Soft chewy lemon sugar cookies are always a hit! A light lemon cookie that will be a crowd favorite.
Lemon Sugar Cookies
I may be a chocoholic but these cookies got me from the first bite. Actually, I lie. It was from the first bite of cookie dough because after one taste, I was hooked! Since my Mom loves all things lemon, I decided I had to break free from my chocolate love affair and make something that she would love – a sweet, soft lemon sugar cookie.
She was smitten with the first taste! This cookie is bursting with fresh lemon flavor without being too tart and if you could imagine a marriage between a soft sugar cookie and a tangy lemon, you will get this delectable lemon sugar cookie.
This is a soft, chewy lemon cookie with a light lemon flavor. It is a simple, crowd-pleasing recipe that everyone loves! Add more lemon zest for extra lemon flavor.
Key Steps for making the BEST Lemon sugar cookies:
- Cream butter and sugar for four minutes or until light and fluffy. This breaks down the sugar so you don’t end up with grainy cookies. It also whips in the air, which not only helps to give the cookie body but keeps it from going completely flat once it hits the hot oven.
- Use fresh lemon juice. The fake stuff you find in the grocery store just tastes fake. Fresh lemon transforms so many dishes and since it’s the star ingredient in this cookie, fresh is best.
- Use a zester to get the vibrant yellow skin from the lemon and leave the bitter white part behind. We want the good stuff! Click HERE to buy a zester for about $10 bucks.
- These cookies are best soft so don’t overbake. An outstanding cookie can become mediocre just from overbaking. I always use non-stick silicone baking sheets. These silicone baking sheets are some of my favorites because they work well and are reasonably priced.
- Top with sparkling sugar just as you are removing the cookies from the oven.
- 1 cup Butter cold, cut into cubes
- 2 cups Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest may put more lemon zest for extra flavor
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- *may put in a drop of yellow food coloring for color
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest and stir to combine.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix just until combined.
- Drop dough onto light colored baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar or white sparkling sugar.
Thank as always for all of your incredible support. xo Happy Baking!
PIN this image on PINTEREST:
First time in this blog, and I`m amazed 🙂
I tried this recipe and the the jury (my kids) said that it`s brilliant. Thank you!
Hi Angela! Thank you so much for your comment. I love that you call your kids the “jury” because I do the same thing. They are honest and will always tell you how it is. 🙂 I am so happy they passed the test!
These are the best cookies I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a lot of cookies.
Hey! I’m trying this! How do I️ get the flatness and the size you made? How big would you make the scoop of dough? Xo
Thanks!!!!
I am curious about this too. My cookies were fluffy and plump. Tasted great but looked nothing like the picture.
Same questions. Mine seemed too round first batch, so I turned down the heat a bit, flattened them a bit, but I think they needed less flour to spread better in my oven (I hate my oven). They were smooth, not crinkly like the picture.
I also think that I would have gotten a better texture if I had softened the butter and mixed by hand at the butter/sugar stage and then chilled in the fridge a bit before cooking. Cold butter had to be beat with an electric mixer, but that can whip air into the cookie which makes it too cakey.
I need to make 8 dozen for a cookie exchange. how many cookies does this make?
Just printed this to make in a few days. Beautiful. I love lemon cookies and this looks super. You should have a photography studio!!!
You are the sweetest, Pam! I am such a rookie with photography and am just learning but I appreciate the compliment. xoxo
They are delicious and delightful. I ended up doubling the lemon juice which gave more lemon flavor and then I added in some cream of tartar which gave the flavor a little zing and bite to the cookie. It’s a winner for kids and grown ups!
Hi Anne! That is such a great idea! I am going to try it next time for sure. Also, love the idea of adding cream of tartar. I love that you play around with recipes because the experimentation is the fun part. Thank you for reaching out and have a great night! – Melissa
Would you add finely group d nuts to the recipe? Has anyone tried that?
Absolutely loved these cookies..my 4 yr old son loved them more than me..my hubby don’t even eat sweets, but he sure enjoyed these cookies.. THANK YOU!
Love it! Thank you Bettina! I love when the kids approve of them. 🙂
They came out pretty good. I added a few drops of yellow food coloring in order to achieve that beautiful yellow color. The cookies have the perfect lemon taste. Soft and chewy but with a little crunch. Yummy!
Great idea, Nikki! That would add to the yellow color of the cookies. Thanks for sharing!
I tried these out today and loved them!
Thank you so much, Brigette! So happy to hear you loved them. 🙂
Hi, I made these cookies, and they came out great. I used softened butter and after scooping the cookies into balls, I froze them overnight. I do this for all my cookies. They came out perfectly! Freezing the cookies makes for a better shaped, thick cookie. These were a good 1/2″ high. Just thought I’d share my tip. Thanks for the great recipe!! :0)
Baking a batch right now for our Memorial Day cookout. The are delicious, so light & sweet! Just not sure why mine don’t look like yours? Mine are puffy, even after cooling. Should I flatten w/ a fork before baking? Your photos are awesome!
Hi Cathy! A Memorial Day cookout sounds like so much fun! If they are puffing up, you can flatten them with a fork and that will definitely make them flatter. They should definitely puff up in the oven but once you take them out, the do come down some. Let me know how they turn out and thanks for reaching out! – Melissa
I tried these today. It is a must try. So incredibly good. Soft but crunchy at the same time. Perfect!!
Hi Catherine! Thank you so much for your sweet comment. That’s the key to a great cookie, right? It has to be soft and crunchy at the same time. Thanks!! – Melissa 🙂
Dear Melissa ! I need your help !
I made these cookies and the first time around I completely fell in love 🙂 … I have tried twice more after it and for some reason they always go completely flat in the oven (when big blend 🙁 …)
What am I doing wrong????
I have had that happen before and I get so baffled! I can completely understand. A few things to consider:
Make sure the butter is cold and straight out of the refrigerator. I cut it into cubes so that it mixes well with the sugar. Also, chill your dough for at least 10-20 minutes which should help keep its shape. Let me know if those things help out. They shouldn’t be flat. Good luck and thanks for trying! – Melissa
And yet the pictures on your site show a very flat cookie????
Another successfully executed Melissa Stadler recipe!! Baked these just now, at the cabin….triple thumbs up!!!!
Hi Judy! You are the BEST! I am so sorry for the delay in responding — my comment bar disappeared for a long while and I just got it up and running again. I am so happy that you loved the lemon cookies. Thank you for all of your amazing support. xoxo – Melissa 🙂
Just found your site recently and I LOVE it! Great recipes, photos, and clear instructions – thank you! I tried the cookies twice – the first time as lemon cookies. They weren’t as pretty as yours, but they were very good. The dough was VERY soft, so I refrigerated it for an hour. It didn’t firm up too much, but since I wasn’t rolling the dough out, it wasn’t a problem. The second time I made them I tried them as regular sugar cookies with no lemon flavoring at all, but I added 1/2 tsp extra vanilla. The dough was firmer – I didn’t need to refrigerate it – and it was easier to work it as I scooped them onto the cookie sheet. The cookies were very good both ways and my family really enjoyed them! Thanks again – looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Hi there! Thank you so much for taking the time to write about your experience with the lemon sugar cookies. That is so interesting that the dough was so sticky! I wonder if the butter wasn’t cold enough. I use butter straight out of the refrigerator. That is a great idea though to make vanilla sugar cookies using the same dough. I am going to have to try that idea. Thanks for sharing! – Melissa 🙂
Hello! Just getting ready to bake these lovely cookies and I noticed something. In the recipe, it says to bake the cookies directly after mixing the dough. When I scrolled down to read the comments from others, you had recommended to chill the dough for 10-20 minutes so that the cookies will keep their shape. Is that best every time? Can’t wait to try these!!
Kind regards,
Kristen
Hi Kristen! Well, I am a few months behind replying to your comment. Haha! Sorry. You are right — I tend to chill mine just because I usually chill all of my cookies. I like that it helps to keep the shape of the cookies. You can do either way with this recipe and will turn out great. 🙂 – Melissa
I have to make cookies for this weekend for a family gathering and came across this recipe. Looks great and I’m excited to try it! But I’m curious how well they travel?
Hi Rebecca! They travel quite well. I love to freeze my cookies before I travel and place parchment or wax paper in between rows if I am stacking them. I hope that helps! 🙂 – Melissa
So these cookies are freezeable, then? Im baking this weekend for a friends party next month. Will they hold in the the freezer for a month? This is my only free weekend from now until party. Thanks!
Stunning sugar cookies, and now a top fave! Thank you!!!
I added fresh sweet basil, and a pinch of mint, oh my gosh, elevated a stunning cookie to the next level. What a wonderful recipe, thank you for not keeping it a secret ☺
Iris
What a fabulous idea, Iris! That is brilliant. I can’t wait to try it. We always have a plethora of fresh basil so I can’t wait to give it a shot. Thanks for sharing. -Melissa
Hi Iris! Adding basis and mint sounds amazing. How much did you add roughly? Did you chop it up really thin? Thanks
Oh that sounds amazing! I made these yesterday for my small group along with two other cookies and these were the favorite!!
Pinned this 2 hours ago and made my first batch,these are great. We love them thanks for sharing. Delicious !!!
Now that is what I call efficient! I love that you made them so quickly after finding them on Pinterest. Thanks for trying out the recipe! – Melissa
Made these lemon sugar cookies today for a friend’s bridal shower and everyone loved them! A great recipe, simple and quick. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Manal! I love to hear that. I am so glad that your friends enjoyed the cookies. Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and for taking time to comment. – Melissa
Hi there! I was just curious why you recommended cold butter in this recipe? Typically warm butter yields the best results when creaming. Just wondering if there was something I was missing! The cookies are absolutely delicious!
Hi Tess! That is a great point. I have cookies of all sorts on my blog — melted butter, softened room temperature butter, and even cold butter. The reason that I use cold butter (it must be cut into cubes to help the creaming process) is that I want the cookies to keep their shape once they hit the oven. Since we add lemon juice to the cookies, there could be a tendency for the cookies to go flat. Also, it is important to cream for 4 minutes to allow the butter and sugar to incorporate. I hope that helps!
Your instruction about the butter and time were perfect! No need to refrigerate and wait. These cookies came out beautiful and so tasty. Thanks so much for sharing. Hubby lives them and bonus, the house smells wonderful 😁
Loved these! I made them with my 4 yr old. The recipe couldn’t be easier, which is a huge bonus. My older son who hates sweets said these were awesome and went back for more. We didn’t have enough lemon so we zested lime and orange with it and wound up with more than we needed, so turned the excess into a glaze. I will definitely make these again. What a wonderful site you have!
Made these this weekend for my daughter’s birthday and they were a big hit! Very easy to make and great tasting!
Hi Erica! Yay! I am so happy to hear that they were a hit at your daughter’s birthday party. Thank you for taking the time to write a kind comment. I appreciate it!
Hi Meg! I love that you baked with your 4-year old. Those are priceless memories. My kids love to bake along side with me too and I cherish those times with them. I am so glad you loved the cookies. Great idea to use lime and orange!
You did not say in your direction but how big do I make the cookies or amount that I scoop up?……..thanks.
Hi Judy! It is completely up to you depending on what size cookie that you want. I tend to use a regular-sized cookie scoop so they are all equal. I have also made them into bite-size cookies as well. I hope that helps!
Hi there
These look delicious. But Cana they be frozen? And would you top with sugar before or after freezing?
Hi Terri! I love to freeze these cookies and they tend to defrost beautifully. I would put the sugar crystals on just before removing from the oven to give it time to adhere to the cookie. Hope that helps!
Hi! Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve never been to your site before but am excited to make these cookies. Does the recipe call for salted or unsalted butter?
Also- beautiful pictures!!
Thank you!!
I just made it and it turned out yummy 😋
Thanks for the recipe 🌺
So happy to hear that, Mai! Thank you for your kind comment.
Love the flavor. Did add more lemon juice as my lemon didn’t give me enough zest. Next time it will be 2. LOL
I did have a problem and hopefully you can help me out. When they baked they just went totally flat, no texture like yours. Did the extra juice make a difference? Should I have added more flour? ]
Hi Terry! Great point. Yes….when you add more lemon juice it throws off the ratio of dry vs. liquid ingredients. When I want to boost the lemon flavor, I tend to reach for lemon zest more often since it gives the flavor without making the cookies go flat. 2 lemons would work like a charm next time!
Hi!
I’m don’t bake very often but i absolutely love it and this year i’ve decided to make christmas hamper baskets full of nice home baked treats for my family, and i’d love love LOVE to include these because they look amazing, but i live in the UK and i find it hard to use cups instead of grams to measure things out in, if it isn’t too much trouble is there any chance you could translate the measurements for a poor brit like me? i’m going to give them a go either way i just think i have more chance of getting them right if i use grams haha.
Thanks!
Soooo. I have a batch in the oven. I made mine with gluten free flour and coconut sugar …im praying it turns out yummy.
Help! I made these several times and they were perfect! After a month or so tried again and they spread TERRIBLY….So I tried again…They spread again! 4 times all failed!! Several days in a row so it wasn’t humidity…I’m lost! I know it’s a great recipe because I’ve had success with it! Any ideas?
Hello! I’m sure this is a silly question but I gues I have to separate the dough into insividual cookies before transferring it on tray? Also, what would you substitue the sugar for as I hate to use white sugar. Thank you!
This is my first recipe from this blog and I will be back for more! I made them with orange instead and it was really tasty. Only thing that I think would be a great addition to the recipe is to give an approximate idea of how many lemons are needed to get the tablespoon of zest (I was way off with the oranges!). Thanks 🙂
Can you double the recipe without difficult??
Not bad. Personally, not lemon-y enough for me, was expecting it to be a bit more tart and vibrant, but my partner couldn’t stop eating them! In the future, I’d bypass the vanilla extract which makes it more cake-y tasting and use lemon extract instead, maybe even bump up the lemon zest. Loved the texture, pretty good cookie…making another attempt tomorrow.
Just curious, most lemon cookies (or cookie recipes in general) call for room temperature butter, you suggest cold, any reason for that? I couldn’t get the granular sugar texture to go away and turn airy and creamy as you described …not that it effected the cookie much, but I thought I’d ask.
I make Xmas cookie tins for alot of people for the holidays w/ different cookies.I make them in advance so store them in tins until I can give them out.What is a proper way to store these until time to give them out?
I have made these twice and OMG they are delicious (and so easy to make)! The first time, my family and I just ate them as is. The second time, I decided to experiment and whipped up an icing made with confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice. It really took them up a notch – for anyone who likes really intense lemon flavor, I really recommend it! Either way, 5 stars for this amazing recipe!
I tried this recipe and it was really good! My only question is they didn’t come out like the picture though. Do I flatten them before I bake them?
Hi! I would love to make these, but I definitely want a lemon-y flavor, would substituting the vanilla extract with lemon extract be too much?
Yum! Great tasty way to get rid of a lemon that’s about to go to waste. Simple and delish
Thank you soooooo much for this recipe! They were really good but I couldn’t find the lemon in them I could taste it before I put them in the oven but not after. I was really weird. By the way OMG I love you pictures, your soooooo good at it!!!
Hi, all. Thanks, Honey for the recipe. I used Meyer lemons as I had a bunch – nice flavor but should probably have used more pith to get some tartness.
Unlike others, my first 2 trays didn’t “fall”, but were crunchy. I diagnosed as too much top heat. (I do not like these modern top-heat only ovens.) So I moved them down to the bottom and watched them like a hawk. Took them out even though little browning. That did it.
Oh, for those of you worried about quantity, I used a scoop 1& 3/8” (3.4 cm) across, pretty well packed, and got about 5 dozen cookies.
Pretty good! They ended up spreading a lot more in the oven than I expected and ended up becoming weird cookie squares, but the taste was great! Delicious cookies with a little lemon to it. It wasn’t very tart, so if you’re looking for that maybe you could add extra lemon juice or substitute an egg for lemon juice, baking powder, and oil (I’ve heard that water, baking powder, and oil substitutes eggs fairly well).
Absolutely delicious! Super simple recipe, too. I’m not much of a baker but these were easy for me to make and my family went crazy for them! I like that they are a bit thinner but still soft and chewy. They had the perfect amount of lemon taste to me. I did add a little more juice because I didn’t add the exact amount of zest; so maybe that gave it more flavor? Will definitely save this recipe!
Really good but I found it to be too sweet for me and I put a little less than 2 cups too. Other than that, a winner.
This may be a silly question, but when you say 1 cup of butter, do you mean 1 cup of butter filled by the cubed butter? I ask because 1 stick of butter is 1/2 cup, but when cut in cubes it fills 1 cup.
Thanks in advance!
Amazing! These cookies are the best cookies I’ve ever made. The recipe make around 40 cookies. I measured about a heaping spoon full, rolled them into balls, and cooked them for around 11 minutes. They spread out a lot in the oven, so I spaced them out with 2 inches between each. If you want to make lemon cookies, these are the ones to choose.
Amazing! These cookies are the best cookies I’ve ever made. The recipe make around 40 cookies. I measured about a heaping spoon full, rolled them into balls, and cooked them for around 11 minutes. They spread out a lot in the oven, so I spaced them out with 2 inches between each. If you want to make lemon cookies, these are the ones to choose!
I’m not usually one for random reviews but this cookie recipe is truly something special.
I don’t like cookies too much and I’ve never made a good cookie but these were awesome and I would easily make them again.
The only thing I would change is the one cup of sugar to 3/4 (x2), I would also add more lemon and more zest but I tend to prefer more tart and sour flavours.
Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful thing 😄
these were so so tasty!! i made them with limes instead of lemons so they weren’t as strong as i would’ve liked but now i know why! the texture was nothing short of heavenly.
I made these for a Memorial Day picnic and I’m in love! I threw in a quarter cup of rainbow sprinkles to give them a funfetti look. Chewy, delicious, lemony. They were a big hit!
Yummy! I needed a non-chocolate cookie and this fit the bill: 3/4 of a batch made 2 1/2 dozen. I suggest baking until just barely browned around edges and then cooling on the cookie sheet. At 11 minutes they were still slightly raw on inside so I put them back in cooling oven for 2 minutes which also helped to melt the sparking sugar a little.
These were amazing!!! Can not believe how easy they were to bake! Will be keeping this recipe!
Hey there!
Technically still being a kid, or at least adolescent, I give these my seal of approval!
This recipe is great, I couldn’t stop licking my fingers while making the batter. Very easy and fun to make, and I’ll definately make them again. ❤️
So, they’re in the oven, and true to form, I can’t bake anything according to someone else’s recipe LOL. I doubled the juice & zest, added shredded coconut and made a 3rd of the flour almond. The batter tasted exactly like WF lemon coconut cookies (which I love, except they never bake them right). Keeping an eye on them…..<3 THANK YOU!
These turned out fantastic! My new favorite cookie completely. I added an extra half a tablespoon of lemon juice and a half a tablespoon extra of zest because I like a lemon flavor. It wasn’t overpowering, it’s just had a nice zing to it. I added some sugar crystals for topping, but I added it halfway through baking and gave it a nice sparkle tha didn’t brush off.
Yum! If I wanted to add fresh raspberries could I just gently fold them into the dough or what would be the best way?
My daughter made these but we didn’t have any lemon so we just made it a regular sugar cookie, normally I don’t care for sugar cookies unless they have a ton of sweet icing on them,,,, BUT they were sooooo good i can only imagine how good they are with lemon!! I told her how good the texture and chewiness in the middle is and crispy outside the edges, I sounded like good ole Mary Berry. This is going in my recipe book,, and probably won’t be the last from skimming through your others! Thanks!!
Made these yesterday and they were awesome! I did, however, modify a bit by adding 1/2-3/4 tablespoon of lemon extract after step 3 (I made the mistake of measuring over the bowl and the 1/2tbspn overflowed, so I can only estimate how much actually made it in lol). I also had some extra batter, so I grabbed a mini cupcake tin, filled the cups about halfway with batter, then smooshed a raspberry on to the top for a ‘thumbprint’-esque cookie. These needed an extra minute or two in the oven and the centers surrounding the raspberry stayed gooey 🙂
Next time I think I’ll add some toasted coconut flakes to the tops or a raspberry glaze… Thanks for the recipe!
I refrigerated my dough because it was feeling a but soft, maybe for about 10-20 mins. I ended up having to cook for 5-6 mins extra to get the dough to cook all the way.
Hi there. I am making these for a dairy-free friend. Do you think vegan butter will suffice? Thank you!
Hi Morgan! What a nice friend you are! I think it should work just fine. I haven’t tested this recipe will vegan butter but I would suggest making sure it is chilled and it should work out well. Good luck!
I need 6 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange. Will this recipe make that many?
I doubled the amount of lemon juice and zest and it still wasn’t that lemony. Can’t imagine the original recipe.
Thank you for the recipes! I tried a different cookie recipe, and it was a big hit!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but would it work if I used cookie cutters to create fun shapes? Or would it change the texture and chew too much from the original cookie (since I assume I’d have to roll out the dough and chill it first)?
I was looking for a simple lemon cookie recipe to make with my two year old daughter as we learn the alphabet. This one was an instant winner because the pictures are beautiful and look so appealing, and I had all the ingredients on hand! I followed the recipe completely and after reading the comments I decided to stick the dough in the fridge for about twenty minutes. For some reason it was still pretty sticky even after so I wonder if it had to do with my butter being too warm. Either way, it did not take away from how awesomely delicious these cookies were or how well they cooked up. Theyre soft and chewy with a little crisp and the perfect touch of lemon. Everyone in this house ate them so I can’t attest to how well they freeze but I would imagine they’d be just fine if stored properly. Thanks so much for sharing this!
These cookies are sooooo incredibly delicious! My baby loves them and so do I!
These look delicious. Have you ever used them with cut out cookies. Will they retain the shape?
Thanks so much. Great Blog!
Great recipe! I did double the lemon juice and added some of the lemon pulp. My girls love these cookies. Thanks
These looooooooook soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!! I am so excited to make these for a school bake sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is my new go to recipe. I have been experimenting with different citrus. I made these with ruby red grapefruit, and I think it is my new favorite flavor. Anytime it said lemon I read grapefruit. My work mates thought grapefruit cookies – odd, but once they bit into them – scrumptious.
So good! I blend the lemon after I get the zest and add it to the cookie dough. I shape them into a ball after putting them on the baking sheet. Thank you!
LOVE these! Simple and easy to make. I used a small teaspoon measure and got about 64 tiny cookies! I had to cook them for 12 minutes but my oven runs a bit cool. It’s literally taking all my self control to not go back to the cooling rack and pop yet another in my mouth right now…. ok nope can’t resist gotta go! Thanks again! 🙂
Fantastic recipe. I wanted a light lemon flavor and these came out perfectly. Your tip about whipping the butter and sugar thoroughly was helpful. I added some lemon zest with a tablespoon of sugat and rolled some of the dough balls in it to create an extra lemony sugar topping. Though my husband preferred the ones I made without that addition. I am going to make another batch this week trying it with some gluten free flour to send to my mother-in-law for mother’s day. Thanks.
Just took these out of oven and they are SO good. I mixed dough yesterday and left in fridge all night. Don’t have a cookie scoop so just rolled dough in hands. I have about 10 lemon trees so always in need of lemon recipes and this is a real keeper. Thank you.
My kids devoured this like they’ve never had a cookie before, LOL. I’m from Toronto, Canada and stumbled on your blog some time back. I’ve made the vanilla cupcakes and now these cookies. Both times my kids said it’s the best cupcakes and cookies they’ve ever had (and we have amazing bakers in our family). Thank you for making this mom feel like a baking hero to my kids!
Cookies are delicious! I didn’t change a thing and made 30 cookies. I don’t see a place to add a photo.
Love your recipes and this one was no exception! So delicious. I was wondering however, if you have tried to lessen the sugar? Perhaps instead of 2 full cups, could I use 1 1/4 cups? I want to make another batch and try, but with only two people in our house… we can’t eat that many cookies. Haha Thank you!