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    Home » Dessert » Cookies

    Lemon Crinkle Cookies

    Published: Apr 5, 2020 · by Elizabeth Waterson · This post may contain affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Confessions of a Baking Queen!

    Jump to Recipe
    plate of lemon crinkle cookies with one broke in half on the top

    Chewy and delicious, no cake mix need! These Lemon Crinkle Cookies will be a hit at your next party! Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this lemon crinkle cookie recipe.

    lemon crinkle cookies cooling on a wire rack next to a plate of cookies, lemons, dishtowel and a wooden spoon

    Cookies are one of the most popular dessert categories on my website. Gotta give the people what they want! While most of the time you will find me stuffing my face with cookies filled with some sort of chocolate, these lemon cookies are surprisingly addicting.

    The tartness from all of the lemon flavor against the sweet chewy cookie dough, you will fall head over heels. I love to serve these lemon crinkle cookies on a dessert table with my salted millionaire's shortbread bars.

    stack of lemon crinkle cookies on a metal rack

    Let's get to the recipe.

    Jump to:
    • 🥚Ingredients
    • 📖 How to make the cookies
    • 🍋 More lemon recipes
    • Recipe Card
    • Recipe Ratings & Comments

    🥚Ingredients

    For these cookies, you don't need anything too special! 🙂

    • Unsalted Butter. You can use salted butter just omit the salt in the dry ingredients. No matter which butter you use to make sure it is completely softened to room temperature.
    • Sugar. Just good ol' granulated sugar also known as caster sugar.
    • Lemon. We'll use the lemon zest and the fresh lemon juice from the lemons. If you have lots of lemons to use up try my easy lemon loaf cake recipe next!
    • Eggs. Just one large egg and one large egg yolk.
    • Vanilla Extract. Even though these are lemon cookies I love vanilla so I find just a smidge gives the best base flavor to these cookies.
    • Lemon Extract. I really wanted the lemon flavor to punch through, and the more real lemon juice I added the looser the dough would be, not ideal for a cookie recipe. So adding some extract was the perfect fix.
    • Flour. Just plain old all-purpose flour or plain flour is needed.
    • Salt. Don't forget it, salt helps in all baking!
    • Cornstarch. Also known as cornflour, this helps tenderize the dough and create soft cookie.
    • Baking Powder and Baking Soda. These are both chemical leavening agents, meaning they give the cookies their lift. Often in chocolate chip cookies you only see baking soda added because baking soda reacts to an acid (brown sugar) and raises the cookies. But in this recipe even though there is lemon there is not enough acid to completely raise the cookies properly so adding baking powder which is baking soda with acid gives us the perfect lift.
    • Powdered Sugar. Also known as confectioners sugar this is what we will roll the cookies in and get that iconic crinkle cookie look.

    You could definitely add chocolate chips if you want but the cookies do not need them! The cookie dough will also be quite pale and yellow looking itself but if you wanted you could add a drop or two of yellow food coloring, I don't find it necessary.

    📖 How to make the cookies

    Start by creaming the butter and sugar together. We add the lemon zest here so that the oil from the lemon zest binds to all of the sugar granules.

    I always use my Microplane zester to zest my lemon, which makes it so much easier!!

    You can do this in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk.

    Beat the ingredients for 2-3 minutes.

    butter, sugar and lemon zest in a metal mixing bowl

    Make sure to scrape down the bowl so all the ingredients are evenly combined.

    Add the whole egg and mix to combine, don't forget to again scrape the bowl. Next, add the egg yolk and lemon and vanilla extracts. Mix until fully combined, and you betcha you better scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure its all distributed evenly.  

    butter and sugar whipped together with an egg and vanilla on top in a large

    Whisk together the flour, salt, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda.

    dry ingredients in a glass bowl for lemon cookies

    Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mix until just combined. The cookie dough will be thick. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Chilling the dough helps the dough marinate and the flavors bind, as well as the colder cookie dough will spread less when baking.

    lemon cookie dough in a metal mixing bowl

    When you're ready to bake preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees celsius and line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.

    In a small but deep bowl add the powdered sugar.

    Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough then roll the ball together and roll in powdered sugar.

    hand rolling cookie dough ball in powdered sugar and putting on a baking tray

    Place the cookies on a baking tray two-three inches apart and bake for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies are just set.

    lemon crinkle cookies before and after baking on a silpat lined tray

    Place the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    plate of lemon crinkle cookies with one broke in half on the top

    Check out this post on my Cookie Baking Tips

    🍋 More lemon recipes

    You should definitely try my easy homemade lemon curd recipe next. Then use it in this Lemon Curd Loaf Cake or Lemon Curd Cheesecake.

    These lemon cream crumb bars are absolutely delicious.

    And my lemon poppy seed muffin recipe is the perfect bright muffin to enjoy!

    lemon crinkle cookie against a stack of cookies

    ★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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    Recipe Card

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    lemon crinkle cookie against a stack of cookies

    Lemon Crinkle Cookies

    ★★★★★

    5 from 5 reviews

    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Chewy and delicious, no cake mix need! These Lemon Crinkle Cookies will be a hit at your next party!

    • Total Time: 25 minutes
    • Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies 1x

    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 8oz (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
    • 300 grams (1 ½ Cups) Granulated/ Caster Sugar
    • 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
    • 1 Large Egg + 1 Large Egg Yolk, at room temperature
    • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
    • 2 Teaspoons Pure Lemon Extract
    • 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
    • 375 grams (3 Cups) All-Purpose Flour/ Plain Flour
    • ½ Teaspoon Salt
    • 2 Teaspoon Cornstarch/ Cornflour
    • ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
    • ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 120 grams (1 Cup) Confectioners Sugar/Powdered Sugar

    Instructions

    1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together for 2-3 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the bowl so everything is evenly combined. Add the whole egg and mix to combine, again scraping the bowl, add the egg yolk, lemon juice, and lemon and vanilla extracts. Mix until fully combined, again scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure its all distributed evenly.  
    2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda.
    3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mix until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 4 days.
    4. When ready to bake preheat the oven to 350F/180C. In a small but deep bowl add the powdered sugar. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough, then roll together and dunk in powdered sugar, I like to pat the powdered sugar on to really ensure a thick layer of powdered sugar stays on. Place cookies on a baking sheet two-three inches apart and bake for 9-11 minutes until cookies are just set. Set the cookie sheet on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    Equipment

    half sheet pans

    Half Sheet Pan

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    silpat liner

    Silpat

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    • Author: Elizabeth Waterson I Confessions of a Baking Queen
    • Prep Time: 15
    • Cook Time: 10
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Bake
    • Cuisine: American

    Keywords: lemon dessert recipes, lemon cookie recipe

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @confessionsofabakingqueen on Instagram and hashtag it #cbqbakes

    Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

    This post was originally published May 12, 2012 on my original, short-lived blog, Lifestyles of a Chocoholic!

    up close of lemon crinkle cookies on a white plate
    « Almond Flour Banana Bread
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    1. Taleen Gharakhanian says

      May 13, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      WOW! These lemon crinkle cookies are out of this world. They’re chewy lemony and perfect in every way. I can’t stop eating them. 10/10 would recommend making these for any event or party because they’re sure to be a hit!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        May 14, 2020 at 11:18 am

        Thanks for the lovely review Taleen, so happy to hear you think these cookies are perfect too! XX Liz

        Reply
    2. Maria kalamara says

      January 16, 2021 at 8:35 am

      Great recipe. Dough resting in the fridge. Can't wait to bake them. ❣️

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        January 16, 2021 at 11:47 am

        Aww so happy Maria, thanks so much for coming back to rate the reciipe. I hope you love the baked cookies!! XX Liz

        Reply
    3. Jillian says

      June 17, 2021 at 11:29 am

      These are so good making them for my sisters graduation party

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        June 17, 2021 at 4:49 pm

        Hi Jillian, sounds like it's going to be a tasty party!! So glad you all like them! I really appreciate you coming back to leave a star rating and review! XX Liz

        Reply
    4. Sandra Newsome says

      April 14, 2022 at 8:48 am

      I want to make these cookies ahead to mail them to my granddaughtar at college. Any suggestions to keep the powdered sugar from melting.

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        April 14, 2022 at 1:41 pm

        Hi Sandra, I would make sure you really pack the powdered sugar on when baking then I would layer them with wax paper or parchment paper in between when packaging them up. I might even sprinkle on powdered sugar before I place the wax paper, so each layer of cookies gets a coating. Please let me know if you try this and how you get on! Thank you! XX Liz

        Reply
    5. Kat says

      October 02, 2022 at 2:04 pm

      Baked these cookies for a lemon themed baby shower and everyone raved about them! So many people asked for the recipe, such a huge hit! Definitely will be making these again and again!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        October 05, 2022 at 4:55 pm

        The perfect baby shower cookie!! Thank you for trusting CBQ for your party!! XX Liz

        Reply
    6. Sadie says

      February 05, 2023 at 6:20 pm

      Just made these tonight and they are 100% delicious and going in the to bake again folder! Definitely worth the time and effort!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        February 06, 2023 at 7:41 am

        Hi Sadie, thank you so much for the lovely 5-star review. I am so pleased to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Take care. XX Liz

        Reply

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    Waterson, Elizabeth Cropped Size Photo CAke copy 2

    Hiya! I am Elizabeth Waterson, welcome to my treat-filled site. After spending 15 years in the restaurant industry and growing up baking, I wanted to share my love of baking with you all. My step-by-step tutorials will help you learn how to bake at home. Confessions of a Baking Queen (CBQ) has been featured in CBS LA, HuffPost Taste, BuzzFeed, Taste of Home, and more! Here you will find loads of sweet recipes with a few savory ones for good measure. Feel free to message me with any questions! Happy Baking! 

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