Lemon lovers, you need to try these glazed lemon cookies! They’re simply loaded with citrusy flavor from fresh lemons and lemon extract. You’ll love their soft, chewy texture that is ever so slightly crisp on the edges. The sweet lemon glaze is a pretty (and delicious) finishing touch.
Soft lemon cookies that are perfectly light, not cakey, are so simple to make! They’re just the thing when you want something sweet but not too sweet. The tart lemon flavor balances the sweetness in the cookie and makes having just one basically impossible! For more tangy lemon dessert recipes, try my lemon meringue pie recipe, lemon cupcakes recipe, or lemon bars recipe.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Leavening — you need baking powder and baking soda for these cookies to help them puff up.
Butter — use unsalted butter, and set it out beforehand so it softens slightly.
Sugar — granulated sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness to balance out the tart, bright lemon flavor.
Lemon — you’ll use 3 types of lemon to flavor the cookies- freshly grated lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, as well as lemon extract.
Egg — one large, room temperature egg is all you need.
Yellow food coloring — while optional, yellow food coloring adds a pretty color to the cookies. Use gel for the best results, and remember that a little goes a long way.
Lemon Glaze — for the lemon glaze, you’ll need to whisk together 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 to 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, depending on the consistency you want.
How to Make Lemon Cookies
1. Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, lemon juice, and lemon extract to the mixture. Beat on medium speed with a hand mixer or your stand mixer until well combined. Scrape the bowl down once while mixing. If you decide to use food coloring, add it in at this point.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until almost combined. Scrape the bowl down one last time then beat just until incorporated. The dough is now ready to be covered and chilled for at least 30 minutes.
5. Once the dough is chilled, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scoop 1½ tablespoon-sized balls of lemon cookie dough and place them on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake one cookie sheet at a time in an oven preheated to 350°F for about 10 minutes or until the edges are set and just starting to turn golden. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet, and then you can transfer them to a wire rack for glazing.
7. Make the lemon glaze in a medium bowl while the cookies are cooling. Whisk together the powdered sugar lemon juice until it reaches your desired consistency.
8. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled lemon cookies and enjoy!
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
- Measure the flour correctly. Using too much flour is a common mistake when baking and will result in dry, crumbly cookies. To measure flour accurately, use a kitchen scale and go by weight. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, don’t scoop directly from the flour container. Fluff up the flour first and spoon it into the measuring cup before leveling it off with a butter knife.
- For a super tender, fluffy cookie: Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the flour mixture and replace ¼ cup of the granulated sugar with packed light brown sugar. Cornstarch is the secret ingredient to making a soft cookie soft and brown sugar makes them slightly chewy!
- Chill the cookie dough. It might not seem important, but chilling the dough is so important to ensure the cookies don’t spread and flatten too much.
- Use a cookie scoop. This is helpful for getting the cookies to all be the same size.
- Use more or less lemon juice in the glaze depending on how you want to use it. For a runnier glaze that’s easy to drizzle, use more lemon juice. For a thicker glaze you can spread or dip the cookies into, use less lemon juice.
- For a neater presentation, use a piping bag. I love the rustic look of a cookie drizzled with glaze straight off the whisk. But if you want a uniform glaze on the cookies, use a piping bag.
Frequently asked questions
Stick with only the instructed amount of lemon juice for the dough in this lemon cookie recipe. If you use too much lemon juice, the acidity might affect the texture of the cookie dough. If you don’t have lemon extract, double the zest in the recipe, or use vanilla extract for a creamier flavor.
Food coloring is optional, but it does add a bright yellow color to the chewy lemon cookies. You only need a drop or two of gel food coloring. You can also use liquid food coloring if that is what you have on hand.
Yes, you can make these easy glazed lemon cookies ahead of time. You can prep, chill, and portion the dough, and store the unbaked cookie dough balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight (or up to 3 days).
Store lemon cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If you need to stack them, place a sheet of parchment paper between each layer to prevent sticking.
You can freeze them before or after baking. To freeze the dough, portion it into balls, place them on a lined cookie sheet, and place in the freezer until solid. Then transfer to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. You can bake the dough from frozen; you may need to add a minute or two to the baking time. If you want to freeze baked lemon cookies, do so before you glaze them. Place the cooled cookies on a lined baking sheet, freeze until firm, and store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this lemon cookies recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Lemon Cookies
Video
Equipment
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 3 tablespoons grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Yellow food coloring (optional)
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120g)
- 1 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
For the Cookies:
- In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping the bowl down once while mixing. If you’re adding some food coloring, mix it in now. (1 to 2 drops goes a long way!)
- Add the flour mixture to the butter and beat on low speed until almost combined. Scrape the bowl down one last time then beat just until combined. Cover and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scoop 1½ tablespoons size balls of cookie dough and place them on the prepared cookie sheets spacing them about two inches apart. (For cookies that bake with a less crackled top, roll the dough balls between your palms to make them smooth.)
- Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes or until the edges are set and just starting to turn golden. (You don’t want these cookies to brown much or they will be crispy and not soft.) Let the cookies cool completely on the pan.
For the Lemon Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to reach your desired consistency. (Add more lemon juice for a looser drizzle and less for a spreadable glaze.)
- Drizzle or spread the glaze over the cooled cookies. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. Using too much flour is a common mistake when baking and will result in dry, crumbly cookies. To measure flour accurately, use a kitchen scale and go by weight. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, don’t scoop directly from the flour container. Fluff up the flour first and spoon it into the measuring cup before leveling it off with a butter knife.
- For a super tender, fluffy cookie: Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the flour mixture and replace ¼ cup of the granulated sugar with packed light brown sugar. Cornstarch is the secret ingredient to making a soft cookie soft and brown sugar makes them slightly chewy!
- Chill the cookie dough. It might not seem important, but chilling the dough is so important to ensure the cookies don’t spread and flatten too much.
- Use a cookie scoop. This is helpful for getting the cookies to all be the same size.
- Use more or less lemon juice in the glaze depending on how you want to use it. For a runnier glaze that’s easy to drizzle, use more lemon juice. For a thicker glaze you can spread or dip the cookies into, use less lemon juice.
- For a neater presentation, use a piping bag. I love the rustic look of a cookie drizzled with glaze straight off the whisk. But if you want a uniform glaze on the cookies, use a piping bag.
I never comment on recipes – but this one got me! I originally made these cookies for a few lemon-loving friends, who RAVED over them, so I shared with other, NON lemon-loving friends and family. Their reactions (without fail) have been over the top! Their surprise is a beautiful thing to see, lol.
Those who would “never choose” lemon as a flavor of choice are addicted to these cookies. The feedback has been 100% positive, so don’t hesitate to make them. 10/10 recipe.
I don’t see brown sugar listed in the cookie ingredients. ??? Thanks bakers!
Angela- the brown sugar is an option mentioned in the softer and fluffier cookie option that is mentioned above the recipe.
I made these cookies yesterday for our Super Bowl get together and they are delicious. They didn’t flatten like every other cookie I make and they were nice and lemony! I think I used all 3 Tbl of juice in the glaze and then rolled the tops of the cookies in the glaze.
I’m making another batch tomorrow for my husband’s office potluck, and will probably try the cornstarch version, just to compare.
Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
Can lemon be swapped out with orange?
Fantastic recipe! Will be baking these again and again! Thanks for always producing such wonderful recipes
Hello! I have fallen in love with your videos!
I need to get the microplane you use but I couldn’t find the link you mentioned bin the video.
Please post it again. Happy cooking!
This was the best cookie I ever baked it was so good almost like a cake
I tried your oatmeal raisin recipe it’s on my YouTube channel if you wanna check it out
Since quarantine I already made these a few times, and tomorrow I want to bake them for a friend’s birthday 🙂
Since I don’t have any lemon paste, I always use some Limoncello instead. Works perfect and tastes great!
Love that substitution!