Lemon crinkle cookies with real lemon zest and lemon juice, a soft chewy center, and a crackled confectioners sugar coating.
These cookies are rolled into confectioners sugar before baking to create the crinkle effect. The bright lemon flavor makes them a favorite for spring baking, Easter gatherings, and potlucks. They are easy enough for kids to help with. Rolling the dough balls in confectioners sugar is the fun part.
How to Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Room temperature ingredients make this easy cookie recipe even easier.
- Cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the freshly grated lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, vanilla extract, and a few drops of yellow food coloring. When zesting the lemon, zest only the yellow part. The white layer underneath is bitter. A light scrape is all you need.
- It may take more than one or two lemons to get the two tablespoons of juice. This depends on the size of your lemons.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour. Mix until just combined. Add a little more food coloring if needed to reach the color you want.
- Chill the dough so the cookies bake up plump instead of spreading thin.
- Once the dough is chilled, roll each ball into confectioners sugar. Coat them well for the best crinkle effect. Chilling also helps the crinkle pattern develop.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on a parchment paper or silicone mat lined cookie sheet.
- Let the cookies cool and store in an airtight container.
Quick Tips
- Roll the cookie dough into balls before chilling. Roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar before rolling in the powdered sugar to get a beautiful crinkle.
- Chill at least one hour. This is what makes the cookies thick and crackled, not flat.
- Coat the dough balls heavily in confectioners sugar. Bare spots will not crinkle.
- Do not zest the white part of the lemon. It turns bitter.
Make Ahead and Storage
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Place wax paper between layers to keep the powdered sugar from getting sticky.
The dough balls freeze well. Roll them in sugar, freeze on a tray, then into a freezer bag. Bake from frozen and add an extra minute.
Accessories Recommended to Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Here are some accessories that make this cookie recipe easier. A hand mixer is ideal but when working with room temperature ingredients you can use a spoon and mix by hand.
A lemon juicer is a great tool for juicing fruits but you can also slice the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out of the lemon into a small bowl. More than 1 or 2 lemons may be needed to get the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice depending on the size of the lemon being juiced.
- Cookie Sheets
- Lemon Zester
- Lemon Juicer
- Parchment Paper
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing Bowl
- Hand Mixer
More Lemon Recipes
For more lemon baking, try my bakery-style lemon blueberry muffins with fresh blueberries and lemon zest. My lemon yogurt cake is another easy one with a tender crumb and coated with powdered sugar.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter - softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice - *
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- yellow food coloring - just 4-5 drops to start
- confectioner's sugar - for rolling
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract - optional, for extra lemon flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Cream together the unsalted butter and the granulated sugar.
- Add in the eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add in the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Add in the yellow food coloring.
- Mix in the salt, baking soda, and all-purpose flour.
- Roll into 1 inch balls and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.
- Add confectioner's sugar to a bowl and roll each ball of cookie dough into the confectioner's sugar. Coat the balls well.
- Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool before storing them in an airtight container.
Notes
- To have rounded and not flat crinkle cookies, make sure to chill.
- Roll the cookie dough into balls before chilling. Roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar before rolling in the powdered sugar to get a beautiful crinkle.
- *For more lemon flavor add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
Do these cookies freeze well?
they do!
My family LOVED these! Look just like the picture, too. I used gluten-free flour, though, and since I have lemon trees in my yard that are just loaded with lemons--and I love lemon flavor--I upped the amount of lemon juice and zest by a couple of tablespoons. The dough was too wet to roll into balls before chilling as the recipe suggested (I even added extra flour), so I chilled the whole mixing bowl and rolled the balls after it chilled for about an hour. I doubled the recipe, so I put the bowl back in the 'fridge when I wasn't working with it.
Made these for my husband for the first time today. He said they were good but prefers stronger lemon flavor(I even added more lemon juice than what the recipe calls for), he loved the texture though! Next time, will likely triple the lemon juice and zest. Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for the recipe! How much is one cup (in gram)?
Needed more lemon flavor and I too, added extra. Tasty other than that.