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!
Table of Contents
My daughter adores lemon desserts and I surprised her with these super soft, very lemony cookies.
The cookies are topped with a lemon glaze that adds to the pucker-up power and we couldn’t get enough of them.
Between the soft, slightly chewy cookies that are perfectly thick and ridiculously tender without being cakey courtesy of the cornstarch, and the wonderfully tangy-sweet glaze, the cookies are boldly lemony and lemon fans are going to be in lemon love.
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make the lemon cream cheese cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Lemon extract
- Yellow food coloring
- Lemon zest
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
And to make the lemon glaze for the cookies, you’ll need:
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Fresh lemon juice and zest
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 Cream Cheese Cookies
Making soft lemon glazed cookies with cream cheese is quick and easy! Follow these basic steps:
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, make the lemon cookie dough.
- Once the cookie dough comes together, form approximately 18 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. (You can use a large cookie scoop of a 1/4 cup measuring cup for this.)
- Place the cookie dough balls on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven.
- Once the cookies are done baking, let them cool completely before you drizzle over the lemon glaze.
LOVE these! Super tangy especially the glaze. I painted on the glaze with a basting brush and that worked better than drizzling for me. Also unlike most recipes these are generous size cookies so I think 1 batch could yield 24 instead of 18.
Kay
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you MUST chill the cookie dough. Do not bake with unchilled dough because the lemon cream cheese cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
Yes, you’re welcome to omit the food coloring if you don’t have any on hand or prefer not to use it. Just note that your lemon cream cheese cookies won’t be as vibrantly yellow as mine.
You need to use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese in this recipe. Low-fat or whipped cream cheese won’t result in the correct taste or texture.
Cream cheese keeps the lemon cookies soft, moist, tender, and ironically it doesn’t make them taste like cream cheese. Rather it makes them taste more buttery.
Rather than adding lemon juice to the dough for lemon flavor, I use lemon extract and lemon zest. I’ve learned through trial and error that you get a bolder lemon flavor with extract, you don’t thin out or water down the batter, and without the possible complications that can come from incorporating a hefty dose of an acidic ingredient like lemon juice into sensitive dough.
However, I am a fan of lemon juice in glazes because it brings a bold intensity of flavor. The soft lemon cookies have a nice pop of lemon flavor on their own, but the lemon glaze and finishing sprinkle of lemon zest take them over the lemon edge.
Yes, you can make these lemon cheesecake cookies without the glaze, if desired. The cookies themselves are plenty lemony enough without the glaze!
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Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup cream cheese, softened (use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese not ‘spreadable’ or whipped cream cheese)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract, do not substitute with lemon juice
- yellow food coloring, optional and as desired
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or 2 tablespoons if you want cookies very lemony
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency
- lemon zest, for garnishing
Instructions
- Make the Cookies
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) add the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, light, fluffy, and well combined, about 3 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, lemon extract, and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and optionally add the yellow food coloring (as many drops as necessary until desired shade is achieved), the lemon zest, and beat on medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute; don’t overmix.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or your hands, form approximately 18 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) and bake for about 8 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 completely before glazing. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
- Make the Glaze
- To a medium bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and whisk until smooth and combined. Depending on preference and desired glaze consistency, you may have to play with the sugar and lemon juice ratios slightly.
- Using a small spoon, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of glaze over each cookie, and spread glazeout using the back of the spoon. Repeat until all cookies are glazed.
- Sprinkle a small pinch of lemon zest over all cookies before the glaze sets and before serving.
Video
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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Originally posted June 12, 2015 and reposted March 26, 2021 with updated text.
I make these every year for family gatherings. One of our favorites out of your recipes.
Thanks so much for the 5 star review, Debbie, and it’s great that these are on your annual baking list for family gatherings and one of your favorites of mine! 🙏🏻
I made the cookies because I wanted to try this flavor. Instead of glaze I added in the cream cheese chocolate chip on it and my friends love it. I also added a little bit of lemon juice. Next time I will add a drop of vanilla and oatmeal to it.
Thanks for the 5 star Rej and I am glad to hear your friends loved your version of the cookies and you have plans to make more with another creative twist!
LOVE these! Super tangy especially the glaze. I painted on the glaze with a basting brush and that worked better than drizzling for me. Also unlike most recipes these are generous size cookies so I think 1 batch could yield 24 instead of 18. Only other feedback is that the page was very hard to use—I get the need for ads but they kept making they made the page jump around constantly. But overall wonderful—thx so much!
LOVE these! Super tangy especially the glaze. I painted on the glaze with a basting brush and that worked better than drizzling for me. Also unlike most recipes these are generous size cookies so I think 1 batch could yield 24 instead of 18. Only other feedback is that the page was very hard to use—I get the need for ads but they kept making they made the page jump around constantly. But overall wonderful—thx so much!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you loved the cookies and the glaze! Yes they are fairly generously sized so you can probably stretch the batch if you made them a bit smaller.
I love your website! We just had your Indian Butter Chicken for dinner today! Could I chill the cookie dough in the freezer instead of chilling them in the fridge, if I needed to make them sooner than the 3 hour chill time? How long would they need to chill in the freezer? Thank you!
I love your website! We just had your Indian Butter Chicken for dinner today! Could I chill the cookie dough in the freezer instead of chilling them in the fridge, if I needed to make them sooner than the 3 hour chill time? How long would they need to chill in the freezer? Thank you!
Thank you very much, glad you love my site, and that the butter chicken was great!
Yes you can chill them in the freezer, I estimate about 45 minutes but it depends on how cold, overstuffed, etc. your freezer is. Just make sure the dough is nicely chilled.
I am a lemon lover, looking for a new “go to” lemon cookie recipe and was curious about yours. I made these yesterday and I believe I have found my new “go to”. I love that they are not flat or rolled in powdered sugar. Over that. I added 2 TBSP of zest, which I think was perfect. Didn’t need yellow food coloring. I also did glaze them, but froze them plain. Very tasty next day. I might opt to dip the tops in gran sugar or a dusting of powd sugar, but will try glaze next time. Can this recipe be doubled, and if I want larger cookies, will they keep the round shape adding more dough (chilled of course). Thank you!
I am a lemon lover, looking for a new “go to” lemon cookie recipe and was curious about yours. I made these yesterday and I believe I have found my new “go to”. I love that they are not flat or rolled in powdered sugar. Over that. I added 2 TBSP of zest, which I think was perfect. Didn’t need yellow food coloring. I also did glaze them, but froze them plain. Very tasty next day. I might opt to dip the tops in gran sugar or a dusting of powd sugar, but will try glaze next time. Can this recipe be doubled, and if I want larger cookies, will they keep the round shape adding more dough (chilled of course). Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad these may be your new go-to lemon cookie and that they came out great!
Yes you can double the recipe, no problem.
I made these cookies in late December of
2022. I never got around to putting the glaze on because my husband got Covid so I put the whole batch in the freezer because I didn’t want him breathing on my cookies. I did eat a couple before freezing the cookies and they are the BEST lemon cookies I have ever had. I now just take out a couple of cookies when I want something lemony. Still haven’t put any glaze on any of them. They are GREAT!!!
I made these cookies in late December of
2022. I never got around to putting the glaze on because my husband got Covid so I put the whole batch in the freezer because I didn’t want him breathing on my cookies. I did eat a couple before freezing the cookies and they are the BEST lemon cookies I have ever had. I now just take out a couple of cookies when I want something lemony. Still haven’t put any glaze on any of them. They are GREAT!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and what a story you have surrounding them! Glad your husband is ok and that they cookies are the best lemon cookies you’ve ever had!
These Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies are just DELICIOUS! I was pleasantly surprised by the density of the cookies! It FEELS good to eat them! However 10 minutes prep time?! It takes that long just to zest the lemons! But it’s worth every minute of labor!
These Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies are just DELICIOUS! I was pleasantly surprised by the density of the cookies! It FEELS good to eat them! However 10 minutes prep time?! It takes that long just to zest the lemons! But it’s worth every minute of labor!
I am glad they turned out delicious and you enjoy the density!
As for the prep time, I am pretty fast in the kitchen I guess!
Hi,
By mistake, I added 8oz of cream cheese. What do I need to do to fix this?
Remove three-quarters of it so you’re left with 2 ounces (1/4 cup).
Otherwise you need to quadruple the recipe.
Or just start over.