These Strawberry Lemon Summer Cookies recipe comes with a punch of lemon and a punch of strawberry in the yummy soft and chewy cookies. Sweet and tart-like strawberry lemonade, these cookies are full of flavor and easy to make. No cake mix is used with these, the flavors are natural and strong.
They're perfect for spring or summer or even wintertime when you wish it was spring or summer. Make them for Easter, Fourth of July, Memorial Day or take them to a garden party.
I absolutely love lemon foods and cookies. The texture is perfect and when I bite into them, they take me straight to summertime. Both the lemon and strawberry flavors shine through beautifully. They also do not contain any lemon extract. I tested and tested this recipe until I was able to make a cookie with a strong lemon flavor without any extract- they are all natural!
This was inspired by our Tart Lemon Crinkle Cookies and Lemon Blueberry Cookies and would be fun served with our Key Lime Cookies, Cookie Monster Stuffed Cookies or Deviled (Cheesecake Stuffed) Strawberries).
Throw a lemon party and serve our Creamy Lemonade, and Summer Squash Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. They also make a great dessert with our flavorful Air Fryer Pierogies and Kielbasa.
For another fun spring-flavored cookie, try Carrot Cake Cookies. Or these soft Sour 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- softened, but not too soft. We recommend getting it out 30-45 minutes before starting.
- Sugar- No brown sugar in this recipe. I wanted to accentuate the tartness as best as I could and the caramel-y richness of brown sugar just would not go with these cookies. You will also use powdered sugar for the frosting.
- Vanilla- Pure is recommended, but imitation is fine as the vanilla flavor is not highlighted in this recipe. I tested the recipe with both and couldn't taste a difference.
- Egg- Use a room temperature egg for the best results. Add the egg to a cup of warm water to warm up in a pinch.
- Lemon Juice- freshly squeezed is recommended, but concentrate will work in a pinch!
- Lemon Zest- We highly recommend a microplane. It's life-changing!
- All Purpose Flour-
- Table Salt
- Baking Powder - to help the cookies rise and keep their shape, as the dough is fairly wet for a cookie dough.
- Baking Soda- to help the cookies rise and spread. I tested this recipe repeatedly to get the exact right amounts of leavening.
- Freeze Dried Strawberries- fresh strawberries** work as well, see note below!
Or you can try this recipe with our Mascarpone Frosting. See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Strawberry Lemon Cookies
Use these process shots to help get the results you want. The pictures can help with texture and be a visual guide for best results.
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. In a mixing bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat on high for 2 minutes.
2.Add the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg. Beat on high for 1 more minute. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3.Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. Form cookie dough balls (around 1 ¼") and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350* F for 9-11 minutes.
4.The tops should be matte and the edges should be set. It's okay if they look slightly underdone, they will continue to cook after you pull them out. Let stand 5 minutes before removing.
5.Turn the strawberries to powder by placing them in a food processor or high powered blender. I use the single cup blender with this blender. This can also be done by hand with a fork but takes awhile.
6.Whip butter* on high speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, strawberry powder and lemon juice and beat until well combined. Next add powdered sugar and beat until well combined. Slowly add milk until desired thickness is reached.
Substitutions and Variations
We love switching things up when we're in the kitchen. Try any of these variations for something a little different.
- Extra Tart - We tested a strawberry glaze (instead of frosting) with lemon juice and it's knock your pants off tart and delicious!!! Use 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, ½ cup freeze dried strawberries (food processed into powder) and ⅓ cup powdered sugar. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Only recommended for those (like me) who love things REALLY tart. Enjoy!
- Raspberry Lime Cookies - use lime instead of lemon and raspberry instead of strawberry. YUM
- Lemon Raspberry Cookies - substitute freeze dried raspberries for the strawberries.
- Strawberry Margarita Cookies- I make these for Cinco De Mayo and they are fun and yummy! Make as directed but substitute the lemon juice and zest for lime. So fun!
Helpful Hints
Butter for the cookie dough should be at room temperature for the best results, while butter for the frosting should only be slightly softened. It should still feel cool to the touch and your finger make a slight indent when pressed into the butter.
Bang the pan on the top of the oven 2-4 times when you pull the cookies out. This will give them the perfect crinkle and make the texture even better!
For another easy strawberry cookie try, Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies.
Storing Strawberry Lemon Cookies
These cookies store well. Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days.
To freeze, freeze immediately: place on a cookie sheet to freeze so they don't stick to each other for one hour. Then store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Top tip
Don't overbake! These cookies are soooo soft, tender, chewy and delicious. I always get many compliments on the texture of these. Part of that is due to NOT over baking. Remove from the oven as soon as the top is matte and the edges are set. Do not wait for them to turn golden.
Recipe
Strawberry Lemon Summer Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie:
- 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
Strawberry Frosting:
- ¾ cup freeze dried strawberries
- ½ cup butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½-1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or using a stand mixer: Cream butter and sugar together on high speed for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla and egg then beat one more minute on high speed.
- Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. See photos above to check texture and consistency.
- Scoop 1 ¼" diameter cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. Do NOT over bake! As soon as the edges have set and the tops are matte, remove the cookies from the oven.
- Bang the baking sheet (fairly hard) on the oven 2-3 times to get a nice crinkle and an even better cookie texture. Let the cookies set at least 5 minutes, but no longer than 10 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.
Frosting:
- Place freeze dried strawberries in a food processor or high speed blender (if using a blender, we recommend the single serving cup) and turn them into powder.
- Whip the butter on high speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla, lemon juice and strawberries and mix until well combined. Add the milk ½ Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Frost the cookies and enjoy!
Notes
- *Butter for the frosting should NOT be too soft! Room temperature is too warm. Use semi-cold butter: it should be cold, but leave an imprint when pressed with your finger you'll be able to leave an imprint. Get the butter out about 30 minutes before use should be perfect if your house is a fairly normal temperature (68-75 degrees).
- **To use fresh strawberries, chop up 1 cup fresh strawberries into very small pieces. Do not use milk or the frosting will be too thin.
- These store great in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- To freeze: place on the cookie sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours, then move to an airtight container. This will prevent the cookies from sticking to one another. Store up to 2 months.
- Butter for the cookies should be at room temperature. Butter for the frosting should be only slightly softened. It should feel cool to the touch and make a slight indent went pressed on with a finger.
- Do not over bake these cookies or they will be dry and crumbly!
- Wait until the cookies are completely cooled to frost them or the frosting will melt into them.
Nicole says
Strawberry lemon cookies. Wow. These were so delicious. Perfectly tart and tangy, they scream spring and summer. And the texture! Seriously so soft and chewy. It's embarrassing how quickly we inhaled these, ha ha.
Jayne says
We love these cookies. The sweet and sour is a hit for the entire family. Putting strawberries and lemons together is brilliant.
Vanessa says
These are such a great cookie for Spring! My family loved the strawberry lemon flavours and I absolutely loved that these are made from simple real ingredients!
JC says
Took these to a BBQ and they were absolutely perfect. Everyone loved them. I love how tart and delicious they are and not overly sweet. The stawberry and lemon together in cookie form is everything I want in my life.