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This is a simple made-from-scratch recipe and that only requires an hour of chilling time, so they can be made quickly whenever the cravings hit.
Lemon is one of my favorite flavors, especially during the winter when other fruits are in short supply.
I like to add a bit of lemon extract as well in addition to the fresh lemon juice in order to boost that awesome lemon flavor.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies with crisp edges and a chewy center are classic cookies that everyone seems to love.
The cookie dough balls are rolled in powdered sugar just before baking, giving each cookie a terrific sweet coating to balance the tartness of the lemon flavor.
There are endless delicious ways to enjoy lemon desserts. The lemon dessert recipes here started with the popular No Bake Lemon Cheesecake.
Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake and this Lemon Blackberry Yogurt Cake are both much-loved treats as well.
And last but not least, Classic Lemon Bars are a guaranteed favorite on every lemon dessert list too.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies Recipe
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, lemon juice, and lemon extract.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well mixed. Add yellow food coloring if desired. Chill the dough for at least one hour or up to several days.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the powdered sugar until thickly coated and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 F for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Cool on the sheet for several minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. Store tightly covered for several days or freeze for several weeks.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2¼ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- yellow food coloring (OPTIONAL)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar to roll dough
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, lemon juice and lemon extract.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well mixed. Add yellow food coloring if desired. Chill the dough for at least one hour or up to several days.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the powdered sugar until thickly coated and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 F for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Cool on the sheet for several minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. Store tightly covered for several days or freeze for several weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 2/22/18 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/29/21}
Here are a few more lemon cookie recipes that sound delicious:
Soft Baked Lemon Sugar Cookies from Dessert Now! Dinner Later
Lemon Swig Sugar Cookies by The Recipe Critic
Lemon Sugar Cookies with Frosting by Dash of Sanity
I was so excited about making these cookies, however they came out flat, chewy yes and they tasted good. After the first tray, I put the remaining dough in a mini cupcake pan and they were fine, I don’t know what I did wrong, I doubled the recipe and rechecked all of the steps and ingredients as I went along. Thanks for any guidance.
You are welcome, Jean. Sorry to hear that batch didn’t turn out very well, but it sounds like you were able to turn the recipe around. I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies; happy baking!
I plan to make another batch after the busy holidays, I will figure out what went wrong and I will let you know.Thank you and happy holidays.
Very easy to make and tastes great!
Thank you, Nikki.
Beautiful recipe…..but as one lady suggested, beating the heck out of the sugar and butter makes them fluffy and plump. They are not very sweet but one can add more sugar. I love them and my husband said they remind him of the lemon scones I make. I would definitely want more lemon taste to them. They are a recipe I will definitely cherish! Thanks so much!!!!!
So delighted you enjoyed them, Sandi. I do love hearing how people adapt or make my recipes, so thank you for the tips!
These were excellent and easy to make. However, some of my icing sugar wasn’t the fluffy white but instead looked like it was wet. Any suggestions? I rolled them 3 times.
I am not sure why yours would have done that. Was your batter too wet?
Absolutely beautiful cookies, they came out so cute with the white powdered sugar crinkle pattern contrasting against the light yellow cookie dough. I used some gel food coloring as recommended and used 2 lemons of fresh zest to kick up the flavor instead of extract since I don’t have any. I just tried them and the texture and taste is incredible. These are going in some cute cellophane bags for my friends <3.
I whipped the crap out of the butter and sugar before adding everything else since that's what I've been taught to do for nice and fluffy bakes and I think that may have added a lot more volume because I got a whopping 30 cookies out of this recipe (I think you said it should make 18?), and as far as I know with my little cookie scoop I made them each the instructed size. As I was scooping & rolling them it was a little hilarious how little my bowl of dough was diminishing, it was a nice surprise haha. Now I have even more to share & enjoy!
Thank you for sharing, Madison. More cookies than planned is always a fun surprise!
Just made these today – what a delight!
Easy, quick, no fuss. And also child-friendly which is a bonus.
Also a plus: no dairy products, no convenience products used in the recipe.
The niece and I are thinking about experimenting with various flavours based on this recipe: thyme, lavender, maybe chocolate and cherry…..
Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you like the cookies, Sandra!
These are great! Nibbling on my first warm ones out of the oven right now. A nice mild lemon flavor. I might kick up the extract next time, but that’s personal preference. I took them out at 12 minutes and they are perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Saving this recipe for sure!
So glad you like the cookies, Sharon.
Hi. Can I use lemon grind instead of lemon extract?
I doubled the lemon juice and put in about 1/2 teaspoon of zest. No extract used.
Can the dough be frozen and baked later?
How long do the cookies stay soft for?
I love this recipe!
Is yellow colouring required to get them pretty and yellow like in the photos?
Yes, they will be pretty pale without it, but they will still taste great!