This Glazed Tart Lemon Cookie recipe is one of my favorite treats. They are tart, tangy and sweet and lemon-y... Not to mention so soft and chewy! They have that old fashioned, old school soft and chewy texture. They taste like sunshine and summertime and are mouth-watering perfection.
I absolutely love lemon flavored things, especially when they have that tart mouth-watering punch. This recipe was inspired by another lemon cookie recipe I tried years ago. The cookie was okay, but all I could think was "where's that tart lemony goodness?" So I set out to create my own and these tart and tangy lemon crinkle cookies were born. We did the same thing with our Lemon Bars too!
Try our other favorite cookies: Cadbury Egg Easter Cookies, Cherry Cookies with White Chocolate Chips, Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies and Strawberries and Cream Cookies.
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Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients needed for this recipe. Follow our tips on each ingredient for best results.
- butter- I used salted butter. If you use unsalted, add a pinch of extra salt to the recipe.
- sugar- regular, granulated sugar for this recipe. We tested this recipe with brown sugar and it didn't give the right texture or flavor.
- lemon zest and juice- the lemon zest is super important for a nice strong lemony flavor and the juice is important for that tang that we love so much. I tested this recipe over and over and over again to balance the ingredients and maximize the lemon flavor
- vanilla - I always use pure vanilla, but as vanilla isn't the highlighted flavor in this recipe, feel free to use imitation.
- egg
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder, baking soda, salt
How to Make Lemon Cookies
Use these process shots to help get the results you are wanting. The pictures can help with texture and be a visual guide for best results.
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Zest or microplane your lemons, then using a lemon juicer, juice your lemons.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl on high for 2-3 minutes until lightened and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix on high for 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined, no longer.
4. Place dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 9-11 minutes. Just until the tops are matte and the edges are set. Remove from oven and let rest on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes and no more than 15.
5. While the cookies cool, make the glaze by mixing together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle on top of cooled cookies.
Substitutions and Variations
We love switching things up when we're in the kitchen. Try any of these variations for something a little different. For a shortbread texture, try Lemon Shortbread Cookies.
- lemon juice - if you absolutely must, you can use lemon juice concentrate and 7 jobs of high quality food grade lemon essential oil. It won't taste as good as when you use a fresh lemon, but it will still be yummy.
- Raspberry Lemon - fold in ⅔ cup freeze dried raspberries.
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies - Made with fresh blueberries, these are delicious and like a lemon blueberry muffin in cookie form!
- Strawberry Lemon Cookies - these are tart lemon cookies with a sweet and tart strawberry frosting on top.
- We do NOT recommend using lime juice. None of our recipe testers liked these made with limes. However, Key Lime Cookies have been a big hit!
Storing Lemon Cookies
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for about 8 seconds, if desired.
These store great in the freezer. You can freeze the dough or the cooked cookie. To freeze the dough, freeze in a freezer container and thaw in the refrigerator before baking. Bake as normal.
Helpful Hints
We found while testing this recipe that there was a pretty big difference in flavor when using fresh squeezed lemon juice vs lemon juice concentrate.
If you only have one lemon and it doesn't give you quite enough juice, feel free to use lemon juice concentrate for the rest. A couple of teaspoons of bottled lemon juice is okay.
Use a microplane to get the lemon zest. It is much easier to use! A citrus juicer gets more juice out of the lemons than squeezing it with your hands.
Top Tip
Don't over bake the cookies or they will be dry and crumbly instead of soft and chewy. They are done when the tops are matte and the edges are set.
You also will love these soft and tender Sour Cream Cookies and 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies.
Or try our other lemon treat Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Yellow Squash.
Recipe
Tart Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- zest from one lemon
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Glaze
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½-2/3 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Zest and juice lemon (depending on how juicy your lemon is, you may need more than one).
- In a clean bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using a hand-held or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar. Add vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg and beat 2 minutes.
- Stir in dry ingredients slowly, just until combined. Dough will be pretty wet.
- Plop scoops of dough onto a lined baking sheet, about 1 ¼ inch diameter. Bake 9-11 minutes just until the tops of the cookies turn matte. (not shiny or melted looking). Cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice to form the tart lemon glaze. Start with ½ cup and add a little more until the desired consistency is reached.
- Using a spoon, fill it with glaze and allow it to drizzle over the cookie. These cookies are meant to be fun, so don't worry about a specific design!
- Enjoy!
Nicole says
These are seriously good and really quick to make! Yum! I will definitely make these again 🙂
Sue says
I love lemon flavored goddies and these are wonderful. I will definitely make them again and again.
Nicole says
Wow! these tart lemon cookies are so good. They are soft and chewy and the perfect zip of spring and summer. The frosting/icing is soooo yummy. We like to make them in the wintertime on days we just want spring to come.
Emily says
Everyone loved these tart lemony cookies! I love the crinkled top too! I'll be making another batch this weekend!
Anita says
These are super quick to make, and if you love lemon, you will love these cookies. They're soft and chewy and tart and tangy!
rebecca says
YUM! I love these lemon cookies, these are so lemony! It's been winter forever and I wanted it to feel like spring so we made these and they were sooo good. The perfect texture and so tart and tangy!
Suja md says
These were an amazing treat! Perfect for spring and so tart and lemon-y. Easy to follow recipe!
Min says
I was looking for an easy, tried-and-true super-lemony cookie to bake at a holiday party, and these were perfect. They were a huge hit. I used a lot of zest (the zest of all the lemons I juiced for the batter).
Andrea says
We love hearing this. I'm glad you loved them!