Lemon Crinkle Cookies

These Lemon Crinkle Cookies are flavored with real lemon zest and juice. They’re sweet, tangy, and down right delicious!

Author Amber Brady

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Yields cookies

Ingredients

2⅓ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour, stir, spoon & level
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick) room temperature
1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest, about 2 lemons
2 large eggs
¼ cup (59 ml) lemon juice, about 2 lemons
yellow food coloring, optional

Coating:

¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the lemon juice and a drop or two of yellow food coloring (optional). Mix to combine.
On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky. NOTE: If the dough seems especially wet and sticky, your butter may have been too soft. Simply chill the dough until it’s firm enough to scoop.
Place the granulated sugar and powdered sugar for coating the dough in two separate small bowls. Use a medium cookie scoop (#40 scoop; about 1.5 Tablespoons) to spoon the cookie dough into a ball. (A trigger scoop is recommended due to the stickiness of the dough.)
Drop the dough into the granulated sugar. Roll it around and shake off any excess. (This helps make the dough more manageable.) Next, generously coat the dough with powdered sugar. Place the cookies several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake at 350℉ for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are puffy and the edges are firm to the touch. The center of the cracks will be almost matte (just slightly wet/shiny still). Cool for several minutes on the pan, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Notes

You can freeze lemon crinkle cookies before or after baking.

Freeze scooped cookie dough balls, un-coated, on a baking sheet. Then transfer frozen dough to a freezer safe bag. Freeze up to 3 months. Coat dough balls with both sugars and add a few extra minutes of bake time, if baking from frozen. You may thaw dough balls in the fridge overnight, if desired.
Freeze baked cookies, after they have cooled completely, in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter.

If even more lemon flavor is desired, you can add 1/8 tsp of lemon essential oils, or 1 tsp of lemon extract to the dough.

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