Just like chocolate crinkle cookies, these lemon crinkle cookies are soft-baked and chewy, coated in confectioners’ sugar, and practically melt in your mouth. Lemon lovers will appreciate that the zingy flavor comes from real fresh lemon, not extract. I call them “very lemon” because there is so much natural lemon flavor!
One reader, Marcia, commented: “Goodbye, favorite bakery. Hello, Sally’s Very Lemon Crinkle Cookies! These are quite possibly the best cookies I have ever baked. Thank you so very much for sharing your recipe. I think I might try this with orange or lime, too. ★★★★★“
I always love a variety of flavors on my assorted holiday cookie platter, and especially like to throw in something unexpected among classics like gingerbread cookies and peanut butter blossoms. In previous years, little lemon coconut drop cookies and apricot thumbprint cookies have been favorites! Today, I’m introducing a zesty (and festive looking!) sweet-tart lemon cookie to your annual lineup of Christmas cookies.
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Mouth-watering sweet-tart flavor
- Uses more lemon than other lemon cookie recipes
- No food coloring, no artificial flavoring
- Thick and pillow-soft
- Built-in beauty from the crinkly confectioners’ sugar coating—no icing or decorating
- Warm from the oven, these melt in your mouth
- Feel free to replace the lemon with another citrus fruit, or try using Meyer lemons
Like Chocolate, But With Lemon
Have you made chocolate crinkle cookies, Nutella crinkle cookies, or even chocolate raspberry crinkles before? Like the chocolate version, these lemon crinkle cookies are also thick and soft-baked, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and iconic crinkle surface… but with the fresh flavor of citrus. Unlike these lemon ginger cookies or lemon coconut shortbread cookies, there’s no competing flavor today. This is a purely lemon-flavored cookie, and it’s sure to become a new favorite, no matter the time of year.
Why is it called a crinkle? While snowball cookies and peppermint snowball cookies get their sugar-snow dip after baking, crinkle cookies get a roll in confectioners’ sugar before baking. As the cookies bake, the powdery sugar coating cracks apart as the cookies puff up, leaving a crinkled surface. Hence the cute crinkle name.
What You Need & Why (Ingredients)
The recipe is based off of my coconut lime cookies, and you’ll be happy to find 1/4 cup (60ml) of lemon juice in the dough. Typical lemon cookies have half that amount. Get ready for flavor! Here are some key points about the ingredients you need:
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides the structure of these cookies.
- Cornstarch: The same magic ingredient for softness we use in chewy chocolate chip cookies; you only need a touch and it helps keep the cookies soft.
- Baking Soda: Makes the cookies puff up in the oven, creating that signature crinkle look.
- Salt: Brings out the flavors and balances the sweet.
- Butter: You need proper room temperature butter for this cookie dough, so it will cream nicely with the sugar. If you’re interested in learning more about this crucial step, here is my tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar.
- Sugar: Just the right amount to balance the tangy lemon.
- Egg: Binds the dough together.
- Lemon Juice: I recommend fresh lemon juice for the best flavor, but you can use bottled lemon juice in a pinch. Here is a wonderful juicer if you don’t have one and need a recommendation. And make sure you have a zester.
- Lemon Zest: Zest the lemon first, before you cut it and juice it. Much easier than the other way around!
- Vanilla Extract: For extra flavor.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: For rolling.
In Photos: How to Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies
After you make the dough, you’ll notice it’s quite soft and fluffy. That’s totally expected, and the dough needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. I know it’s a long time to wait, but your puffy cookies will be worth it! Go ahead and make the dough the night before if needed.
After chilling, the dough is much easier to work with. Each cookie is about 1 Tablespoon (20g, 5/8 ounce) of chilled dough:
Roll very generously into confectioners’ sugar:
And arrange on a lined baking sheet, and then bake:
#1 Success Tip: Chill the Dough
Chilling the cookie dough for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator is a non-negotiable. These lemon crinkle cookies contain extra liquid from the lemon juice, so the dough is very soft and sticky. The colder and firmer the cookie dough, the less they’ll over-spread. As you might remember from baking these chewy chocolate chip cookies, chilled cookie dough is not only easier to handle, it bakes thicker cookies.
Can I Use Other Citrus Flavors?
Yes! Try these crinkles with grapefruit, orange, or lime. You may also love these similar coconut lime cookies. Note that recipe has a shorter chill time because the dough is filled with coconut, which helps bulk it up.
Or if you can’t get enough lemon flavor, try my lemon thumbprint cookies and lemon shortbread cookies next.
Their snowy exterior makes these perfectly festive in the winter months, but the zippy citrus flavor is refreshing year-round! They have become a favorite on my Summer Cookie Recipes collection page. I hope you love these too.
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 35 minutes
- Yield: 40 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This citrus spin on a crinkle cookie is a lemon lover’s delight. Chilling the cookie dough is important because it helps the flavors to develop, prevents spreading, and makes the otherwise sticky cookie dough easy to handle. Make sure you have a citrus juicer and zester.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (225g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60ml) fresh or bottled lemon juice, at room temperature*
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest* (packed Tablespoon, it’s a lot of zest!)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Rolling
- 3 Tablespoons (35g) granulated sugar (optional, see step 6)
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Mixture will appear curdled and that’s ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Dough is thick, creamy, and sticky.
- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll in sugar: Scoop and roll balls of dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough each, into balls. (Each dough ball should weigh about 20g.) Some readers have had trouble with the confectioners’ sugar melting/absorbing into the cookie dough balls, so to prevent that, you can roll the balls in the granulated sugar first. And then roll each ball very generously in the confectioners’ sugar. If you want lots of confectioners’ sugar to show on the baked cookies, roll 2-3x in sugar! Place 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2–3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.
- Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can chill for up to 3 days, so this is a great make-ahead recipe. Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls (that are not coated in confectioners’ sugar) freeze well up to 3 months. When it’s time to bake the cookies, remove them from the freezer and thaw on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Roll into confectioners’ sugar as instructed and bake.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets | Cooling Rack
- Granulated Sugar: 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons is an odd amount, but the cookies really benefit from a little extra sugar because of all the tart lemon juice.
- Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. It helps maintain a thicker, softer cookie but test batches without it were still intact and delicious.
- Lemons: I usually need 1–2 lemons to yield 1/4 cup (60ml) juice and 1 Tbsp zest. Feel free to replace the lemon with another citrus fruit, or try using Meyer lemons.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I make ahead the cookies and store in airtight container for about 2 weeks
Hi Venissha, Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. See recipe Notes for freezing instructions to make ahead further.
I was disappointed. Recipe was simple, but cookies were dry and lacked flavor.
As I expected, these are delicious! I didn’t chill the dough or dredge them in the powdered sugar. The cooking time was just 10 minutes this way. They are delicate little pillows of lemony goodness! Thanks for the recipe, I will be moving on to other lemon treats I have spied here!
Hi, I made this recipe and it turned out perfect on the taste part, yet I didn’t managed to get a good color contrast like on the pictures, my powdered sugar started to get brown yet I feel like if I removed them earlier the cookies would’ve been underbaked (and they’re definitely not overbaked right now), any tips? I’ll remake this recipe anyway, they taste awesome 🙂
Hi Mr. T, is your baking pan too close to the heating element? That could be causing the tops to brown too much. You can try moving your pan down a rack for your next batch, and that should help. We’re so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Wow! Unbelievably delicious. This is now one of my top favorite recipes.
I bake a lot of biscuits and I’m usually dubious about recipes I find on the internet. However, I made this recipe two days ago and we cannot leave them alone. So easy and sooo very delicious. These will now be my “go-to ” biscuits for visitors and special occasions.
Hi, just wondering if I could make the cookies slightly bigger than the 20g you have specified, would that affect the baking time?
Hi Gemma, you can certainly make them a bit larger. Bake time will be just slightly longer.
The recipe didn’t work for me and I don’t know why. I’m an experienced baker, I doubled checked my measurements, I didn’t substitute any ingredients. I chilled the dough for 3 1/2 hours. The cookies didn’t spread, the bottoms burned, the insides were raw and gummy and the lemon flavor was overwhelming. I use quality ingredients, real butter, fresh squeezed lemon juice. I zested two lemons but only needed one for juice. I have made other recipes of yours and they were great. Any suggestions?
Hi Kim, we’re so sorry to hear you had troubles with these cookies! If they had issues spreading, and the flour wasn’t over measured, it could be that the dough was just a bit too cold. If you ever wish to try them again, you can let the cookies sit for about 30 minutes before rolling in the powdered sugar and baking. The warmer dough should help them to spread a bit more and cook more evenly on the inside. Feel free to decrease the lemon zest, too, for a less intense flavor. Thank you for giving these a try!
I appreciate your response! I have figured out the problem and it was not your recipe! You see, I have a husband. Enough said? No? In his quest to find a jar to use, he emptied several cups of citric acid into a canister usually containing sugar. You can’t imagine how sour those cookies were with a cup of citric acid and no sugar in them! I do intend to make these cookies again and will share what I’m sure will be a glowing review.
Delicious cookies! Thank you for this recipe. Rave reviews from everyone who ate them. Great texture and flavor. I pushed each one down just a little with the back of a spoon before putting them in the oven, then baked them for 13 minutes.
I made these over the weekend and baked them today – what a nightmare! The first batch was flat, dark and crispy, I dropped the temp to 325 – the second batch was less flat and crispy but still ran way beyod their boundaries. I finally reduced the time from 12:30 to 7:30 and the next to last bake of the day was beautiful. The last one – same parameters was a strange mess – half the pan was beautiful and the other half was flat and had run amok. I don’t think this is a problem with my oven (I did a batch the day before of the chocolate crinkes and they were almost perfect). I am blaming the weather (my standard go-to when things go sideways. I have made this recipe in the past with success and will (hopefully) make it again. My son requested it for the cookie table at his wedding (no pressure!), so any ideas/tips to remedy this would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Alison, That’s so frustrating that they worked for you in the past and this time each batch was different! Did you make any substitutions or changes to the recipe this time? Are you using conventional settings on your oven and not convection (fan forced) heat? Since only half of your pan spread were all of the dough balls the same temperature (you can keep them all in the fridge until just before baking)? Here are more tips to prevent cookies from spreading.
This recipe turned out so well! I added about 1 tsp of turmeric to the dry ingredients and it adds a depth of flavor and a lovely golden color!
Wondering if anyone has tried adding some freeze dried strawberries to the dough? Kind of like strawberry lemonade cookie?
Hi Lyn, we haven’t tested anything, but you could start by replacing some of the flour with freeze dried strawberry powder. It will likely take some trial and error, but let us know if you do any experimenting!
These are great. Crunchy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. Easy recipe, and makes a nice big batch.
Thanks for another great recipe.
hi! i have made these cookies 3 times, first lemon then grapefruit and finally orange. the lemon turned out perfectly but I had trouble with the other two. the grapefruit were delicious and beautiful but they spread much more and turned out like one thin cookie. the orange were also beautiful but they just tasted like sugar cookies (not complaining but not what I was looking for). do you have any ideas?
Hi T, The orange should work, but you won’t have that tang from the tart lemon. They will be sweeter, but you could still use orange juice/zest instead. (Or even do half lemon, half lime?)
Hi! Roughly how many lemons are needed for the amount of juice and zest stipulated above? Thank you!
See recipe Notes! I usually need 1–2 lemons to yield 1/4 cup (60ml) juice and 1 Tbsp zest.
The dough was still soft after sitting in the fridge for a day, so I put in the freezer. It did firm up more after freezing for a few days. I did not let the dough warm. Jumped right into scooping and rolling in sugars. I almost got done hand rolling and sugar coating the first pan of cookies when the dough started sticking to my hands as I was attempting to fill the second baking sheet. I thought I had outwitted the dough by freezing it but that didn’t work to prevent the dough sticking to my hands I followed the recipe exactly except used margarine instead of butter. I never scoop flour into the measuring cup. I always spoon it. The cookies taste great & would like to know if I should sub butter flavored Crisco for some of the butter/margarine or add more flour or use less fat.
Hi Lori, the margarine is likely the culprit for the sticky dough. We recommend sticking with butter as written in the recipe. Margarine has different baking properties then butter, so the dough consistency will be different. Let us know if you decide to try these again!
These are so absurdly good… the perfect amount of lemon. I’m going to try making a strawberry-lemon version!
Hi Melissa, curious if you end up trying making a strawberry lemon version and if so, what did you do? As of now, I’m thinking of just rolling it in freeze dried strawberry powder + icing sugar at the end.
These cookies are delicious! My one comment is that, while they flattened nicely, the confectioner sugar ended up being concentrated in blobs over the cookie top, rather than spread out and crinkly as in the pictures. I have made the chocolate version of this several times and it always looks beautiful. Any tips for ensuring a more even and crinkly finish?
Hi Barbara, did your confectioners’ sugar seem clumpy at all? For next time, you could try sifting the confectioners before rolling the cookies so that any clumps are broken up. So glad you enjoyed these cookies!
ive got a bee in my bonnet to make these using 100% pineapple juice in place of the lemon juice. maybe also orange zest instead of lemon zest?
besides maybe cutting the sugar a tad to account for the extra sweetness, do you think i’d need to change any other ratios in this recipe? would it even work at all?
Hi SB, sounds delicious! We haven’t tested a pineapple version, but you certainly could. The orange zest shouldn’t be a problem, and you can swap the lemon juice for pineapple juice. You could try cutting the sugar just a bit, but keep in mind that it plays an important role in the taste, texture, and spread of the cookies, so it make take a bit of trial and error. Let us know what you decide to try!
Hi,
I recently made these, however unfortunately instead of turning out as biscuits they came out soft as cake(but still taste great!).
I can’t see anything I missed or changed, unfortunately this is the second time it has happened.
I’m not sure what I did wrong except the recipe says baking soda…
We have baking powder and bicarbonate of soda here in the UK I put bicarbonate of soda thinking it was the same as baking soda?
Please advise what I can do to avoid this next time.
Many thanks
Hi Hafsah, Yes, bicarbonate of soda is the same as baking soda. Cakey cookies are usually caused by too much flour in the dough. How did you measure the flour? For your next batch, make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. Thanks for giving these a try!
Just made these and they are delicious!! Chewy and lemony with a crunchy crust. These are now my new favourite cookies !
I rolled them first in granulated sugar and then the confectioners sugar. As the recipe says, they need A LOT of confectionary sugar so next time I will roll the two times.
Curious if I don’t roll in powdered sugar would they be good with a lemon icing?
Definitely!
Made these with Key Limes. Turned out perfectly. Will make these again even though zesting and squeezing Key limes is a labor of love – its pretty time consuming… but worth it.
Freeze your key limes first, then thaw them. They’ll be very easy to juice. I discovered this by accident. We have a tree, and I could not keep up. I had to freeze them!
As everyone has stated, these cookies are simply fantastic!!! They are truly the best cookie I have ever made. As a cookie fanatic, I have tried MANY cookie recipes over the years and this is by far the most gorgeous looking and tasting popular cookie I have made even if someone is not “crazy” about lemon flavor! Thank you for sharing this recipe on your website.
Hi. These look wonderful. I am thinking of making them for a picnic I am going on. It is going to be 80 degrees. Will these hold up in the heat?
Thanks!
Hi Kristin, yes, they hold up in the heat.
Can you substitute dried lemon peel instead of the lemon zest?
Hi Joe, that shouldn’t be a problem. Let us know if you try it!
Can these be made without the lemon zest?
Hi Joe, you can, but you’ll lose some flavor.
Could you substitute limoncello for the juice?
Hi Teri, you could, but the cookies would be much sweeter and less tart.
My dough wasn’t sticky like this note did it spread out like in the video. I don’t know what I did wrong. Taste was good though.
If I were to make these cookies at 40-50g each, how long will I cook them for????
Hi Nicole, you can certainly try making these larger. We’re unsure of the exact baking time, but you can bake them at the same temperature.
My cookies did not spread out like in the photo! They stayed small and round. Why?
Hi Nicole, when cookies do not spread, it usually means there is too much flour in the dough. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured. An easy fix for next time!
Hi, I measured using a measuring cup and levelled it but they still didn’t spread out!
These cookies are delicious! I rolled them in the sugar and quite a bit of powdered sugar. I kept the dough in the fridge in between baking. They turned out perfect.
Could I make these substituting Key Lime juice? Or too sour?
Hi Patty, you can use the same amount of key lime juice and zest in place of the lemon juice and zest, with no other changes to the recipe. Enjoy!