These bright and zesty Lemon Cookies will add a little sunshine to anyone's day. Bursting with lemony flavor thanks to freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest, these soft, chewy cookies make any lemon lover's day!
Lemon Cookies are perfect for gift giving during the Christmas holiday while citrus is in season and at its best. Tea parties and brunches are also get-togethers where this cookie can shine! If you love to bake we have hundreds of baking recipes to choose from here at The Anthony Kitchen! Cookies are our jam, check them out!
HOW TO MAKE LEMON COOKIES
In less than 15 minutes of prep time, you'll have your Lemon Cookies ready to go in the oven! No chilling the dough--just scoop, bake, and enjoy.
The first thing to kick off your Lemon Cookies is preheat your oven to 375°F. You'll also want to have ready a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Next, it's onto the dry ingredients! Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and fine sea salt. Take care not to mix up your baking soda and your baking powder. These two ingredients are not interchangeable.
Once you've got your dry ingredients mixed, move on to the wet ingredients! You will need granulated sugar and room-temperature unsalted butter. Begin by creaming together the butter and the sugar. Mix these ingredients for about three minutes until they appear light and fluffy. Then add one egg and one egg yolk, mixing well to combine.
Next, in goes the yellow food coloring, which adds a bright yellow pop, making them appear undeniably lemon. Mix in the food coloring until the batter appears as one unified color, and then add the lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
Mix until these ingredients are evenly distributed. If your cookie batter appears slightly curdled at this point, do not worry! That is solely from the acidity in the lemon juice, and as soon as you add the dry ingredients, your batter will appear perfectly normal.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Next, scoop heaping tablespoon-sized mounds of cookie dough and roll in reserved granulated sugar for a perfectly sparkly finish!
Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet at least two inches apart. These cookies will spread quite a bit, and you don't want them baking together.
Bake for about 8-to-10 minutes, just until the edges of the cookies appear a golden brown. Then, remove from the oven, allowed to cool slightly, and enjoy.
INGREDIENTS FOR LEMON COOKIES
This bright, sweet treat has a soft lemon and buttery center with crispy edges. It's the perfect balance of sweet and tart!
Flour | This recipe calls for all-purpose flour and take note -- it actually matters that you use all-purpose flour! Different flours have different levels of protein, which affect the texture of your cookie.
Baking Soda + Baking Powder | Take care not to mix up your baking soda and your baking powder quantities in this one and cookie recipe! These two ingredients are both chemical leaveners, but they are not interchangeable.
Granulated Sugar | We all know that sugar adds sweetness to baking recipes, but did you know that it also affects moisture levels? Be sure to measure the sugar out carefully for a perfectly chewy cookie center.
Butter | There are two important things to remember when it comes to the butter. One, your butter needs to be at room temperature to cream with the sugar properly. And two, use unsalted butter. If you use pre-salted butter, your cookies will bake up far too salty!
Egg | You will need one whole egg and one egg yolk for this Lemon Cookie recipe. The egg yolk will add richness and moisture to the cookie base.
Food Coloring | Yellow food coloring is completely optional, but it does add a vivid pop of color to your cookies, quickly marking them as lemon upon first glance!
Lemons | Clearly, we can't have Lemon Cookies without lemon! And, for this cookie recipe, you'll need a lot of lemons. This recipe calls for three tablespoons of zest, which, depending on the size of your lemons, could be four to six lemons total!
We definitely tried the batter with less lemon zest, but three tablespoons are truly the magic number for the ultimate lemony pop! You will also need freshly squeezed lemon juice. Make sure to zest your lemons before you attempt to juice them.
Vanilla Extract | Vanilla extract is the perfect baking ingredient for rounding out and balancing flavors. You don't have to use it in this lemon cookie recipe, but we highly recommend it.
ADD A LEMON GLAZE FOR A POP OF FLAVOR
If you can't get enough lemon flavor in your life, consider adding a lemon glaze to these cookies! Lemon glazes are extremely easy to make, and all you need is powdered sugar and lemon juice.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions:
Once the cookies are baked and cooled, add the powdered sugar to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Begin by adding two tablespoons of lemon juice and whisking to combine. If needed, add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice to smooth out the glaze. Spoon the glaze over the top of the cold Lemon Cookies and allow to sit for at least 30-to-45 minutes.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No, this Lemon Cookie recipe was designed for convenience and there is absolutely no need to chill the dough before baking.
Absolutely! Omitting the food coloring from a baking recipe won't affect anything but the color of the dough!
The key to a perfectly soft cookie center and edges is to (1) measure your ingredients properly, (2) take care not to over-mix the dough, and (3) slightly under-bake your cookies!
As soon as you see the edges of your cookies are slightly a golden brown, it's time to pull them from the oven...even if the center appears slightly under-baked.
You can make these Lemon Cookies two-to-three days in advance if stored at room temperature. If freezing, you can make them two-to-three months in advance!
Store Lemon Cookies sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for three to five days! After day three, they will start to harden. Consider freezing them if you'd like to store them beyond this point.
Yes! If you'd like to freeze Lemon Cookies after baking, allow them to cool to room temperature and transfer them to a gallon-sized, freezer-safe zip-top bag. Press the air out of the bag. Seal and freeze for two-to-three months.
6 MORE LEMON RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Lemon Pound Cake
- Lemon Raspberry Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar + ⅓ cup for rolling, separated
- 1 cup room-temperature unsalted butter
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon yellow food coloring (optional)
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest (from 4-6 lemons)
- ⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and have ready a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside until ready to use.
- Add 1 ½ cup granulated sugar and the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and the egg yolk, and mix well. Add the food coloring, if using, and mix once more. Then, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and mix until evenly distributed. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Add ⅓ cup granulated sugar to a small bowl. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, and roll the top of the cookies in the sugar.
- Place on the baking sheet at least 2" apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cook slightly, serve and enjoy.
Nutrition
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