Lemon Crinkle Cookies

This lemon crinkle cookie recipe has been on the blog for several years. In that time, my team and I have tested it many times to find the perfect lemony flavor, chewy texture, and ideal spread. The recipe is easy, but we learned a few things along the way to help troubleshoot potential issues—why chilling the dough is a game-changer, when is the best time to coat the dough with sugar, and why using two layers of sugar results in the best crinkle effect. If you follow my simple tips, you’ll have perfect lemon crinkle cookies every time!

A reader, Samantha, says: “These cookies came out of the oven looking exactly like the picture! They were a snap to make, and the texture was fluffy and light. Not too sweet and a lovely ode to lemon.” ★★★★★

Why You’ll Love My Recipe

I love lemon desserts, especially these easy cookies! Here’s why I know you’ll love them too:

• Packed with real lemon flavor: Rubbing the zest into the sugar extracts the natural oils in the lemon peel and packs the delicious cookies with flavor.
• Make-ahead cookie dough: Since the dough can be chilled for up to 24 hours, you can do most of the prep work in advance. You can also freeze the cookie dough for longer storage!
• Chewy centers, crunchy sugar shell: This recipe is designed to give you chewy centers as well as a crunchy shell because of the sugar coating. You’ll coat the cookie dough balls in two layers of sugar for maximum crispness.

The Science Behind A Crinkle Cookie

The cookie dough for crinkle cookies is soft and made with baking soda, which helps them puff and spread in the oven. Before baking, you’ll coat the cookie dough balls in sugar. This sugar coating will start to melt when it hits the high oven temperatures. It will then dry out and form a light shell. As the cookie dough spreads, it will break the shell apart, causing it to form cracks and create that classic crinkled appearance.

Key Ingredients & Substitutions

These are the main ingredients you need to make these easy lemon crinkle cookies. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.

Lemon — always use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor. And don’t forget to add the zest! It’s key to the amplified lemon flavor in these cookies. Meyer lemons are delicious in this recipe, too.

Butter — melted butter produces soft cookies with moist, almost fudgy, centers. The best part is you don’t have to wait for butter to soften or use an electric mixer for this dough!

Baking soda — baking soda is a must for chewy cookies that spread and crinkle properly. Check the expiration date to ensure it is still fresh.

Crinkle cookie coating — you’ll coat the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar and powdered sugar before baking. This coating will melt and harden in the oven, creating the crinkled appearance when the dough spreads.

Chilling The Dough Controls Cookie Spread

Like my chocolate crinkle cookie recipe, chilling cools down the melted butter and hydrates the flour for just the right amount of spread. A cold cookie will spread a bit, but the edges will set before it spreads too thin, resulting in cookies that are still puffy in the center and chewy as a result. Warm cookie dough will spread too thin and bake up flat and crispier, which is not the effect you’re looking for in these cookies.

Can I chill cookie dough balls with the sugar coating?

Technically, you can, but the sugar coating will dissolve, so you won’t have the contrasting crinkle effect when they’re baked. It can also affect the spread of the cookies and cause them to bake up in odd shapes. I tested this, coating the dough balls with sugar and chilling them overnight (16 hours) before baking them.

You can see in the image below that the sugar coating disappeared on the baked cookies. You can chill the plain dough balls ahead of time, but it’s best to coat them with sugar just before baking.

Two Sugar Coatings For The Best Crinkle Effect

Coating the dough balls in granulated sugar first gives the powdered sugar a coarse texture to cling to. Additionally, the granulated sugar bakes up into a crispier outer shell, which gives the cookies a delicious contrast in texture between the chewy, soft centers.

Pro Tips For Making The Best Lemon Crinkles

Measure the flour correctly. A kitchen scale is the most accurate way to measure flour, preventing you from accidentally using too much. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon and then sprinkle it into your measuring cups before leveling it off with a knife.

Roll the lemons for easier juicing. This loosens the pulp inside and starts to break the cells and release the juice. I like to press my palm on top of a lemon and roll it on the counter with light pressure about 5 to 10 times.

Roll the dough quickly. Chilled dough is important for the correct spread, so working fast is a must to prevent the dough from warming up too much while you roll the balls and coat them with sugar.

If your dough is too sticky to roll, chill it for longer. Chilling the dough for longer will firm it up and make it easier to handle.

How To Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the recipe in step-by-step process images along with instructions for making lemon crinkle cookies. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.

1. Add the sugar, salt, and fresh lemon zest to a large bowl.

2. Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers. This will release the oils in the zest so your cookies are more flavorful.

3. Add the melted butter, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract to the sugar mixture. For a brighter yellow color, add a drop or two of gel food coloring.

4. Whisk to combine, making sure the eggs are broken up well.

5. Whisk together the flour and baking soda in a small bowl and add it to the bowl with the wet ingredients.

6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. You will want to use a silicone spatula for this, not a whisk, and fold it just until the dry streaks of flour have been incorporated. Cover and chill in the fridge for 4 to 24 hours.

7. Place the granulated sugar and the confectioners’ sugar in separate small bowls, so you’re ready to quickly coat the cookie dough after rolling it. Scoop 12 balls of the chilled cookie dough (about 1½ tablespoons each). Cover the rest of the dough and pop it back in the fridge to keep it cool. Roll the dough between your palms to form smooth balls.

8. Coat each ball with granulated sugar and then with powdered sugar. Place the coated cookie dough balls 1½ inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F until the tops crack. Let the lemon crinkle cookies cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

4.84 from 100 votes

Lemon Crinkle Cookie Recipe

Easy Lemon Crinkle Cookies turn out soft and chewy every time. Two sugar coatings give them a dramatic crinkled effect and a sweet outer crust.

Save Recipe Saved! Print Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Chill Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 24 cookies

Calories 139kcal

Author John Kanell

Video

Equipment

• ▢
  Mixing Bowls
• ▢
  Cookie sheets
• ▢
  Spring-loaded scoop
• ▢
  Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (113g)
• ▢ 2 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons) (60ml)
• ▢ 1-2 drops yellow gel food coloring (optional)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour (280g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda

For Coating:

• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
• ▢ ¾ cup powdered sugar (90g)

Instructions

For the Cookie Dough:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, lemon zest, and salt. For extra flavor, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until the mixture feels like wet sand. Whisk in the melted butter, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla until well combined. If you want a brighter yellow color, whisk in the food coloring.
• In a small bowl whisk together the flour and baking soda. Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Coating the Cookies:

• Place the granulated sugar and the confectioners’ sugar in separate small bowls. Set aside.
• Scoop 12 balls of the chilled cookie dough (about 1½ tablespoons/28g each). Cover and place the remaining dough back in the fridge.
• Roll the scooped dough between your palms to form smooth balls. Coat each dough ball with the granulated sugar and then coat with the powdered sugar. Place the coated dough balls 1½ inches apart on one lined baking sheet. (If desired, dust them lightly again with powdered sugar and a fine mesh sieve.)
• Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until the tops crack and the bottom edges are just starting to brown. Let cool on the pan for 2 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Repeat the scooping and baking process with the remaining dough. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

• Zest the lemon before juicing! It’s very hard to zest juiced lemon halves, and once the lemons are zested, they are easier to squeeze for juicing. Also, when zesting the lemons, make sure only to zest the yellow parts. The white layer underneath is bitter.
• For extra contrast, dust the dough balls with more powdered sugar just before baking. This is optional, but it gives them an extra layer of sugar on top so the coating doesn’t melt too much in the oven, resulting in a very distinct crinkled exterior.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 138IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

*Nutrition Disclaimer

Have you Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @preppykitchen and tag #preppykitchen!

Make-Ahead and Storage

Making the dough in advance: You can make and chill the dough for up to 24 hours total (in bulk or as dough balls). Because the dough uses baking soda and lemon juice, a longer chill time can affect how the cookies bake up. This is because the alkaline baking soda is slowly reacting with the acidic lemon juice as the dough chills, and it will be less effective with time once it hits the oven.

Freezing the cookie dough: After shaping the dough into balls, freeze them on a lined baking sheet until solid and store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw them completely in the fridge before coating and baking.

Storing baked cookies: Store lemon crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze room-temperature cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours before eating.

FAQs & Troubleshooting

More Dessert Recipes To Try

Try one of these easy lemon dessert recipes next!

Soft, chewy lemon cookies are perfect for the lemon lover in your life! A drizzle of sweet lemon glaze is a tasty finishing touch.

Lemon bars are loaded with bright flavor. They have a crisp shortbread crust topped with a velvety lemon filling.

If you want to make a more sophisticated version of lemon bars, perfect for a dinner party, try my lemon tart! Top it with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Lemon cupcakes are always a hit. Not only are the cupcakes themselves brimming with zingy flavor, but there’s also lemon in the fluffy buttercream, too!

My lemon cake is always soft and moist, never dry or crumbly like many store-bought varieties. It also has flavor from fresh lemons, not artificial flavorings!

If you’ve tried this lemon crinkle cookie recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!