Easy Recipe for Lemon Crinkle Cookies
If you love lemon bars, you’re going to love these lemon crinkles! They’re very lemony thanks to the combination of lemon juice, zest, and lemon extract. Using just one wouldn’t make the cookies taste very lemony, but when used together they’re a triple threat of lemon flavor! Before baking, the cookie dough balls are rolled in a powdered sugar coating, and as the cookies expand in the oven they develop that signature crinkle effect. Before the powdered sugar, I also roll them in granulated sugar which makes the very edges of the cookies crisp up. You feel a slight crunch as you bite into the cookies, but the centers remain pillowy soft. There’s also a little honey and cornstarch in the cookie dough. Both work to keep the lemon crinkle cookies super soft in the middle with chewy edges. I’ve made so many cornstarch cookies over the years, and it’s a tried and true baking trick I swear by! Lemon-flavored desserts like these lemon crinkles are especially perfect for spring gatherings, special holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day, or summer barbecues. I’ve also found that lemon cookies are a huge hit around Christmas and make excellent Christmas cookies and cookie exchange cookies. I think people get tired of heavier tasting chocolate or other decadent buttery cookies by the time Christmas Day rolls around and these are like a ray of sunshine! But if you need it, I have a great Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe. If you’re looking for an easy lemon dessert for your next gathering, you need to make this lemon crinkle cookie recipe!
Ingredients for Lemon Crinkles
This is a no-frills crinkle cookie recipe that uses basic pantry staples. You’ll need the following:
Unsalted butter Granulated sugar Brown sugar Egg Lemon extract (such as McCormick or Nielsen-Massey) Lemon zest Honey Yellow food color, optional but recommended (I prefer gel because you need less but liquid works) All-purpose flour Cornstarch Salt Baking soda Lemon juice Confectioners’ sugar
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lemon crinkle cookie dough comes together much like any other recipe. Be sure to allot enough time for the dough to chill before baking it — chilling the dough is a must!
Recipe Tips
Use fresh lemon juice. You’ll need the lemon zest anyways, so go ahead and buy a fresh lemon for this recipe rather than using bottled lemon juice. Use the amount of lemon extract called for. In this case, it’s 1 tablespoon not 1 teaspoon. I also call for a large amount of lemon extract in my Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf recipe.
I find that 1 tbsp gives you the perfect lemony flavor in these cookies and using less simply does not. So don’t skimp. If you’d like an even stronger lemon flavor, do NOT add more lemon extract (cookies will taste chemically) nor more lemon juice (it’s acidic and will affect the texture of the cookies). Instead, add extra lemon zest for lemon flavor. However, make the recipe once as written and then start playing around with it.
Use two types of sugar when rolling the cookie dough balls. Powdered sugar is what gives lemon crinkle cookies their crinkly appearance, but the addition of granulated sugar makes the very edges of the cookies crisp up in the oven. The crisp edges paired with the soft centers is divine! Use both honey and cornstarch in the cookie dough. Both work to make the cookies bakery-style soft. Honey also adds moisture and prevents the cookie dough from drying out.
More Easy Lemon Dessert Recipes:
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies – They pack a powerful lemon punch, they’re soft and dense rather than cakey, and they’re thick enough to sink your teeth into! Freezer: The baked cookies will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months however the freezing/thawing process will cause the powdered sugar effect to really lessen and almost just disappear. Tip: If you want to freeze the cookies, I recommend rolling the raw cookie dough into balls BEFORE baking and freeze the dough balls for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, roll in sugar, then bake from frozen (no need to fully thaw first), noting that you’ll need to add an extra minute or two to the total bake time. Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies – Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese!! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!! The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) – Took years but I finally recreated it!! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON! Lemon Olive Oil Cake — My new FAVORITE lemon dessert of all time!! Lemon zest, juice, extract, and Limoncello add so much AMAZING lemon flavor to this EASY, ridiculously moist no-mixer cake that’s unique and INCREDIBLE!! Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love the perfectly tart yet just sweet enough big pop of lemon flavor this soft and fluffy cake has. Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze — The cake is packed with sweet, juicy blueberries and while there’s lemon in the batter, it’s the lemon glaze that really brings out the tartly-sweet lemon flavor that complements the blueberries so well. Lemon Lemonies — Like lemon brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor! Lemon Coconut White Chocolate Gooey Bars — The lemon base is soft and chewy, there’s coconut and white chocolate chips for extra texture, and sweetened condensed milk peeks through the top. The Best Lemon Bars – Truly the best classic lemon bars! Just like you remember and easy to make! Glazed Lemon Pie Bars — Buttery soft crust with luscious lemon filling and a lemon glaze boosts the bold lemon flavor even more! If you like lemon pie, you’ll love these easy bars that are so much easier than making pie! Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting – Soft, fluffy, moist, very lemony cupcakes from scratch! Easy one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for cupcakes that taste like they’re from a bakery! Baked Lemon Donuts with Lemon Glaze — These taste like the Starbucks lemon loaf, but in donut (or mini muffin) form! Easy, no mixer recipe with a tart-yet-sweet lemon glaze that’s PERFECT! Lemon lovers will adore them!
