Lemon Crinkle Cookies

These lemon crinkle cookies are a fun twist on classic chocolate crinkles! With crispy edges and soft lemony centers, they're an easy, fun summer cookie!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Chilling Time 3

Total Time 3 40

Servings cookies

Calories 85kcal

Author Kyleigh Sage

Equipment

Ingredients

Cookies

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon extract optional
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 drops yellow food coloring optional

Roll in

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup powdered sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

I recommend making the dough the day before you want to bake the cookies so that it has time to adequately chill!
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest until smooth and creamy.
Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon extract and beat until light, fluffy, and pale in color. This should take 2-4 minutes which seems like a long time, but you'll see a huge difference in the texture afterwards. Then add in a few drops of yellow food coloring and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Gently fold in the dry ingredients until fully combined. The dough will be very soft and sticky.
Transfer to an airtight container, or cover tightly, and chill the dough overnight (or a minimum of 3-4 hours). Chilling the dough is not optional for these cookies! The dough will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Preheat then oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Add about ½ cup granulated sugar to one small bowl, and ½ cup powdered sugar to a second bowl.
Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough, roll into small balls. I like to use nitrile gloves for easy, mess-free rolling!
Roll each ball lightly in granulated sugar, then generously in the powdered sugar. Make sure to really pack on the powdered sugar for the best results!
Place about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet (I can fit 9-10 cookies on a half sheet pan).
Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are fully set but the centers are still soft. The lemon cookies will should seem very soft and under baked, but they will harden slightly as they cool. If you cook them for too long, the centers won't be fudgy.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Store the baked crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition