Lemon Cookies
These Lemon Cookies are super soft and bursting with lemon flavor. These cookies are incredibly easy to make and the perfect treat for anyone who loves lemon desserts!
Even though I absolutely love chocolate, I’ve always been a huge lemon lover too. There’s just something that’s so refreshing when lemon is added to just about anything.
I originally published and shared this delicious lemon cookie recipe back in 2016, but I’ve updated it to make it even better! Not only are these lemon cookies incredibly soft and delicious, but they’re also:
- Easy to make
- Packed with lemon flavor
- Perfect topped with a lemon glaze!
In today’s post, I’m breaking down everything you need to know about how to make these incredible lemon cookies. I guarantee that if you love lemon desserts, you will adore this recipe!
Recipe Ingredients
To make these soft lemon cookies, you’ll need just a few simple ingredients. Here’s what you will be using to make them:
- All-Purpose Flour: This provides the structure for your cookies so they don’t fall apart when you pick them up. To ensure that they turn out right, make sure to use the spoon and level method when measuring your flour. Too much flour = cakey, crumbly cookies.
- Baking Soda & Salt: The baking soda helps to lift the cookies and the salt brings out the flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: I always recommend unsalted butter when it comes to baking. If using salted butter, reduce the salt in this recipe to a tiny pinch.
- Granulated Sugar: I love to use brown sugar in cookie recipes whenever possible, but for these cookies you will only be using granulated sugar. The granulated sugar allows the lemon flavor to really shine through, sweetens the cookies, and helps them spread as they bake in the oven.
- Egg: To help bind the cookie dough together. A room temperature egg is best to ensure that it mixes together properly in your dough.
- Lemon Juice & Zest: Fresh lemon juice is always best, but bottled should be fine here too. One medium lemon will yield about 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
- Lemon Extract: This helps to enhance the lemon flavor in these cookies even more! Don’t have any on hand? See my FAQ section for how to adjust the recipe.
How To Make Lemon Cookies
To make these lemon sugar cookies, you’ll start out by whisking together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set the mixture aside and then mix up the wet ingredients.
For the wet ingredients, start by beating the softened butter and the granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until they’re well combined. Next, mix in a room temperature egg until it’s fully incorporated into the creamed butter and sugar. I always stop and scrape down the sides of my bowl and mix again to ensure that the egg is thoroughly combined.
Then, mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract until fully combined. The mixture may look a little curdled at this point because of the acidity of the lemons, but this is okay. Mix in the dry ingredients until they’re just combined into the dough.
Finally, cover the cookie dough and let it chill for at least 30 minutes. This will help ensure that the cookies stay nice and thick and don’t spread too much in the oven. I also recommend preheating your oven to 350°F (177°C) while the cookie dough is chilling.
For these cookies, I like to use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop (#40 scoop) because it creates the perfect size cookie. Just scoop the dough onto a couple of baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake the cookies for 10 to 13 minutes. I recommend letting them cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
FAQ’s
Can you replace the lemon extract in these cookies?
If you can’t find any lemon extract, I suggest adding an additional 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of lemon zest to enhance the lemon flavor.
Can you freeze lemon cookies?
Yes, you may freeze these cookies! Once the cookies have cooled, freeze them in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy the cookies, place them on the counter and let them come to room temperature.
You may also scoop the cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze the balls of cookie dough. Once frozen, store the cookie dough in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can either thaw the cookie dough overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed in the recipe or bake from frozen for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
Can I add a glaze on top of these cookies?
These cookies are fantastic with a lemon glaze! To make it, simply whisk together 1 cup (120 g) of powdered sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of fresh lemon juice. I recommend starting with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, then adding 1/2 teaspoon at a time to thin out the glaze. You want the glaze thin enough to drizzle on top of the cookies, but thick enough to stay in place.
Quick Tip: Make sure the cookies have cooled completely before you add the glaze!
Baking Tips
- I recommend zesting your lemon first, then juicing it.
- To get the most lemon juice out of your lemon, roll it on the counter firmly with your hand, then cut it in half, and squeeze out the juice.
- It’s best to use a room temperature egg in this recipe. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, simply place your egg in a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes.
More Lemon Recipes To Enjoy!
- Mini Lemon Blueberry Cheesecakes
- Classic Lemon Bars
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Lemon Snowball Cookies
- Lemon Pie
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cup (220 grams) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- Zest of one medium lemon
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- Optional: 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined. Add the egg and mix until fully combined.
- Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring until fully combined, making sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Cover tightly and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop balls of the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops of the cookie are set. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
I made these today and they were absolutely perfect and addicting!💛 i couldn’t stop eating them. They were not too sweet and not to dull. Just perfect! Fresh lemon taste makes for the perfect summer cookie. It will be hard to top this recipe because it’s THAT good.
Positively scrumptious! Those are the best words I can come up with to describe these delectable little morsels.
Was craving something sweet but didn’t have vanilla extract, but I did happen to have lemon extract and I came across this recipe. I did not have a lemon for zest so I used an orange instead and I must say that these turned out great!! I’d like to try it with lemon zest but something tells me I might like it better with orange!!! Really appreciate the great recipe and will be making these again, perhaps with lemon zest next time around!
I made these cookies 10/10 so tasty.
Some of these other people had crumbly dough but when I made this it came out like a batter consistency.
I let it set in the fridge before scooping it onto the trays with a scooper.
When they came out after exactly 12 minutes they smelled wonderful.
I let them chill for 30 minutes so we could eat dinner.
After dinner I grabbed one and looked at the bottom and it was only slightly browned, so it was very soft and I bit into it and it was cooked all the way through, it was very airy.
Only a slight lemon flavor and smell so next time I will add more lemon, but it was still great and almost a cake like cookie.
My mom loved it because she could eat it without hurting her gums as she has no teeth.
10/10 again ♥️
The cookies were just okay. Not bad but okay. I had similar problems as others in terms of not spreading. My cookies puffed up and came out more like a cakey cookie with a very light lemon flavor. I may try this again and use more lemon extract and possibly not chill as long.
These cookies were alright. They weren’t overly sweet, which I liked. However, they didn’t spread much and really didn’t have a strong lemon flavor. I’m going to add a lemon glaze to see if it will bring more lemony punch to it. Will try it again with more lemon juice and zest.
Mine did not spread in the oven and remained very round. That being said they are delicious. I put extra zest in place of extract, and once I added a glaze on top they were super lemony. Will definitely be making these again.
Just realized they might not have spread in the oven because I used earth balance instead of butter to make them non-dairy! Still a fan of the way they taste.
How can I change this recipe making it vegan?
How can I replace the eggs?
Thank you for your help
A flax egg may work, but I haven’t personally tried it.
I’m wondering about replacing the egg too…. Azzurra, did you try it with a flax egg?
Substituted oil for butter. Made 30 smaller cookies. Put 3/4 cup lemon juice.
Excellent recipe for sure. King Arthur Flour now has lemon crumbles that come in a bag. I added 3/4 cup to the batter and I also used their bread flour and baked for 11 1/2 minutes. Once cooled I glazed with cookie glaze colored yellow with dye and added a small amount of KAF Fiori do Sicilia to enhance the lemon. My cookie regulars liked them.
This recipe turned out quite well. Because I like lotsa lemon flavor I added an extra 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and still the cookies turned out great. My wife, who usually only eats sweets if they contain chocolate, loved these. BTW, I weighed the flour. I started weighing ingriedients several years ago when baking because it can make the difference between a good or bad result. And when measuring thick liquids like molasses or honey or corn syrup weighing is much easier than using volume measurements. The same goes for flour because the volume can vary quite a bit compared to weight. Anyway, I will be making these again.
Absolutely delicious. Family declared a new “must have” for parties.
Chilled dough and just scooped and lightly rolled into ball.
I did not have lemon extract but added about quarter tsp. extra juice to batter.
Also made a slightly tart drizzle from powdered sugar and lemon juice
Can you roll out the chilled dough and cut out cookies instead of using a scoop? I would like to make some different shapes. Thanks.
I haven’t tried it, but I’m not sure it would work well because these cookies do spread quite a bit in the oven.
This was the most easiest cookie to make. I found them very tasty and lemony. I can vouch that they were good as it didn’t take long for them to disappear.
I like the fact that there are so few ingredients and easy to mix, the first batch is always the trickiest but have since made 2 more batches and once again they turned out perfect, I hope to keep these around for Christmas.
Just made these and added a cup of white chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of dried blueberries. Turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
mine are in the oven right now…i refrigerated for 30 minutes but they are barely holding together. i don’t know what i did wrong, i checked the amounts several times. the dough is very very dry. just peeked in the oven, and the butter is melting and runnig from the sides, something is seriosusly wrong.
The cookie dough shouldn’t be dry, it should look like the picture in the post. Did you make sure to use 1 stick of butter?
These are AMAZING, will now be my go-to lemon cookie! Not too sweet or too strong of a citrus flavor. Personally I like more lemony, so usually I do 1.5-2 times the zest and juice.
Amazing cookie!My family loved it!It turned out so sweet and soft!
You should try it!They look just like on the photo!
i just made these cookies and they were BOMB!!! Try it!!!
I made these today and they are gone. Totally delicious. I did add icing on top. I would definitely make again!
Not sure what happened but mine do not look like photo! Taste good but theyspread all together! Chilled dough for over an hour. Spaced apart on parchment paper. Disappointed
Sorry you had trouble with the recipe, Kathi. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe? And did you double check the amount of butter and flour that you used?
Not bad, but I’d replace the baking soda with baking powder, increase the amount of sugar, and skip the lemon extract. I only had ⅓ of the lemon extract called for in the recipe, and these still turned out to be too tart.
I’ve used this recipe 3 times and each time my cookies have come out so soft and yummy! I personally added another 2 table spoons of lemon juice to make the lemon taste pop more the 3rd time around and they are just perfect! I highly recommend this recipe for anyone wanting to try it, I and my family and friends have not been disappointed
If you don’t have the lemon zest will these cookies still taste good? Could you replace the lemon zest with more lemon juice?
Yes, they will still taste fine! You could add a little extra lemon extract or use some of the lemon juice to make a lemon glaze to go on top of the cookies.
I was craving something lemony today with the extreme heat outside and I had country time lemonade mix and decided to make this recipe.
SO good. All I did was substitute with 1/2 cup lemonade mix and 1/4 cup sugar. No zest or lemon juice needed.
Keeping this recipe.
they didn’t come out as lemony tasting as I was hoping for; that’s an easy fix for next time, I can just add more lemon extract. The dough was a challenge; once I prepared the dough (exactly as described- flour was leveled, butter and egg were room temperature and I chilled the dough), it was crumbly. Once I spooned the cookie dough onto the baking sheet and baked them, the cookies didn’t spread at all; they kind of look puffy. Their texture was also kind of denser than I would have liked (likely because it didn’t spread?)
I wonder if it needs more butter, perhaps?
Hi Kalli. I’ve made these dozens of times and the cookies always spread just fine. The dough shouldn’t be crumbly either, it should actually be pretty soft. Are you making any adjustments to the recipe? If not, you could try weighing the ingredients (since that will be the most accurate way to measure everything) or adding another tablespoon or two of butter.
Can I substitute vanilla for the lemon extract?
Yes, that would be fine. You may want to add a little more lemon zest though.
These are AMAZING! First time making lemon cookies, thanks to you it won’t be the last. I let the dough sit in the fridge overnight. Baked for 13 mins as instructed, Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I made three batches and all of them were delicious. They were lemony, sweet, buttery, soft, and delicious. Perfect sweetness; the lemon is balanced as well. I made a lemon glaze to go with them too! I also rolled them into balls so that the ridges disappeared. I brought them to a party and everyone loved them. Make a lot of them, because they will disappear quickly. A perfect lemon cookie recipe that everyone will love!
I made two batches of these yesterday. I only cook one sheet at a time, so each batch had two sheets. The first sheet cookies were too puffy, at 12 minutes the tops weren’t set but the bottoms were getting overly crispy. I think not spreading enough was the issue, as other reviewers have noted. I turned the oven off and let them sit for several minutes, they came out good, but a bit darker bottoms than I like. For the second sheet, I rolled the cookies again to warm them up a bit, which helped. For the second batch, I added an extra tablespoon of lemon juice and didn’t chill them very long. These came out better, see my Instagram pix @michaelkane60. Both batches tasted great, not overwhelming lemon and good texture, my family loved them!