Deliciously chewy Lemon Cookies made using fresh juice and zest from real lemons. Drizzled with a two ingredient lemon glaze, these Lemon Cookies are the perfect afternoon treat.
Love lemon? 🍋
You’ll adore these lovely Lemon Cookies. With crispy edges and a buttery centre, these Easy Lemon Cookies are sure to become a firm family favourite.
Soft and chewy and bursting with lemon flavour, they’re a true delight.
When I set out to make Lemon Cookies from scratch I had no idea what I was in for. I wanted a cookie that was buttery and sweet, but not too thick and cakey.
The first couple of tries were far too spongy and lacked lemon flavour, but attempt number three was something special.
Simple. Sweet. Perfection.
This recipe begins as most cookies do, with butter and sugar. Then there’s egg, flour and baking soda. Then comes a flavour hit, thanks to freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest. Hello lemony goodness!
Once the cookies are baked and cooled, it’s time for a simple two ingredient lemon glaze. This drippy icing brings out the lemon flavour of the cookies and adds a little sweet tang.
Thanks to these Easy Lemon Cookies and the Lemon Ricotta Cake I recently shared, I’m literally obsessed with all things lemon at the moment.
Who would have thought fresh lemon could take a regular sugar cookie and transform it into something special?
All I know is you need these lovely cookies in your life 🍋
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let's Bake
Easy Lemon Cookies
Buttery lemon cookies with a fresh lemon glaze.
Ingredients
Lemon cookies
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 245 grams (1 and 3/4 cup) plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest of 1 lemon, freshly grated
Lemon glaze
- 125 grams (1 cup) icing or powdered sugar
- 3–4 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Add vanilla and egg and beat again until combined.
- Sift in flour and baking soda. Add lemon juice and zest. Beat briefly until soft cookie dough forms.
- Roll cookie dough into 16 balls, approximately 1.5 tablespoons of dough each, and bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden on the edges. Carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the lemon glaze, sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time, and mix together with a fork. Keep adding a tablespoon of lemon juice until you reach your desired consistency. You want the glaze to be smooth, but thin enough to drizzle.
- Drizzle glaze over cookies. Leave for 10-15 minutes to set.
Nutrition Information
Melanie says
The cookies themselves were a big hit but the glaze was a bit too sugary and overpowering. I went by the recipe exactly so the glaze was not to my taste so I will modify for next time. Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Melanie! And you can definitely leave the glaze if you prefer.
Roe says
Easy to make but way too soft. I suggest a tad less butter for the rest of the ingredients.
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Roe, these cookies are meant to be soft and chewy. If you prefer them more crispy, try baking them for a few extra minutes.
Gemma barks says
Was easy to make but it’s too wet to put in balls of dough, instead I just made small scoops, they cook very quickly and spread far on the tray, I would suggest small scoops of dough with alot of space between, also needs more zest than juice.
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Gemma, if your dough was too wet, it might have been because your butter was too soft – this is also why cookies spread too much in the oven. Next time, make sure your butter is just at room temperature and not too soft or melty. Otherwise, just chill your cookie dough in the fridge for a few minutes and it’ll be easier to roll.
gabrielle says
Kind of struggled with getting a cookie dough consistency but i just called them my lemon cookie cakes and seemed to get away with it 🤣 still tasted absolutely delicious.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked them Gabrielle!
Joyce says
Just baked these cookies and they’re lovely. The next time I make them, I think I’m going to try adding 1/4 tsp salt – and maybe a snudge more. I think the salt will kick them to a five star.
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Joyce!
Sophie says
The recipe is so good and easy to make! However quick question, am I able to put in more lemon juice that said in the recipe because my cookie tasted a little bland, no lemony taste at all :c
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sophie, yes you can but you might find adding more zest is a better way to impart more flavour. Extra lemon juice may make the cookie dough more wet, so you might need to chill the cookie dough to prevent the cookies spreading when baked.
Mirjam says
Delicious! I left the egg out as I wanted a more ‘short’ cookie, and I added cinnamon (lemon + cinnamon = match made in heaven), and for us this was just right!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them! I’ll have to try them with cinnamon.
Dominic says
Delicious but the dough was far too sticky to roll. It was definitely the lemon juice that did because the butter was rock hard and had to beat it for ages. As it was more like cake mix I put half the mixture into cake cases to experiment and they cooked quite well and rose a little. The mixture on parchment paper worked fine too but next time, I will forget the lemon juice altogether and use my lemon Flavdrops instead for an intense lemon taste.
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed them Dominic! If the dough is a bit sticky, just chill the dough for 30 minutes or so, that should help.
Jacinta Russell says
Can you freeze the cookies??
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jacinta, personally I love fresh cookies, so I’d recommend freezing the cookie dough.
Anna B says
Thank you so much for this deliciously light and totally scrumptious recipe! They shall become a firm family favourite.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved them Anna!
Naomi says
Delicious!
★★★★★
Betty says
Easy to make but taste delicious. Thank you.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you like them Betty!
Isabelle says
My cookies were so light and fluffy. My dough was a bit runny and not like other doughs do you have any suggestions what to do or what you think I did wrong? the cookies were delicious 😋😋
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Isabelle! The dough will be a bit softer than a regular cookie dough because of the lemon juice. If you found them hard to roll, you could try adding a touch more flour next time or try chilling the dough for 30 minutes. Hope that helps!
Nishanth says
This cookie is great for baking beginners to try out, this defenitely got me into baking. Plus, these cookies taste great!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked them Nishanth!
Billi Milovanovic says
These cookies were so darn good! I used self raising flour instead or the flour and baking soda and substituted some of the flour with shredded coconut – that took the cookie to a whole new level! 🙌
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Billi!
Shelly says
This cookies are delicious and super soft!!
Will make more for sure. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Shelly!
Tania says
Lemony melt in the mouth delishisness. I will make again and would try with other citrus fruits just for variation.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked them Tania!