Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies — Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! They’re soft, chewy and not at all cakey!
Table of Contents
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:
- Cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and lemon extract.
- Add in the lemon zest, honey, and optional food coloring, followed by the dry ingredients.
- Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop the cookie dough into balls and chill for at least 3 hours.
- Once the cookie dough has chilled, bake until the edges have set and the tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center.
- Let these lemon cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Recipe Tips
The yellow food coloring is totally optional. I used 1 teaspoon gel food coloring; add drops or gel to desired shade. One teaspoon gel makes the batter quite yellow, but it mellows slightly after adding the dry ingredients.
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.
Recipe FAQs
To keep the cookies soft and dense, there’s a tablespoon of honey in the dough. Honey is hydroscopic (attracts water) so it helps the cookies stay softer, moister, and denser without turning cakey.
The 2 teaspoons of cornstarch help keep cookies softbatch-style soft. I’ve got 20 other cornstarch cookie recipes showcasing what a great little trick it is.
No, the cornstarch is what makes the lemon cookies so soft and chewy.
If you want to glaze the tops of these chewy lemon cookies, I’d recommend making my Glazed Cream Cheese Lemon Cookies instead. They’re super thick, so they can handle a healthy drizzle of lemon glaze.
No, you must use actual lemon extract to make these homemade lemon cookies. Do NOT use lemon oil and lemon extract interchangeably because oil is much more potent and intense.
Also, do NOT add extra lemon juice and omit the lemon extract. Lemon juice isn’t as strong in flavor and because it’s acidic it may alter the texture of the cookie dough.
Yes, you MUST chill the dough for a minimum of 3 hours. Do not bake with unchilled dough because the cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and will be more prone to spreading.
Yes, simply double all the ingredients.
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.
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!
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Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon honey
- yellow food coloring, optional and as desired
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- confectioners’ sugar for dusting or lemon glaze + lemon zest, optional
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, sugars, egg, lemon extract, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, light, fluffy, and well combined, about 4 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the lemon zest, honey, optional food coloring, and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. I used 1 teaspoon gel food coloring; add drops or gel to desired shade. One teaspoon gel makes the batter quite yellow but it mellows slightly after adding the dry ingredients.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour, cornstarch, optional salt, and baking soda (keep the baking soda in a nice little mound rather than sprinkling it).
- 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 soda doesn’t bubble it’s old and expired. Beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 12 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake or undersides could become too browned. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
- Optionally, dust with confectioners’ sugar. Or, for increased lemon intensity, make the lemon glaze and then sprinkle with additional lemon zest.
Notes
- Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Lemon Desserts:
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.
I just made these and they didn’t come out anything like the picture :( what have I done wrong? I followed the recipe exactly but the dough was too wet, even then it didn’t spread at all in the oven. Even when I managed to pressed them down REAL HARD (almost squashed them) then they still turned out cake like :/ could even see the bubble inside them like you see in sponge cake????
Sorry my bad I forgot to mentioned I used lime instead of lemon but that shouldn’t make it into something completely different like that surely? (where I am staying lemon is not an option). Could it be because I used too much lime juice? I used 2 limes which is probably equivalent to 1.5 lemon? I want it to be extra lemony but even after all that lime juice it still has a very subtle taste of lime/lemon :(
It sounds like you used too much liquid. It’s hard to tell exactly where you went wrong because I wasn’t there with you but yes, sounds like you used too much if the dough was too wet. I would follow the recipe exactly next time, use lemon, and the amount called for.
Very delicious. Made these today with a couple of changes. We didn’t have any cornstarch but did have clearjel so used that, same amount. We also used a large muscovy duck egg because, well, we have ducks and A LOT of duck eggs. So there was extra egg because they’re bigger than a chicken jumbo. Then we added white chocolate chips. We didn’t refrigerate them at all and they didn’t spread too far so that was good. Actually, they’re very lofty with a very nice texture. Also, the pan was not greased and no problem with sticking (the butter takes care of that). The kids and myself were sold. We’ll see how they go over at the family gathering tomorrow :)
Glad the duck egg worked! They’re probably loftier than mine were because of the extra egg volume. Glad your family enjoyed them!
I made these exactly as written and didn’t read the reviews.. they were very good. Now this is just personal preference but we all thought they could be a little more lemony so I did end up making the glaze (putting the glaze in a ziplock biggie, cutting off the tip and just drizzling the glaze over each cookie) Also.. the last batch I forgot to put on the oven timer and they were in the oven a min or two longer than the 10 mins suggested and the bottoms got a little light brown and crispy. I LOVED THOSE COOKIES!! the crisp bottom with the chewy cookie = DELISH! So next time I’m going to just cook them for 12 mins. I’ve never made ANYTHING lemon before and these were a HUGE HIT, I made them about an hour ago and they are already almost gone. THANK YOU!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad you were able to doctor them up with a lemon glaze – I actually have another lemon cookie with a glaze already built into the recipe https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/06/softbatch-glazed-lemon-cream-cheese-cookies.html Try that one next! If you like the bottoms crisper, bake a few mins longer.
My cookies were a total flop :( The consistency was spongy and moist. If I was making Madeleines I’d be thrilled. Don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe it was overmixed or didn’t have enough flour?
Hard to tell exactly what went wrong but not enough flour sounds to be the culprit. I use King Arthur brand and know it gives me better results than other brands do in baking. Also if you’re in a more humid climate and/or snow, you may need to use a bit more flour.
I have a good way to test your baking soda, making sure you don’t add old, ineffective soda to your cookie dough mix. Put a half teaspoon of it in a saucer or small dish, and add a few drops of vinegar. If it bubbles it’s good. This way you don’t waste any of your lemon juice and you don’t put old flat baking soda into your dough mix and ruin it. That being said I am absolutely going to make these cookies! I don’t have any lemon extract on hand but watch my dust as I head out on that 9 mile drive to the nearest grocery store to get it hahaha! I’ll let you know how the lemon-loving husband likes them. I’ve got fresh ponderosa lemons I’m using, so I’m betting I’ll be making these a lot! And thanks for the tip about the extra flour for humidity … It is almost always humid here in Florida. I always bake with the air conditioner on, even in winter!
Averie,
I have been searching for something like this, but I wanted to add pomegranate seeds for Christmas. Do you think that would work?
Possibly but I would worry that the seeds will bleed and run into the cookies since they are so prone to that and these are so pale
These cookies are amazing! Thanks for posting! I am planning on trying to convert them to gluten free soon so my family can eat them as well
Thanks for the praise and keep me posted how it goes when you make them GF!
I just made them gluten free with a homemade gluten free mix (the first one that pops up on Google) and they turned out good. Only slightly grainy (although it could be the cornstarch because I taste it in the regular cookies too)
These cookies are AWESOME. I wanted a recipe for a chewy lemon cookie that I could add white chocolate chips to and I made these. They turned out TERRIBLE…….because my lemon extract was bad. DARN. Had to throw them away. My daughter and I tried again the next day with fresh extract and they are AMAZING. I’ve never used this combination of ingredients before and it seemed a little wacky, but it’s definitely a good wacky. They come out soft and chewy and stay that way when cool. And it took a while to figure that out because we’d only make 4 at a time and finish them all before they had a chance to cool all the way off. I didn’t add the food dye but as I said, I added the white chocolate chips. They’re so good I am going online to try and find lemon extract in bulk that will be cheaper than buying it at the grocery store. We WILL be making these again. Thanks for the new ideas! Can’t wait to use them on some other recipes. :)
Lemon extract is one of those extracts that 1. varies widely by brand I’ve found and 2. can go bad easily. I know the exact taste you are talking about and yes, it’s awful. Glad you tried again with fresh extract and that you love these!
Thanks for the tip! My little one loves to cook. We bake at least once per week. The cookies had amazing flavor, but the consistency was off. The bottoms were golden brown and the top/middle were really doughy. Maybe that was due to the humidity and heat, as well. We are in Southwest Missouri, so it’s pretty humid right now. We will definitely be trying them again. Maybe in the winter. :)
Yes that’s it for sure! There’s an old grandmotherly wives tale about baking on humid days…basically don’t do it :) Sometimes it can’t be helped but if you are baking when it’s humid, you’ll need more flour. Happens for sure with bread making in the summer too. More flour and you’ll be set. Just add til it’s not sticky. No need to wait all the way until winter.
So, my four-year-old daughter and I just made the dough, which is currently chilling. She loved learning how to zest the lemons! However, rolling the dough into balls was a bit complicated since the dough was super sticky. I hope we didn’t do something wrong! The dough is delightful, though! We will let you know how they turn out. :)
In this summer heat and humidity, sometimes dough needs a touch more flour. That would have combatted the stickiness. Just a tip for you for summer baking in general. Glad you’re in the kitchen with your little girl!
I have a question about the soft lemon cookies recipe. Why do you ‘make a mound’ of baking soda on top of the flour instead of mixing the soda into the flour to distribute it evenly, as per ‘ standard’ instructions??
(If you are concerned about the potency of your baking soda, you can (and should) test it before using it.)
That instruction puzzles me.
In this recipe, it’s what I found worked best. In most other cookie recipes I do as you describe but not this one.
It’s fun for the kods to watch? Lol.
My son is in the Army and stationed in South Korea. I baked a batch of these and sent them to him for his birthday to substitute for the Lemon Cake he loves so much (clearly a cake was not going to survive being sent that far). He asked for more cookies and said all the other soldiers on base want another batch too! Guess I’ll be baking this weekend.
Wow what an amazing story!! So glad the cookies made it all the way to South Korea and that there are requests for more cookies :) Thank you for sharing the story behind this all…so awesome to hear!
I’ve never tried to make lemon cookies before, but this recipe looks great! Love these for the Summer!
My two year old little boy loves all things sweet we both had fun making and even more fun eating these cookies. Thank u for your blog
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Love that you’re baking with your little son, so cute!
I have made these twice and absolutely love them! However, mine always come out more cakey and no crinkles :( Any ideas as to what I’m doing wrong?
Thanks!!
Possibly over-baking and over-flouring. Most people tend to add too much flour when baking, in general, so use a light hand and use King Arthur brand all-purpose. Will make a world of difference in results.
Glad you love the cookies!
Hi Averie! These look delicious! Can we substitute lemon extract for more lemon juice?
No because it will change the consistency of the batter and the chemical reactions that happen while baking with increased acidity from the lemon juice so follow the recipe exactly as written.