Lemon Crinkles
These thin and chewy and utterly irresistible lemon crinkle cookies are light and buttery and have tremendous fresh lemon flavor.
I had no idea what a sensation these lemon cookies were making around the internet (and what I subsequently was missing out on), until Bri, a sweet MKC follower, emailed me alerting that she had made them twice and was thoroughly in love.
When someone with good food taste recommends something and uses the term “in love,” well, you know you have no choice but to make the recipe. Sadly, it still took me weeks to get to them but when I did, I was wishing I had tried them ages ago!
Light and buttery with tremendous fresh lemon flavor, these cookies are thin and chewy and utterly irresistible. They remind me of a drop sugar cookie completely amped up with lemon zest and zeal.
The danger is that they are so tasty and refreshing that you think you can get away with eating, say, half a dozen. Let’s all repeat together: a cookie is a cookie is a cookie. So don’t blame me when you blow your no-cookie-eating New Year resolution on these babies. (And if you really did make such a goal, well, a) I think you are crazy while b) alternately admiring you and c) won’t tell a soul when you eat one or ten of these.)
Not only are these cookies perfect to eat just about any day and for any occasion, I think they would be particularly stellar amongst the lighter fare of a baby or bridal shower.
Deliciously appropriate when you need to serve a sweet treat and want something a bit…well, cutesie and bright.
And just so you know, despite the “cuteness” of these cookies, my not-so-concerned-about-cute-desserts husband still managed to down several of the cookies and didn’t feel a bit less manly because of it.
One Year Ago: Cowboy Dinner
Two Years Ago: Kitchen Tip: Menu Planning 101
Three Years Ago: Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Balls
Lemon Crinkles
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 1/2 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheets with silpat liners, parchment or lightly coat with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice and mix well, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the dry ingredients (except the powdered sugar) and mix until just combined. Place the powdered sugar on a large plate or shallow pie dish. Roll tablespoon-size balls of dough in the powdered sugar to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. The cookies will not be browned on the edges but they will have lost a bit of their shininess on top. Don’t overbake! Cool the cookies on a cooling rack and store in an airtight container or eat immediately.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Lauren’s Latest
These cookies are amazing. My sister tried them. She said it was wonderful to have such an awesome balance where you could taste the yumminess of the vanilla, lemon, and butter all at the same time. I agree. Completely scrumptious!!
Thanks! Think I’ll give it a try and will let you know.
I assume the dough will freeze well?
I haven’t frozen the dough for this particular recipe, but it should work fine.
Best cookies! I omit the powered sugar part and they’re still super tasty. I bake for 10 minutes total (rotating sheets halfway) then let cookies sit for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cookies won’t look done when they come straight out of the oven but they firm up while cooling.
These were wonderful! I only had two because I gave the rest to my pregnant niece. I haven’t heard from her if she liked them, but she’s like that. My husband, however, couldn’t stop saying yum while eating his. And he’s not much into sweets! Guess I’ll have to make some for him to take to work. Thanks for the recipe. Oh, and I didn’t have much lemon zest so I used lemon extract in place of the vanilla, as he said, yum.
I just made these and loved how they turned out! I liked how subtle the sweetness was and the lemon flavor was the perfect balance. Interestingly..I don’t exactly feel that guilty for eating like six of these cookies in one go… haha. Thanks for the recipe!
Thought these were made with Splenda?
I made these once for a piano recital, and people loved them so much I am now making these cookies for an open house. I am attempting to make them bite sized. Do you know if these cookies can be frozen?
Yes, they freeze well.
I came to your site (like always) for a lemon recipe for RS tonight. It is DELICIOUS and when I got up to leave and take the last plate of cookies for my boys a bunch of women jumped up to get a few more before I left. LOL. They are THAT good. Thanks for another winner! You rock.
I made these with lime instead of lemon. MMMMMMMM yummy good!
Oh my goodness! These are divine. I’ve been wanting to make these for a while and I was so pleased with the outcome. I am a lemon lover so I dripped a few drops of lemon juice on the top after baking-not sure if that’s against any rules, but it tasted so good! Also I used hard cocoanut oil and half butter, which I really liked.
Thank you so much for sharing!
A
Loved the Lemon Crinkle Cookies. Just a question as I have had the same problem with Chocolate Crackle cookies. My cookies don’t have much crackle. The sugar seems to get absorbed. Do I need to press the sugar in more? Is my dough too wet? We love your recipes Mel.
I know this is way past when you’re looking for answers, but if anyone else has this problem, try chilling the dough before rolling them in sugar. I do this when I’m making chocolate crinkle cookies. The dough is less sticky and cooler so the sugar doesn’t all absorb into the cookie.
Thanks Terry,
My brother-in-law walked in the door tonight and promptly inhaled 4 of them…
Jen, those look great!
Heres is the image URL:
https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1395919_700604589967816_555996654_n.jpg
Jen – those cookies are adorable! Talk about loaded with flavor…
Hi Mel,
It’s me again. So I decided to spend the day in the kitchen. Used your Lemon Crinkle recipe and substituted 1 tbsp orange juice concentrate for the lemon & lemon rind. Bake the cookies, allowed them to cool. Topped them with semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate, and Health brand English Toffee Bits. Outstanding!!!!
Thanks again for the website!!
Jen
PS I have a picture of them, but can’t seem to upload it – help…
Hi Mel,
This is the first time I have posted, but not the first time I have been on your site. The lemon crinkles are great. Although, (yes I am always tinkering with recipes) I beat the ingredients together, but saved the flour and hand stirred that into the batter. My Kitchen Aid Mixer has a tendency to over beat (too much power I guess). I also upped the oven temp 10 degrees and cut the bake time to 7-8 minutes, they turned out crunchy on the outside and wonderfully soft on the inside.
Thanks for the website!
Jen
Make these today! You and your site never fail me when I am looking for something delicious! They are the perfect summer cookie.
don’t know what I did wrong, but the dough was much too soft to roll – but tasty 🙂
I made these for a St. Patrick’s day party and did half lemon & half lime (and dyed them green for the party). They tasted great! This is one of my favorite recipes.
I made these today, but I won’t say how many I’ve already eaten. Delicious!
I had a chance to make these cookies and took them to my office for an afternoon snack. I almost didn’t want to take them but having them around the house would have been a bad idea. You really can’t just eat one of these…… By the way, have you ever tried this recipe with limes or yuzu or any other citrus fruits? I assume it would be just as good if not another great addition to anyone’s recipe collection. Thanks for another keeper!!
Hi Tyler – I’ve never tried this with anything other than lemons but I think limes would be delicious, too. Your coworkers are a lucky group!
I had some serious spreading going on, and I think I would definitely chill mine for a while before baking in the future. What was interesting to me was the almost complete lack of “crinkle” in my crinkle cookies. I’m not entirely sure what makes them look the way they do, but I guess I messed up somewhere.
I don’t care, though – these are some seriously tasty lemon cookies. Definitely making these bad boys again.
Damn!! These sound AMAZING!! I can already imagine the tart, tangy, sweet cookie in my mouth. DROOLING to try these out later in the week!! Thanks….you have no idea how much time I am wasting in the office scanning all of your recipes. One more recipe for the “must try” list.
If it weren’t almost bedtime I’d be making these right now. Today I bought lemons, and I also have the KAF lemon powder, so I guess these are meant to be! I’m in a senior living facility, so there are always plenty of folks ready to scarf cookies. However, if these are as good as everyone says, maybe I’ll keep them a secret!
These are so beautiful!
I only had limes on hand and they turned out so yummy! Oh, and I have a bag of KAF lemon concentrate powder – I mixed a tablespoon of the powder in with the powdered sugar. Wow. So lemony, citrusy, and delicious!
Guzi – I haven’t tried that. Sorry!
Hi, is it possible to reduce the amount of granulated sugar in this recipe?
A-MAZING! These are like a lemon bar, my favorite. While they’re awesome on their own- I made the unbelievable carrot cake for Easter and had some leftover cream cheese frosting so I spread a (generous) layer on one and wow! Takes them to WHOLE new level- you have to try it!
The cookies looked too tempting so I went ahead and baked them off anyway — what a treat! Also, I skimped a couple T of flour to thin ’em out as recommended to an earlier commenter — good call on your part, Mel.
Thanks for the reply — I had asked because earlier in the week I was making a Greek soup and learned about tempering an egg and just wanted to know if a similar technique was called for when baking.
Madeline – sorry for the delay in responding. It is normal for the batter to look a bit curdled after mixing the first few ingredients together. After adding the dry ingredients, it all comes together and works out. Hope you liked the cookies (if you stuck with it!).
Hey fellow Meyer Lemon Crinkle lovers,
Question from a novice baker: I added the vanilla, egg, and lemon zest + juice as called for in the recipe … but I’m looking at what I’ve got and concerned about a curdled egg. Any thoughts? I don’t want to add all my dry ingredients if this batch is going to be screwed, would rather cut my losses, throw it out, and start over.
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
I have been baking these for a couple of weeks now. Tonight I got brave and tried Splenda in place of granulated sugar. That’s the only change I’ve made from the original recipe and they turned out like biscuits. Didn’t flatten out, the batter isn’t very sweet or lemony. I’m hoping the lemon drizzle I put on them will redeem them. I even burnt the last batch (on parchment paper even). I’m perplexed. I tried cutting the baking time like the Splenda suggest, but it didn’t really do much.
I had the same problem as a couple of other people with the cookies not flattening out. Pressing the dough ball slightly with the back of a teaspoon did the trick! Yummy!!
These look fabulous! I also love the flavour combination of lemon and rosemary, so may experiment! thanks for sharing
Brett A – glad you liked the cookies! I don’t think overmixing would make a huge difference in the texture being cakey vs thinner and chewier. What altitude do you live at, out of curiosity? Just wondering if that would make a difference. I think pressing down on the dough balls slightly could help the cookies flatten, but you also might try decreasing the flour by a few tablespoons to see how that works out.
Mel – delicious as always.
Mine didnt turn out nearly as flat as yours, though. Should I flatten out the balls, or am I mixing the dry ingredients too much? Mine were just much more cakey than cookie. Still yummy though!
Hi, dear Mel!:)
I had made these DELICIOUS cookies and really didn’t expect that I would eat so many from the first batch. Would you believe………..8 of them?? LOL! I had no willpower to stop. The lemon taste was absolutely perfect!! So, not only did I make the first batch that was nearly gone, but I had to make them 3 more times. They were that DELICIOUS!!! Everyone raved about them!! Thank you so much!!!
I substituted 6 tbsp oil for the butter b/c of dairy allergies and these cookies were awesome! Thanks for all the great ideas.
wow! have been enjoying your yummy dishes brought to Dana!!! I feel like I have been eating at. a five star restaurant. you are my new favorite blog. thanks so much for taking care of my daughter and baby. d. b.
These cookies are single-handedly ruining my diet. I used a Meyer lemon. Oh. My. Goodness. I need an intervention Mel.
This are delicious. I have made them many times. Check out Laurens Latest and try her Peppermint ones. Same recipe but with candy canes added instead of lemon and they are EVEN BETTER!
Melanie – these cookies are on the thinner side so perhaps you didn’t do anything wrong! If they are flatter than normal, try chilling the cookie dough balls for 15-20 minutes before baking.
cant wait to try these, my mouth is watering…..
These just came out of the oven and I’ve already eaten 3 of them! They taste incredible, but half of mine seemed to flatten out too much. Any ideas on how to prevent this?
I made these yesterday and I agree with you: DOUBLE the zest and juice if you prefer a tart lemon flavor. Wonderful.
These cookies were AMAZING!!! Thanks for a great recipe!
made them and loved them! I was making them for a friend, but they were so yummy, I ended up eating almost the entire batch and had to made a second batch for a friend. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!!
Not at all, Katie – I think it’s a great idea, especially if you love a lot of lemon flavor!
My hubby and I just got some lemon extract and have been looking for a way to use it. These look amazing and I was thinking about subbing our lemon extract for the vanilla. Do you think it would make them too lemon-y?