchment. Maybe bake for another minute next time and see if that helps. Also I bake cookies on a rack in the middle of the oven, if you're was up higher the bottoms may not have baked as well.
Sally
Friday 24th of June 2022
I made these cookies exactly as the recipe said and they look beautiful but taste like flour with a gint lf lemon... bummer
Stacey
Monday 27th of June 2022
I'm sorry they didn't turn out for you. I haven't had that happen, but 3 common causes of cookies tasting like flour are: 1. under baking the cookies, 2. under mixing the dough, and 3. adding too much flour to the dough. If you're packing the flour into the measuring cup it will be too much flour for the recipe. I use a scoop and sweep technique when measuring my flour (loosen the flour in the bin, scoop it out with a dry measuring cup, and sweep off the excess flour with a straight edge without shaking the flour down into the cup). If you're doing something different than that, you could be adding too much flour. Hope that helps.
Chele
Thursday 23rd of June 2022
Delicious recipe - turned out great! The secret really is chilling the dough. I chilled it between batches as well. Happy baking ?
Carol
Saturday 26th of March 2022
Hi All! I just made these tonight, and they turned out perfect, in flavor and in appearance. I baked mine in a gas oven, and used a cookie scoop to drop the dough directly into the bowl of powdered sugar. After swirling a bit to ensure the dough was properly coated, I used a fork to lift it out and onto the parchment lined baking sheet. As they cooks, some of the sugar does get hydrated with oil and the cracked outer shell is less apparent, but I’m pretty happy with how these turned out!