Lemon Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

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With over 1.5 million views and counting, this lemon sugar cookies recipe is one of the most popular cookie recipes on my website, and for good reason! These soft lemon sugar cookies can be made with one bowl, are thick, chewy and easy to freeze.

Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies

I spent a whole week baking lemon cookies. The first batch failed miserably. The cookies were paper thin and see through!!

The batches got better as I made small tweaks to the recipe. By the time I was happy with the recipe, I had made it 5 times – that’s about 2 dozen cookies per batch, or 120 cookies in total!

Ryan took a lot of those with him to work. He said a few coworkers asked him if we had an industrial sized oven!

Why This Recipe is the Best

Common pantry ingredients
Great recipe for beginngers
Chewy & soft cookies
Bright, fresh, real lemon flavor

This lemon cookie recipe is chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. And they are just puffy enough! And the lemon flavor is everything you’d want it to be in a cookie. The fresh lemon zest really gives them a bright lemon flavor.

They are one of my favorite lemon desserts to make with whenever we have fresh lemons.

They follow similar steps as classic sugar cookies where you cream butter and white sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the remaining wet ingredients, including plenty of lemon zest. Then add in the flour mixture and use a hand mixer to gently combine.

Roll into balls and bake on parchment paper or a silicone mat. They turn out to be the best chewy lemon cookies!

Lemon Cookie Ingredients

unsalted butter – adds flavor and and tender texture
granulated sugar – adds sweetness, flavor and encourages browning
lemon zest and lemon juice – adds that fresh lemon flavor
egg – binds the cookies together by providing structure
all purpose flour – flour is necessary to build structure in cookies
baking soda – helps to leaven and lift the dough, affects browning and flavor
salt – enhances the other flavors in the cookies

Where’s the extract?

You can add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you’d like a more intense lemon flavor (hello lemon lovers) add 1 teaspoon lemon extract.

Lemon Cookie Recipe Variations

I have made these cookies multiple times with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour with great success.

How to Make Lemon Cookies

Cream together. In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest together on medium speed.

2. Mix in. Add in the fresh lemon juice and egg, beat again until smooth.

3. Dry ingredients. Gently add in the dry ingredients, mixing on low or by hand just until combined.

4. Refrigerate. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

5. Scoop. Use a cookie scoop to form dough balls, roll the balls in sugar then place on a silicone mat lined baking sheet. Bake and Cool.

Time Required

10 minutes to make the cookie dough
30-60 minutes to chill the dough in the fridge
11-13 minutes to bake the cookies
15 minutes to cool the cookies

How to Store Lemon Sugar Cookies

Store lemon sugar cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.

How to Freeze Lemon Cookie Dough

Drop cookie dough balls onto a silicone mat lined baking sheet. You can place the dough balls close together since you won’t be baking them.

Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the cookies are frozen solid, about 1 hour.

Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a ziplock freezer bag. Label the bag with baking directions.

Freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.

To bake: remove the dough from the freezer. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Roll the balls in sugar and bake for 13-15 minutes. Frozen cookies may need to bake for 1-2 minutes longer than non frozen cookies.

Tips for Making Lemon Sugar Cookies

Properly measure the all purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method.
Use room temperature butter for easier creaming of the butter and sugar.
Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30-60 minutes. I’m telling you, this helps to make the best thick & chewy cookies!
Use a cookie scoop to form cookie dough balls.
Bake cookies on a silicone baking mat.

Our lemony cookies have a chewy texture that is to die for! They complement our soft sugar cookies really well.

Lemon Cookies Recipe FAQs

Why refrigerate cookie dough?

The King Arthur website explains, “Chillingcookie dough before bakingsolidifies the fat in the cookies. As thecookies bake, the fat in the chilledcookie doughtakes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the lesscookiesspread.”

Refrigerating the cookie dough will help produce cookies that are chewier and softer because they won’t spread as much.

But I get it. Sometimes I really dislike chilling dough. So here’s my suggestion – if you can fit it in, refrigerate the dough, even for 15 minutes.

If not, at least refrigerate the dough between baking batches. For example, if you can fit 8 cookies on one baking sheet, bake those and put the dough in the fridge while you’re waiting.

How do you make cookies moist and not dry?

It’s important to properly measure the flour to ensure the cookies are moist and not dry. Follow the sectionHow To Properly Measure Flour.Also be sure to bake the cookies for the proper amount of time. Over-baking will produce dry cookies.

Why do sugar cookies get hard?

Sugar cookies can become hard if they are over-baked. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven as soon as the cookies have set and developed a bit of color. We do not want the edges of the cookies to brown.

Should you refrigerate sugar cookie dough before baking?

This specific recipe does require that you refrigerate the cookie dough for 30-60 minutes before baking. Refrigerating the cookie dough will help produce cookies that are chewier and softer because they won’t spread as much.

What’s the difference between a sugar cookie and a regular cookie?

The main difference between a sugar cookie and a regular cookie lies in their ingredients and flavor profile. Sugar cookies are primarily made with a higher proportion of sugar and butter, resulting in a sweeter and more delicate taste. Regular cookies, on the other hand, have a more balanced combination of ingredients like sugar, butter, flour, eggs, and often include mix-ins like chocolate chips, oats, or nuts, leading to a broader range of flavors and textures.

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4.36 from 1128 ratings

Lemon Cookie Recipe

By: Beth

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 22 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 cookies

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Equipment

Ingredients

▢ 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 cup – 230 grams
▢ 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 300 grams
▢ 3 tbsp lemon zest
▢ 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
▢ 1 large egg
▢ 3 cups all purpose flour, 360 grams
▢ 1 tsp baking soda
▢ ¼ tsp salt
▢ ¼ cup sugar, for rolling cookies, 50 grams

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes.
Add in the lemon juice and egg, beat again to combine.
Gradually add in the flour, baking soda and salt, mixing by hand with a spatula until combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Place 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl for rolling the cookies.
Use a cookie scoop to form balls, rolling each ball into the sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the edges have a faint golden color.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Video

Notes

Refrigerating the cookie dough will help produce cookies that are chewier and thicker because they won’t spread as much. But I get it. Sometimes I really dislike chilling dough. So here’s my suggestion – if you can fit it in, refrigerate the dough, even for 15 minutes. If not, at least refrigerate the dough between baking batches. For example, if you can fit 8 cookies on one baking sheet, bake those and put the dough in the fridge while you’re waiting.

This recipe turned out great using gluten free flour too! We love King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour.

Nutrition

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About Beth

I believe that everyone should have a go-to dessert to bring to parties! With hundreds of recipes, I'll help you find yours!