Lemon Crinkle Cookie Recipe
This lemon crinkle cookie recipe makes soft, chewy cookies that are bursting with citrus flavor! They bake up with beautiful crinkles and look just as good as they taste.
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 100kcal
Ingredients
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest - zest of 2 large lemons 10g
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 113g
- 1 large egg, room temperature 56g
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 15g
- 2 tsp lemon extract 8g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4g
- 1 small drop yellow gel food coloring - optional
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 210g
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar 65g
Optional Garnish
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest - zest of 1 large lemon 5g
Instructions
Lemon Crinkle Cookie Recipe
- Pour 1 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp lemon zest into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Use your fingertips to massage the zest into the sugar to help release the oil in the zest. You should be able to smell the oils being incorporated into the sugar.
- Add 1/2 cup of room temperature butter into the sugar and mix on high with either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Cream together for about 3 minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color and looks fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
- Next, add 1 egg, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp lemon extract, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. If you want these cookies to have a yellow color, add in a small drop of yellow gel food coloring or 1/2 tsp of liquid yellow food coloring. Mix on a low speed until combined.
- Sift 1 2/3 cups of flour, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp fine salt into the wet ingredients. If you don't have a sifter, whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl before adding them into the wet ingredients. This helps prevent over-mixing the dough and helps give these cookies a fluffy texture.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients on a low speed until just combined.
- Scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 Tbsp cookie scoop and roll into 20 balls. Place the cookie dough scoops on a parchment lined baking sheet or flat plate and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the cookie dough chills, preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C and line two baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone mats. I prefer using silicone baking mats.
- Then add 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a small bowl. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and roll the dough into a round ball. Toss each cookie in powdered sugar. Be sure to completely coat each cookie and aim to get a thick coating of sugar so that it will still be visible after baking.
- Place the cookie dough on the lined baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake one tray at a time for about 12-13 minutes then place the tray of the cookies on a wire cooling rack. Bake time will vary if you make smaller or larger cookies, so keep an eye on them! The edges should look set, and the center should look slightly underbaked. The cookies will continue to bake as they cool on the pans.
- Zest one more lemon over the top of the warm cookies to give them a nice, bright lemon flavor. Let the cookies cool fully on the baking pan, then enjoy! These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
If you have any questions about substitutions in this recipe, please check out the "Substitutions and Swaps" section in the post above.
How Many Cookies Does this Recipe Make?
This recipe makes about 20 cookies (1 1/2 Tbsp of dough per cookie). However, you can also make bigger lemon crinkle cookies that are double the size! Scoop 10 cookie dough balls (about 3 Tbsp each) and chill them for an hour, then bake for 15-17 minutes at 375 F / 190 C.Tips for Making the Best Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Properly measure the flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
- Ingredients at room temperature mix together better. Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until they're *just* combined. Avoid over-mixing the dough once the flour has been added in.
- Use a cookie scoop to make sure the cookies are uniformly sized.
- Add a small squirt of yellow gel food coloring to give these cookies a beautiful color.
- Don't over-bake your cookies! They don't really brown, so you have to keep an eye on them. Even if they seem a bit soft coming out of the oven, they will continue to bake and set on the tray once they're out of the oven.
Making These Lemon Cookies in Advance and Storing Them
You can make this cookie dough in advance! The cookie dough balls can be stored in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container or in the freezer for up to a month. If you refrigerate the dough overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then roll out the dough and bake following the recipe card. If you freeze the cookie dough, transfer it to the fridge the night before you want to bake the cookies, then let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and bake them following the instructions in the recipe card above. Leftover cookies can sit at room temperature for 5 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to a month. I like to thaw them overnight in the fridge, then let them come to room temperature the next day.Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g