Soft & Chewy Lemon Cookies
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Calling all lemon enthusiasts!! 🍋 You’re going to LOVE my new Soft & Chewy Lemon Cookies.
Lemon is one of those flavors that I think is perfect all year long. It’s so versatile and refreshing, and is the perfect choice when you’re wanting to include some non-chocolate options on your dessert tray.
But you know what makes me so sad?! When something is advertised as a lemon dessert and you take a bite and it has just the TINIEST hint of lemon. It’s such a letdown!!
Not these cookies though! They’re triple-packed with lemony goodness, featuring lemon juice, zest, and lemon extract. Combined with dough that is very similar to my Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies, these Soft & Chewy Lemon Cookies miiiiight just be in the running for my new favorite cookie. 😍
I love that each bite of these cookies features the perfect balance of both sweetness and tartness. Coating them with sugar before baking really elevates the texture of the cookies AND makes them look sparkly and pretty too!
This is the recipe if you want a lemon dessert option for your holiday cookie trays! Check out my other recipes in my 2024 Holiday Cookie Series for more inspiration. Some of my favorites are the Pumpkin Pie Cookies, Gingerbread Snickerdoodles, and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies.
- Packed with lemon-y flavor: These cookies feature lemon zest, lemon juice, AND lemon extract for the perfect amount of zesty, refreshing lemon flavor!
- Sweet & tart: The lemon and sugar balance each other perfectly. You get a bit of sweetness and tartness in every bite!
- Dreamy texture: No hard sugar cookies here! When I say these are soft & chewy – I mean it! They have a proper ratio of dry and wet ingredients to ensure that perfect, dreamy texture.
- No rolling pin required! You’ll roll the dough into small balls and then bake. No rolling out dough and measuring thickness – we don’t have time for that!
- Easy to follow: These instructions are straightforward and easy to follow!
Ingredient Notes
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
- Unsalted Butter: Let the butter soften to room temperature for easier creaming with sugar. This helps create a tender and chewy texture. I use unsalted butter, but if you must use salted butter, simply omit the extra salt listed later in the ingredients.
- Granulated Sugar: You’ll need some for the dough itself and extra for rolling the cookie dough balls in before baking.
- Eggs: Eggs add moisture and act as a binding agent, contributing to the cookie’s structure. The extra egg yolk adds richness and tenderness to the cookie, and it also binds the dough all together. Allow your eggs to sit out of the fridge and get to room temperature before using them. (Room temperature eggs blend more evenly into the batter than cold eggs do.)
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour; I have not tested this recipe with other flour varieties. Measure it correctly using the spoon-and-level method to avoid dense cookies.
- Lemon zest: Use a zester to shave off 1 tbsp. of lemon zest. Pro tip: When making the dough, rub the lemon zest and sugars together between your fingertips to help release the natural oils in the lemon and infuse even more lemon flavor into the cookies.
- Lemon extract: You can use 2 tsp. of lemon extract or 1 tsp. of lemon extract and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, depending on your preference.
- Lemon juice: I prefer using fresh lemon juice from the lemon I zested, but bottled lemon juice is fine as well.
- Other ingredients needed: salt, cornstarch, baking soda
Step by Step Directions
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
Start making the dough
Beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Then add eggs and extract(s) and mix again.
Add dry ingredients & lemon juice
Add dry ingredients with baking soda on top. Add lemon juice on top of the baking soda, which will create a foam. Mix until combined. Be careful to not over-mix.
Scoop, roll, chill!
Scoop and roll the dough into ~1 ½-2 tbsp.-sized balls. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Roll in sugar, then bake!
Roll each dough ball in a coating of granulated sugar. Bake the cookies at 325°F for 10-12 minutes. After baking, immediately swirl a glass/cup around the cookies while they’re still warm to help make them into perfect circles.
Enjoy!
Rest on the cookies sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Sprinkle with more granulated sugar and lemon zest (if desired). Then, enjoy! 😋🍋
- Rub the lemon zest & sugars: Before adding to the mixing bowl, rub the lemon zest and sugars together between your fingertips to help release the natural oils in the lemon and infuse even more lemon flavor into the cookies.
- Measure ingredients properly: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife instead of scooping the flour with your measuring cup. Too much flour will make take away from the soft & chewy-goodness of these cookies.
- Use fresh lemon juice: While you can use bottled lemon juice, I think the flavor of fresh lemon juice really elevates the overall lemony flavor of these cookies.
- Don’t over-bake: These cookies look very soft, puffy and slightly under-baked when you take them out of the oven. They will settle as they cool.
- To get cookies perfectly circular: Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, place a circular cookie cutter or a circular drinking glass around one of the cookies (it should be larger than the cookie so you don’t cut off any edges) and give the cookies a spin. Swirling the cookie helps it have a nice perfectly circular shape.
Storage & Freezing
- Make Ahead: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days. Allow to come to room temperature, roll in the granulated sugar, then continue to bake as directed.
- Freeze the Dough: Scoop the dough into the 1½ – 2 tbsp balls and freeze in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To bake, allow the dough to come to room temperature, roll in the granulated sugar, then continue to bake as directed.
- Storage: You can store these baked cookies on the counter in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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Ingredients
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. lemon zest
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 tsp. lemon extract (or 1 tsp. each lemon and vanilla extract)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, for rolling & garnishing
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Pro tip: you can rub the lemon zest and sugars together between your fingertips to help release the natural oils in the lemon and infuse even more lemon flavor into the cookies).12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 1 tbsp. lemon zest
- Add eggs and extract(s), mix again.1 large egg, room temperature, 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 2 tsp. lemon extract (or 1 tsp. each lemon and vanilla extract)
- Add the dry ingredients in a mound with baking soda on top.3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 3/4 tsp. salt
- Add the lemon juice on top of the baking soda, it will foam = activated.2 tbsp. lemon juice
- Mix just until combined. Do not over mix.
- You can refrigerate the dough now as is or scoop and roll into balls and then refrigerate. Balls will be about ~1 ½-2 tbsp. in size.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Add about ¼ cup granulated sugar into a bowl and roll the balls in the granulated sugar.¼ cup granulated sugar, for rolling & garnishing
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and place about 6-8 cookies at a time on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 min. DO NOT OVERBAKE. These need to be very soft and chewy.
- Swirl a cup around the cookies when they come out of the oven (while they’re still warm) to make them perfect circles.
- Rest on a cookie sheet for just 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will look puffy out of the oven but settle as they cool.
- Sprinkle the tops of cookies with more granulated sugar for a sparkly look and lemon zest if desired.
Video
Notes
- If using salted butter, simply omit the additional salt in Step 3.
- Store on the counter in an air-tight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
📸 Photography by Marie-Catherine Dubé
