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.
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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
Celia says
Need to make many cookies for a graduation party. Do these delicious lemon cookie freeze well? Can they freeze with the glaze? Can I top with powdered sugar if not?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Celia, yes they will freeze well. I recommend doing the glaze fresh or a dusting of powdered sugar will work too.
Lottie says
Any way to stop it from being sticky before I roll it? I’ve put it in the fridge for 1 hour but it didn’t do much.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lottie, sorry to hear that! I haven’t had that issue, but you are right that chilling should help. Maybe try another few hours or pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes. A touch more flour next time might also help!
Emma says
I bought back some lemons from Italy and wanted to make some cookies rather than a lemon drizzle cake and OH MY GOD these are amazing! I have eaten 2 warm from the oven and have not even put the lemon glaze on yet. I am not sure they will make it into work tomorrow.
Jessica Holmes says
Oh wow! Lemons from Italy would make these cookies extra special!
Jazmin says
I’ve made these 2x now! 1 week apart! The second time I realized I didn’t have any eggs OR butter. I substituted 1 egg with 1 flaxseed egg, and the butter with vegan butter. Making these vegan were simple and they still came out delicious! Will make again soon for sure. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow, that’s great to know! So glad you enjoyed them Jazmin!
Laura says
These came out excellent. I didn’t have lemons on hand, only lemon juice. So I omitted the lemon zest and used 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. They tasted phenomenal. It was perfectly lemony enough without the zest. I needed to add about 2 tablespoons more of flour to my dough because it was too sticky but other than that, great recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh love that Laura! So glad you enjoyed them.
Jan says
Amazing!
alexa says
Super easy, super fast, super yum. So pleased they held together. I made these with standard GF flour, xantham gum and half the sugar.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Alexa!
Elissa says
These are hands down the best biscuit of all time! So easy and so addictive.
Jessica Holmes says
Love love love that!!
Romy says
Hello! These cookies look so pretty and yummy. Can’t wait to try this recipe! However, I would need 20 cookies of 26 grams each. Is it possible? Don’t have those bakery spoons at the moment and I actually prefer to weight them. Thanks in advance! Have a lovely day 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Romy, I’m sorry I haven’t weighed the cookie dough so I can’t say. I do hope you get to try them.
Veronica says
i dont’ know what happened but mine looked nothing like yours. I did reduce the sugar because 200g is an insane amount but mine puffed up so much and did not spread at all even though I did press down a bit. i don’t know why it’s like that….
Veronica says
just to add as well, 245g flour also seemed like a lot, after combining, the dough looked like one of those cookie bar dough where it’s non sticky at all, i think that might be another reason.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Veronica, there are many reasons why cookies don’t spread, but it’s likely because of the reduced sugar. Sugar, especially caster or granulated sugar helps cookies to spread, so by adding less sugar you have changed the balance of the recipe. The other common culprit is adding too much flour, which is very easy to do if using cup measurements. It sounds like that was also an issue if the dough was dry like you mentioned. Here is a blog post I wrote about cookie spreading that might be helpful.
Bridget says
There is no recipe for lemon glaze
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Bridget, the lemon glaze is listed in the ingredients list and the method is included in step 5 and 6.
Sarah says
So good!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Nayoto says
Thank you for this recipe. So easy to follow. I made them and they were so nice. Every one loved them – especially my kids. I will keep making them over and over…
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you and your family enjoyed them Nayoto!
Bruce Hanney says
Hello!
I’ve literally just made these cookies and was wondering how long their shelf life is and if they can be frozen?
PS they turned out fantastic!
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad they turned out well Bruce! They should keep well in an airtight container for up to a week or you can freeze them for up to three months.
Megan says
Without a doubt the best lemon cookies I have ever made. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle with a beautiful lemon burst. I did put extra lemon in mine but I kind of like that smack you in the face lemon flavour and lemon myrtle
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Megan! And I’m with you, the sharper the lemon, the better!
Nayoto says
Thank you for this recipe. So easy to follow. I made them and they were so nice. Every one loved them – especially my kids. I will keep making them over and over…