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, 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.
Jennifer says
Loved the flavour. I beat the flour and sugar too vigorously and yhe cookies spread a little too much. Will know better next timee.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked them Jennifer. Next time, you can chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes or 1 hour to help prevent any extra spreading too!
Lilly says
Can you use extra lemon juice instead of lemon zest?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lily, you can but I recommend chilling the dough if you do, as the cookies might spread a bit too much due to the extra liquid.
Ian says
Love the taste but mine are still more cake like than a cookie consistency.
I followed the recipe very accurately, any tips ?(still taste awesome!)
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Ian, so glad you like them! Often a cakey consistency means too much flour was added – its very easy to do if using cup mess. Could that be a possibility? Also beating the butter and sugar too vigorously or on a high speed can cause there to be too much air incorporated into the batter. This will also give you a more cake-like result. I hope that helps!
Harini Nishshanka says
I baked it a little over because I like it crispy. But the flavor was lovely and well balanced!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that!
Mathis says
These cookies are so easy! and they taste amazing!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!
Emma says
I turned mine into St Clement’s by adding orange zest too…yummy!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Oh love that Emma!
Christina says
Very nice and a real burst of lemon!!
Mine spread a lot on the tray , not sure why?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Christina! The cookies should spread naturally in the oven, but if they cookies spread too much, you can try chilling them for 15-30 minutes. Have a read of this post for some common reasons why cookies spread.
Hazel says
Thank you Jessica! I made little bite sized bikkies – they were divine!
I did reduce to 3/4 cup sugar. They are so moorish. Eating as I type…
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Hazel! Thank you for your kind review!
Jeromme klemas says
Cmon this is just extremely sweet to the point it’s not nice. I’ll make them next time with max 150 gr sugar.
Jessica Holmes says
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy them Jeromme. Thanks for the feedback!
Emma says
So easy to make and delicious
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So happy you enjoyed them Emma!
Shivii says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made them as a fun lockdown activity and my fiance absolutely LOVES them- he literally cannot talking about how delicious they are!
Will happily make these again! 🙂
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
How good is that! So glad you and your hubby enjoyed them!!
K McDonald says
Easy to make and absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Shane says
One of the best recipes ever
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!!
Alaine says
The cookies itself was good but I couldn’t taste any of the lemon. It taste plain. Should I add more lemon juice to the batter?
Jessica Holmes says
You can if you like Alaine. But if you add more than the 3 tablespoons specified, I’d consider chilling the dough before baking, as the extra moisture will make the dough more wet and may cause spreading.
Trish says
Amazing. Disappeared very quickly. Very nourish.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that Trish!
brenda says
Can you freeze these delightful lemon cookies?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes Brenda! Or you could freeze the cookie dough if you prefer a fresh out of the oven cookie.