Lemon Sugar Cookies
These lemon sugar cookies are soft, cakey pillows of citrusy joy! Light and fluffy, yet bold and zesty, these sweet treats pack a punch of real lemon zest that will tingle your taste buds. With their perfect balance of chewy texture and vibrant flavor, they’re the ultimate pick-me-up cookie — like a sweet little squeeze of summer in every bite!
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Why you’ll love lemon sugar cookies
If you love the classic sweetness of a sugar cookie but crave a zesty twist, lemon sugar cookies are the perfect treat—soft, chewy, and bursting with bright, citrusy flavor. They’re easy to make with minimal ingredients and are a fun baking activity to enjoy with kids or at cookie parties.
Recipe Tips for the best lemon sugar cookies
When sugar cookies are over baked, they become dry and crumbly. To avoid over baking, take the cookies out of the oven as soon as they puff up and the bottoms are slightly brown and holding together. As the cookies cool they will stay soft and chewy in the center and the edges will be crispy.
FAQ
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To zest a lemon, first wash the peel of the lemon thoroughly and pat it dry.
Use a zester or fine grate on a cheese grater to gently grate the peel of the lemon. One swipe will do the trick, you don’t want to include any of the bitter white pith.
Do this all the way around one lemon and you’ll have about ½ tablespoon of zest.
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In the oven, cookies expand and puff up and they naturally deflate once cooked, which causes the signature cracking of the top crust.
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You either have too much flour in the recipe
Your dough will look crumbly and be hard to compact together. Try adding either 1 tablespoon of water or 1 tablespoon of melted and cooled unsalted butter at a time until until the dough is just able to stick together.
Or you left the pan in the oven too long
Sorry, there is really no way to fix this! The next time you bake this recipe, set a timer and check the bars five minutes early, then you can watch them closely until they are ready - they should be just lightly golden brown around the edges and puffy in the middle.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
knive and cutting board
large mixing bowl
stand mixer with paddle attachment (optional)
spatula
Ingredients
Dough
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest (or zest from 2 lemons)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sugar Coating (optional)
1/4 cup sugar
How to make lemon sugar cookies
Mix ingredients together
Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for about 30 seconds on medium. Add sugar and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add corn starch, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and mix well. Add flour to the bowl and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure all flour is incorporated.
Chill dough
Cover the bowl with a towel or place the dough into plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a pan with parchment paper. Place the sugar for the sugar coating into a small bowl.
bake
Once the dough is chilled, use a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop and roll each scoop into a ball. Roll the ball in sugar and place about 2” apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes.
Use a spatula to place them on a cooling rack to cool out of the oven.
How to Store
Store lemon sugar cookies at room temperature in an air tight container for up to two days, or store in the refrigerator for up to five days. If stored in the refrigerator, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or pop in the microwave for five to ten seconds to warm to room temperature.
You can also freeze lemon sugar cookies easily. Just place (fully baked and cooled) in an air tight freezer container and store in the freezer for up to three months. Remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator 24 hours prior to serving.
Lemon Sugar Cookies
These lemon sugar cookies are soft, cakey pillows of citrusy joy! Light and fluffy, yet bold and zesty, these sweet treats pack a punch of real lemon zest that will tingle your taste buds. With their perfect balance of chewy texture and vibrant flavor, they’re the ultimate pick-me-up cookie — like a sweet little squeeze of summer in every bite!
Ingredients
Directions
- In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for about 30 seconds on medium. Add sugar and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar coating ingredients lemon zest and sugar.
- Once the dough is chilled, use a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop and roll each scoop into a ball. Roll the ball in the lemon sugar and place about 2” apart on a pan. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
- Use a spatula to place them on a cooling rack to cool out of the oven.
*Nutrition is auto-calculated by recipes generator.
