These sweet and tart Lemon Crinkle Cookies use simple ingredients, are easy to make, and taste fantastic! If you love lemon, they are a must try cookie recipe!
You don’t need a cake mix for these lemon crinkles. They are made from scratch, and they taste so much better! I bet you have most of the ingredients on hand, and they just take a few minutes to whip up.
POWDERED LEMON COOKIES
I first tried these lovely lemon cookies with powdered sugar when I needed a treat for teacher appreciation week several years ago. There was a huge assortment of goodies, but I saw a few of the teachers coming back for seconds after they tasted one.
Of course, I can’t blame them, these chewy lemon cookies are amazing!
They are soft and chewy, with a great lemon flavor. The original recipe only called for 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, but I upped it because I think lemon treats should have plenty of lemon flavor. They were not at all overpowering though. I thought they were perfectly lemony!
Personally, I love lemon baked goods scream spring and summer. But I have found that everyone loves lemon Christmas cookies. Add them to any holiday tray and they will disappear in a flash!
HOW TO MAKE LEMON COOKIES WITH POWDERED SUGAR
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla extract, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir just till the mixture is well combined.
- Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then roll the balls in powdered sugar. Place on silicone lined or lightly greased cookie sheets.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 9-11 minutes, or until the tops are crackly.
- Let sit on pans for 3-4 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
PRO TIPS:
- Lemon zest is what adds the tangy lemon flavor to these cookies, so make sure you use fresh lemon zest. If you leave it out, your cookies will be bland.
- Fresh lemon juice also adds the best flavor, but you can use bottled lemon juice in a pinch.
- To get cookies that are the same size and cook evenly, use a cookie scoop to portion the dough before rolling into balls.
How long do lemon crinkle cookies last?
You can store these cookies at room temperature for 5-6 days if they are in an airtight container. You can also freeze them for 3-4 months. I like to freeze them in heavy duty ziplock bags so I can squeeze out the extra air as we eat the cookies.
Why did my cookies spread too much?
Your butter may not have been the right consistency. If you try to soften it in the microwave, it can get melted spots, which makes the dough too soft. Or it could be that you didn’t use quite enough flour. If the dough is sticky, you may need to chill it or add a bit more flour.
My cookies didn’t spread. Why?
If you didn’t use a large egg, the dough may not have had enough liquid. Or it could be that your flour was compacted instead of light and fluffy. Adding too much flour leads to tough dough, which doesn’t spread as it cooks.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes, you can freeze the dough. I recommend forming the dough into balls and freezing on a cookie sheet. Then plaze the frozen cookie dough balls in ziplock bags or airtight containers. They will last for 3-4 months in the freezer.
When you are ready to serve, thaw the cookie dough balls and roll them in powdered sugar, then bake as directed.
VARIATIONS:
- You can try other citrus flavors like lime, orange, and grapefruit. Or use both lemon and lime. Just switch out the zest and juice.
- True crinkle cookies don’t have mix-ins, but you can add them if you like. I think white chocolate chips or chopped nuts would be quite tasty.
- If you want more vibrant yellow cookies, you can add some yellow food coloring to the dough.
RECIPES FOR LEMON FANS:
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Mini Lemon Cakes
- Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
- Lemon Brownies
- Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread
AMAZING COOKIE RECIPES:
- Easy Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Cookies with Powdered Sugar
- Easy Shortbread Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
LEMON CRINKLE COOKIE RECIPE
Lemon Cookies with Powdered Sugar
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
- Add flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir till well combined.
- Roll dough in 1" balls, then roll in powdered sugar. Place on silicone lined or lightly greased baking sheets.
- Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes, or till set and crackly. After a couple minutes, remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
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In a pinch without fresh lemons, could I use lemon extract and how much?
I don’t recommend using lemon extract as a substitution. You need the extra liquid from the lemon juice, and without the zest they don’t have enough flavor.
Would limoncello work as a substitute for the lemon juice in this recipe?
I don’t recommend it. I don’t think it would have a strong enough lemon flavor, so you would definitely need more lemon zest. But I think as the alcohol evaporated, it would make the cookies more dry. You could certainly try it and see.
These are the best lemon cookies! The whole fam LOVES them!!
Happy to hear they were a hit at your house!
I just love crinkle cookies and this lemon recipe is my new favorite!
So glad you loved them! I like the chocolate crinkle cookies, but these are my favorite as well. 🙂
Next time I will add more lemon zest and juice. Not a lot of lemon flavor Still delicious
have you ever thought to maybe put white chocolate chips in these? The very first cookie I ever made (and the first foray into baking) was about 60 years ago, and it was a lemon chip cookie (I don’t know why they stopped making these wonderful little morsels, but I loved them and chocolate chip cookies), and I thought this might be really good with the white chocolate chips in them…either way, I am going to make these tomorrow, and probably throw some white chips into half the batter.
I love white chocolate, so I will have to try that addition. Sounds delicious!
Do you think these would be good with frosting?
I love everything lemon and these look wonderful! I am featuring you from The Creative Exchange. 🙂
These look and sound so delicious! Pinning these so I can make them for my boys, they would love them. 🙂 Thank you for linking up!
Looking forward to more of your fun linky parties!
Looks tasty. I think they would be good with some white chocolate chips too 🙂
That would be good! I thought of drizzling them with melted white chocolate, but didn’t have time. They didn’t really need it though. I still loved them!