The Best Soft Lemon Cookies

By Kristy Richardson on December 18, 2023 | Updated December 19, 2023 | 5 Comments

These sweet and easy soft lemon cookies are the perfect little cookie for a delicious treat. Full of fresh lemon zest then topped with sweet lemon cookies, you’ll want to make these lemon cookies again and again!

Why We Love Soft Lemon Cookies

• Bright Bold Lemon Flavor – When you want a lemon dessert, you really want that bright flavor to shine through. These cookies deliver with fresh lemon flavor in both the cookie dough and in the sweet glaze. If you love lemon, you’ll love this recipe.
• Soft And Chewy Cookie – This sweet sugar cookie has just the right amount of soft and chewiness to give them the perfect texture to make the best lemon cookies.
• Glaze Optional But Delicious – I revamped this recipe and originally I included the glaze as optional. We loved these cookies so much though with the glaze that I included it in the regular directions. The real lemon in the glaze really makes these cookies shine even more. Try this recipe with the glaze, I know you’ll love it.

Ingredients For This Soft Lemon Cookie Recipe

For The Cookie Dough

• 1 cup butter unsalted
• 1 cup white sugar
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice – You’ll need about two medium sized lemons for one batch of both the dough and the lemon glaze.
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon salt

For The Lemon Glaze

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest – you can add a little extra lemon zest for even more lemon flavor but taste before you glaze the cookies
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons milk

How To Make Glazed Lemon Cookies

For The Cookies

1. Place softened butter, white sugar and powdered sugar in a large bowl. With an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add one egg, lemon juice and lemon zest to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix the wet ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth.

3. In a second large bowl add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix until blended well.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. With an electric mixer blend them together until a dough forms. Place the cookie dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Portion the cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop onto the prepared pan. Leave 2-3 inches between each cookie, about 8 cookies per pan.

7. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes until they just start to brown on the bottom. Remove the cookies from the oven and place on a wire cookie rack to cool completely, about 5-10 minutes. Once the cookies cool then you can glaze them.

For The Lemon Glaze

1. Once the cookies are cool to the touch, place a piece of parchment paper under each wire cookie rack.
2. In a medium-sized bowl add powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice. Mix well, and then add the milk. Keep mixing until a glaze forms and all the sugar dissolves. You can taste the glaze and add a little more lemon zest if you really love lemon and it’s not enough lemon flavor to your taste.
3. Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze, then place back on the wire rack to dry.

4. Allow the cookies glaze to harden completely, then enjoy!

Can I Use Lemon Extract?

You can use lemon extract in this recipe, but I’ll be honest it’s not my favorite. You could swap out all the lemon juice for a teaspoon of lemon extract in the dough.

In the glaze I would start with a scant 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract and then add more to taste. You may also need to thin the glaze with a little more milk if you swap lemon extract into this recipe.

Lemon extract is strong stuff, and will give your cookies a more artificial lemon taste. They’ll still be delicious, but I personally prefer using the combination of fresh lemon juice and zest for a fresher, brighter taste.

Do I Have To Add The Glaze To The Cookies?

You can absolutly make these cookies without the glaze, they are delicious and flavorful on their own. The lemon glaze takes the cookies over the top with lemon flavor and just adds a sweet yumminess.

Can You Freeze These Lemon Cookies?

Yes you can absolutly freeze these cookies and they will be delicious. Thaw them on the counter before you eat and enjoy.

You can also freeze the dough to bake later. I like to preportion the cookie dough into balls, and then freeze on a cookie sheet. Then I add the cookies to a freezer zip-top bag.

If you choose to bake the cookie dough balls from frozen, they will likely need an extra few minutes in the oven. Watch the cookies closely so they don’t overbake and become crisp.

How Long Will Lemon Cookies Last?

These cookies will taste their best if eaten within three days. Cookies can be stored in a covered airtight container on the counter.

Soft Lemon Cookies

Course Baking, Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 11 minutes minutes

Chil Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 6 minutes minutes

Soft lemon cookies bursting with lemon flavor, these lemon sugar cookies topped with sweet glaze are the perfect treat!

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Instructions

For The Cookies

• Place softened butter, white sugar and powdered sugar in a large bowl. With an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar.

• Add one egg, lemon juice and lemon zest to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix together the wet ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth.

• In a second large bowl add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix until blended well.

• Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. With an electric mixer blend them together until a dough forms. Place the cookie dough in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Portion the cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop onto the prepared pan. Leave 2-3 inches between each cookie, about 8 cookies per pan.

• Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes until they just start to brown on the bottom. Remove the cookies from the oven and place on a wire cookie rack to cool completely, about 5-10 minutes.

For The Lemon Glaze

• Once the cookies are cool to the touch, place a piece of parchment paper under each wire cookie rack.

• In a medium-sized bowl add powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice. Mix well, and then add the milk. Keep mixing until a glaze forms and all the sugar dissolves. You can taste the glaze and add a little more lemon zest if you really love lemon and it’s not enough lemon flavor to your taste.

• Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze, then place back on the wire rack to dry.

• Allow the cookies glaze to harden completely, then enjoy!

Notes

One medium sized lemon typically has 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of zest. To make one batch of these cookies with the glaze 2 lemons should provide enough juice and zest. 
These cookies should be a softer cookie, be careful not to overbake!
Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
Parchment paper is my favorite to use for baking cookies, and works great with these cookies. You can also use a silicone baking mat. Aluminum foil sprayed with cooking oil can work but will make the cookies slighty less soft.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

Did You Make This?

I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!

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