Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Lemon lovers–this one’s for you! These pillowy soft, melt in your mouth lemon crinkle cookies are loaded up with fresh lemon flavor with the perfect balance of tart and sweet! Enjoy

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

Lemon crinkle cookie ingredients

These crinkle cookies come together with a 10 simple ingredients that meld into the most delicious, bright, lemon cookie you’ll ever sink your teeth into. Hop on over to the grocery store and get your hands on these ingredients so you can have lemon crinkle cookies in your belly:

Can you freeze lemon crinkle cookies?

Yes, and also no. Let me explain. Powdered sugar can get a little funky when it freezes and defrosts because the cookies will emit moisture as they thaw out. They’ll still be delicious, but the moisture from the cookies will soak up some of the powdered sugar, so if you’re looking to prep these ahead of time, I recommend freezing the dough balls, then rolling them in granulated and powdered sugar after you take them out of the freezer and bake off as directed! If it’s more of a “I have too many cookies laying around I want to freeze the leftovers situation”, you can go right ahead and store them in an airtight plastic bag or freezer safe container for up to 3 months–just keep in mind the powdered sugar might dissolve when you defrost them!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperautre
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon’s worth of zest)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 drops yellow food color, optional
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line
a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine the sugar and the lemon zest, using your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar starts to clump together and is fragrant.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and the lemon sugar. Beat on medium speed, gradually increasing to high until the butter is light and fluffy, and pale in color; about 3 minutes.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg, egg yolk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract (and lemon extract and yellow food coloring if using). Beat until smooth and completely combined.
Scrape down the bowl and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir on low speed until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Do not over mix.
Fill one small bowl with granulated sugar and one bowl with powdered sugar. Use a 1.5 ounce cookie scoop to scoop cookies out. Roll the balls first in the granulated sugar and then in the powdered sugar to completely coat the cookie balls.
Place the cookies 2 inches apart on your cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set and the centers have puffed up, but are still gooey. Remember, the cookies will continue to cook as they cool so you want them to be a little under baked when you take them out. Allow the cookies to cool completely.