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.
save this recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
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, just like we do for my Lemon Ricotta Cookies and my easy Lemon Slice. This drippy icing brings out the lemon flavour of the cookies and adds a little sweet tang.
Thanks to these cookies, my Lemon Ricotta Cake and my Lemon Raspberry Cake, 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 or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 245 grams (1 and 3/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest of 1 lemon, freshly grated
Lemon glaze
- 125 grams (1 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 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, baking soda and salt. 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.
Notes
Lemon zest: For an even more lemon-y cookie, add the zest of 2 lemons instead of just one.
Cookies spreading: If you have had trouble with your cookies spreading in the past, bake one tester cookie first. If it spreads too much, consider chilling the dough for 1 hour before baking.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 cookie Calories: 193 Sugar: 20.4 g Sodium: 81.6 mg Fat: 6.3 g Carbohydrates: 32.5 g Protein: 2.1 g Cholesterol: 27.1 mg
Jess says
Yummy! Made these with my 3 year old. So easy to make and so tasty. Definitely recommend!!
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome! Love hearing that Jess!
Dee says
Hi. How should the texture of the cookie dough be? I’m not sure if mine is too sticky. If so, what can I add to it?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Dee, if you followed the measurements, particularly for the flour, I’m sure your cookie dough is fine. If it’s too sticky to roll, you can put the cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up but I haven’t needed to do that before. I hope that helps!
Kristen Strauss says
Mine was quite sticky too and I measured pretty precisely. I just spooned it on to the tray. They spread a fair bit but taste terrific.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you like them Kristen! If they were a bit sticky to roll, my first thought would be perhaps not enough flour was added? Or your butter may have been too soft. If it happens again next time, you can chill the cookie dough for 15-30 minutes in the fridge to firm up a little.
Ash says
Just made these, added a bit extra lemon zest and juice, and only used half a cup of sugar but they turned out perfectly, soft and light and buttery, already a smash hit for the whole family. Thank you so much!
Jessica Holmes says
Aww love hearing that Ash! Thanks for the lovely feedback.
Elizabeth says
Could I make these with some ginger/stem ginger added? I was asked to make a spiced cookie for a produce show!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Elizabeth, I haven’t tried them with ginger added myself but I think it’d be ok. Alternatively, you could try my Spiced Honey Cookies or my Gingerbread Cookies.
Karina says
Just made these cookies , was using up lemons and turned out excellent we can’t stop eating them! Will definitely be making more many thanks Karina
Jessica Holmes says
Aw so glad you liked them Karina! ☺️
Biscuitmaid says
Hi there can I make these in advance and refrigerate them? Will it affect the texture i dont want it soft.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, yes storing them in the fridge will affect the texture. I recommend storing them in an airtight container at room temperature. Note these are soft and chewy cookies not crispy ones.
Mary says
Hi, going to try them today. Can’t wait.
Jessica Holmes says
I hope you love them Mary!
Sharon Keightley says
BTW Thanks for such a wonderful recipe. I made three batches, my family could not get enough! Lovely and simple with easily accessible ingredients. Especially if you have a lemon tree…….. Butter at room temperature is the ticket to a good creamy mix when creaming butter and sugar.
Jessica Holmes says
Aw I’m SO happy to hear that Sharon! Such lovely feedback 💕
Sharon Keightley says
Do you think this recipe would work if you doubled it ?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes I do Sharon! ☺️
Alice says
Hi there,
Made these today and they completely spread out and turned out more like I thin slice! Not sure where I went wrong? I did melt the butter rather then it being T room temperature!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Alice! That would definitely be the reason! The temperature of the butter is so important in cookies. Most of the time if melted butter is called for, the cookie dough will require chilling in the fridge before baking, to ensure the cookies don’t spread. I suggest giving them another go, but use room temperature butter next time! ☺️
Alison says
Can you freeze the cookie mix?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Alison, yes it should be fine. I recommend rolling the cookie dough into balls, and letting them firm up in the fridge. Then placing them in a ziplock bag to freeze.
Thomas says
I would suggest using Xylith instead of Stevia. That works well and you can replace the sugar 1:1 – that would not be possible with Stevia.
I always use Xylith
annika says
hello. i am thinking of trying these out next week as i just got a lemon tree, and i was wondering if you think i can use stevia instead of sugar, and in that case how much stevia to use for one batch? thank you so much!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Annika, I haven’t tested the recipe with stevia so I can’t say – sorry.
Tracey says
Made these lemon drizzle cookies today, Nice easy recipe, tangy cookies , not too sweet. They turned out a little soft, but will make them a little thinner next time, or maybe bake for longer. I recommend this recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Tracey! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies! ☺️ Thanks for the lovely feedback!
Rebecca says
I’ve always loved citrus but have only had
in your typical tarts, slices or cakes…. LOVE this little cookie incorporating my fav flavour! Super easy recipe too!
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks Rebecca ☺️ The cookies are super simple but so tasty! And that’s coming from a chocolate lover like me! 😉
Jean Hill says
Iv been told to use icing sugar instead of caster auger is that right
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jean, no please don’t use icing sugar – they are different! Caster sugar is fine white sugar, you can swap it for granulated sugar. I wrote all about it in this blog post you might find helpful.
Natalie says
Hi, I’m going to try this recipe with my toddler and I am not great at baking. I don’t understand this part of the recipe where you advise to roll the dough into balls. Does roll mean ‘flatten’? or should we leave them as balls? Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Natalie, excited you are going to try this recipe! No need to flatten the cookies, just leave them as balls and they’ll flatten out in the oven as they bake.