Best Lemon Cookies EVER!
If you like lemon, you’re going to love these cookies. They’re soft, chewy, and packed with bold lemon flavor. These easy lemon cookies pack a powerful lemon punch, they’re soft and dense rather than cakey, they’re thick enough to sink your teeth into, and I love that they’re crinkly. For robust lemon flavor, I used lemon three ways: extract, zest, and juice. If you wanted to intensify that, glaze them and sprinkle with zest. I didn’t find it necessary, but you may. Although there’s plenty of intense lemon flavor, the cookies are sweet enough that you’ll keep going back for one more. And one more. Good thing it’s a small batch recipe that makes one dozen.
Ingredients in Lemon Cookies
To make this easy recipe for lemon cookies, you’ll need:
Unsalted butter Granulated sugar Light brown sugar Egg Lemon extract Lemon juice and zest Honey Yellow food coloring (optional) All-purpose flour Cornstarch Salt Baking soda
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 Cookies
My daughter is a lemon fan like no one else. She eats lemon wedges like they’re orange wedges and reaches into water glasses for the lemon and helps herself. She’s loved these and asked when I’m making them again — high approval from my little lemon connoisseur! Here’s an overview of how the soft lemon cookies are prepared:
Storage Instructions
Note that these soft lemon cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Be sure to add the lemon juice directly on top of the baking soda. It will bubble and foam, which means the baking soda has been activated and this is good — if your baking soda doesn’t bubble, it’s old and expired. Don’t try to swap out the lemon juice for lemon extract or vice versa. You need both! When comparing lemon juice vs lemon extract, lemon juice has a less concentrated lemon flavor and is very acidic whereas lemon extract has a very potent lemon flavor. I like to use both for extra lemon flavor and freshness.
Can I Freeze the Raw Cookie Dough?
Yes! Roll the dough into balls and freeze. You can bake them straight from frozen, no need to thaw first!
More Lemon Desserts:
ALL OF MY LEMON RECIPES! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Lemon Lemonies — Like brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor! The BEST Lemon Bars — Classic lemon bars that pack a punch of big time lemon flavor, without being too tart or too sweet! 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. 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!! Strawberry Lemonade Bars — Imagine crossing lemon bars with a strawberry pie. These easy bars taste like strawberry lemonade! Sooo good! The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) — It took years, but I finally recreated it!! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!! You’re going to love this lemon pound cake recipe! 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!! Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread — This EASY, no-mixer homemade quick bread combines tangy lemon flavor with tender zucchini which keeps it so incredibly soft, tender, and moist! Topped with a simple lemon glaze, this bread is not overly sweet. Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!! Originally posted on August 25, 2014 and reposted on June 24, 2020 with updated text.
