These lemon crinkle cookies are deliciously soft and tender on the inside with a nice crisp outside.
These cookies are rolled into confectioner's sugar before baking to create a beautiful crinkle effect.
The perfect cookie for spring, these have a nice refreshing flavor and are perfect for lovers of the lemon flavor.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Crinkle cookies aren't just for holidays! This lemon crinkle cookie variety is a great addition to spring desserts with the beautiful crinkle pattern and the fresh lemon and zest inside each cookie.
Crinkle cookies are easy to make and it's a fun process to make them!
These cookies are also a fun cookie to make with kids, especially the step that rolls the cookie dough balls into the confectioner's sugar.
Lemon crinkle cookies are a great addition to Easter, gatherings, and potlucks.
RELATED: Bakery-Style Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients in Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Simple ingredients are used to make these cookies. For the full list of ingredients as well as the measurements, check the recipe card at the bottom of the card.
- Unsalted butter - room temperature is best
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Baking Soda
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Lemon Zest
- Lemon Juice, fresh
- Vanilla extract
- Yellow food coloring
- Confectioner's sugar - for rolling
RELATED: Lemon Yogurt Bread
How to Make Crinkle Cookies
Working with room temperature ingredients makes this easy cookie recipe even easier. The softened butter is creamed together with the granulated sugar.
The eggs are then added in and mixed until a light and fluffy texture is formed.
Freshly grated lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice are added as well as the vanilla extract and a few drops of yellow food coloring. A lemon zester is perfect for getting the zest off of fruits.
When zesting the lemon, zest just the yellow parts of the lemon. Zesting the white layer of the lemon will create a bitter taste. It's best to just lightly scrape the lemon to prevent digging in too deep.
It may take more than 1 or 2 lemons to get the two tablespoons of lemon juice. This will depend on the size of your lemons.
The next step is to add in the baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour. If needed, add a little more yellow food coloring to reach your desired color.
The dough should be chilled for this recipe so that you will have plump cookies that don't spread out thin.
TIP: Roll the cookie dough into a ball before chilling. I always do this to avoid scooping chilled dough.
Once the dough is chilled, the dough is then formed it a ball (unless this was done before chilling). The balls of dough are then rolled into the confectioner's sugar before baking. To get a nice crinkle effect, make sure the cookie dough balls are covered well with the confectioner's sugar. Chilling also helps with this.
Bake for 10 to 13 minutes on a parchment paper lined or silpat lined cookie sheet.
Allow the cookies to cool and store them in an airtight container.
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
📖 Recipe
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
These lemon crinkle cookies are deliciously soft and tender on the inside with a nice crisp on the outside. These cookies are rolled into confectioner's sugar before baking to create a beautiful crinkle effect.
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
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°
- 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 fluffy and not flat crinkle cookies, make sure to chill.
Rolling the cookie dough into balls before chilling is easier than scooping chilled dough to roll into balls.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
30Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 104Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 152mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g
Nutrition calculation is a rough estimate and can vary depending on the cooking technique and the exact ingredients used. For informational purposes only.
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.
KB
Sunday 21st of May 2023
Needed more lemon flavor and I too, added extra. Tasty other than that.
Ariane
Thursday 20th of April 2023
Thanks for the recipe! How much is one cup (in gram)?
Lynn
Sunday 9th of April 2023
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!!
Andrea
Sunday 9th of April 2023
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.
Barb
Wednesday 5th of April 2023
Do these cookies freeze well?
Dana
Thursday 6th of April 2023
they do!