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!
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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.
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 on August 25, 2014 and reposted on June 24, 2020 with updated text.
We love, love, love these cookies! Soft, tart and sweet. They were gone in no time and I’m making more.
These look really good, and I have fresh lemon juice and zest in the fridge, so I really want to make them! The trouble is – I don’t have lemon extract! What can I do to substitute? More zest/juice? Thanks in advance!
I would wait until you get the extract. It’s pretty critical to the lemon flavor for this recipe.
I made these and the bitterness from the lemon extract was way too strong, I would have used 1/2 the amount. The texture of the cookie was excellent. I will try again with less extract.
I made these and the bitterness from the lemon extract was way too strong, I would have used 1/2 the amount. The texture of the cookie was excellent. I will try again with less extract.
OMG!! These cookies were AMAZING. I am 14 yrs old and I love baking. I made these for my mom birthday. She LOVED them.They are really delicious.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved these cookies and so did your mom! Wonderful that you have a passion for baking at your age – keep it up!
OMG!! These cookies were AMAZING. I am 14 yrs old and I love baking. I made these for my mom birthday. She LOVED them.They are really delicious.
looking for a cookie to add to a wedding cookie bar table….want a lemon cookie and this one looks perfect….might do a test run first though…..I use essential oils in my cooking and baking sometimes….and wonder about using lemon essential oil to get some good lemon flavor. I would still use the zest etc the recipe calls for but add that…..what do you think?
I would use lemon extract rather than essential oil, personally. Oils tend to be much stronger than extracts.
But definitely absolutely do a trial run especially since this is going to be served at a wedding. Good luck!
my family and i love these! i followed the recipe exactly and they turned out absolutely perfect!!
-i have a question if you’re still available to answer. what would you suggest if i wanted them more lemony? more zest would prob work. i’d be nervous about just adding more lemon juice without offsetting the liquid. more flour?
thanks in advance!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you love these! If you want more lemon flavor I would add more zest or you can try making an icing. Powdered sugar thinned out with lemon juice as necessary. I love lemon glazes/icing and feel they go a long way to really oomphing up the lemon flavor.
thanks!
my family and i love these! i followed the recipe exactly and they turned out absolutely perfect!!
-i have a question if you’re still available to answer. what would you suggest if i wanted them more lemony? more zest would prob work. i’d be nervous about just adding more lemon juice without offsetting the liquid. more flour?
thanks in advance!
I am so happy I have found this site! I made the lemon cookies and they were excellent. I was a little shy of having the full tbs of the lemon extract, and it might have been a little old, but I will be making them again. I did make them smaller and got over two dozen—still a decent size cookie. I love baking so will be trying more of your receipes.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved this! Keep me posted what else you make!
I am so happy I have found this site! I made the lemon cookies and they were excellent. I was a little shy of having the full tbs of the lemon extract, and it might have been a little old, but I will be making them again. I did make them smaller and got over two dozen—still a decent size cookie. I love baking so will be trying more of your receipes.
Just wondering if I could make them smaller so that I get more cookies?!
Yes
Me and my daughter just made the batter and now we are waiting. Can’t wait! The batter didn’t seem to be lemony but I smell it. So I’m praying that after they bake they will be lemony, if not I will be adding the lemon glaze.
Great and I hope you love them!
Your website won’t let me comment!
All comments go through moderation which is why you may not have seen your comment right away. But all I see is “your website won’t let me comment” – but you did – so it will.
I followed the recipe exactly, making 12 patties and chilling 3+ hours. Other commenters thought humidity was the problem, but I baked on a dry Summer day in CA. After 10 minutes in the 350* oven they were nowhere near done. However, I didn’t find that out until they were cooled because I baked “until edges have set and tops are just set”. I baked on parchment lined stoneware baking sheets and cooled them on the pans. All but the edges were wet and sticky; when I moved them to a rack to decorate, they oozed through the wire. : ( Sadly, I had to throw them away.
The edges were tasty, though!
stoneware baking sheets <--- That is your culprit! Things baked in/on stonewear need much longer to cook than baked on metal! That is why they weren't done after 10 minutes; had you baked longer and/or on metal everything would have been fine. In all recipes I treat baking times as estimates and guidelines and it's up to the baker to determine what's truly done in their oven, using their pans, their ingredients, their climate, etc.
These cookies are AMAZING!!! But I read the refrigerate part after I put them in the oven, and it tastes great. And they weren’t thin at all! So… I’m just goin with that, and I’m also very impatient, So I am not waiting 5 days for the dough to chill…
You don’t have to wait 5 days. You can if you want. But you definitely don’t have to, just a couple hours. Reread that part :)
But I’m glad you loved them and they came out great without chilling.