Lemon Crinkle Cookies
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 26, 2025 
If you love chocolate crinkle cookies, then you’ll go nuts over this citrus packed, soft pillowy Lemon Crinkle Cookies Recipe.
These Lemon Crinkle Cookies Are Bursting With Citrus Flavors
If you are looking for a simple, yet slightly unique holiday cookie recipe, today is your lucky day. Our Lemon Crinkle Cookies Recipe is an absolute winner!
Our Lemon Crinkle Cookies are moist and tender on the inside, with a pop of citrus flavor from fresh lemon juice and zest.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Pucker up because these zesty lemon crinkle cookies are truly irresistible!
Crinkle cookies are one of my all-time favorite holiday cookies, and this lemon version definitely stands out on any cookie platter.
Why You’ll Love These Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Eye-Catching – The decorative white crackly top contrasts beautifully with the yellow base of the cookie.
- Refreshing – Packed with bright citrus punch, these cookies are bursting with refreshing, zesty flavors.
- Soft and Chewy – These cookies have a softy and chewy center that just melt in your mouth!
The lemon cookies act as the perfect palate cleanser, and trust me, you’ve gotta try them!
Ingredients and Tips
- Butter – I use softened and unsalted butter because it blends easily with the sugar.
- Sugar – Use superfine cane sugar for the cookie dough and powdered sugar to create the “crinkle” crust.
- Yellow food coloring – This is optional, but I love that it gives the cookie that extra bright yellow color!
- Eggs – You’ll need large eggs at room temperature to bind and lift the dough.
- Lemon juice & zest – Use juicy, fresh lemons, and make sure to zest before squeezing to get that tangy lemon flavor.
- Vanilla extract – Use a high-quality vanilla extract for a deep rich flavor.
- Dry Ingredients – You’ll need a mix of all-purpose flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt and baking soda to create that fluffy interior.
Recipe Variations and Dietary Swaps
- White chocolate chips – Fold in some mini white chocolate chips for a creamy and sweet twist.
- Glaze – Instead of plain powdered sugar, create a glaze with lemon juice to top off the cookies.
- Poppy seeds – Mix poppy seeds into the cookie dough for a bakery-style lemon poppy seed version.
- Other citrus – Use any type of citrus fruit you like, instead of lemons, like limes, oranges and grapefruits.
- Gluten-free – Swap the all-purpose flour with gluten-free alternatives like almond flour and oat flour.
- Dairy-free – Use a dairy-free butter alternative.
- Egg-free – Replace the eggs with “flax egg” (1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water).
How To Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies
These Lemon Crinkle Cookies are a perfect surprise to brighten up your favorite holiday cookie platter! The best part is that they’re easy to make and no fancy tools are necessary.
Find the full Lemon Crinkle Cookies recipe with detailed instructions and storage tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t over-mix the batter – Over-mixing cookie batter once the flour is added to the mix can result in dense and tough cookies.
- Make sure to chill the dough – This dough needs to be chilled at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day to ensure the cookies don’t spread to much in the oven.
- Don’t over-bake -The cookies will look slightly underbaked but will set more on the baking sheet and on a cooling rack!
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Place your Lemon Crinkle Cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 6 days.
- Freezing Leftovers – Store the baked cookies in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving!
- Freezing Cookie Dough – Make the cookie dough into balls and place in a freezer bag. Don’t roll the dough in the powdered sugar before freezing! Once you’re ready to bake them, remove the cookie dough balls from the freezer, roll into the powdered sugar and then bake straight from frozen.
Serving Suggestions
These cookies are great to serve alongside your favorite iced tea or a coffee for a refreshing snack.
I also LOVE to turn these into ice cream sandwiches by layering a scoop of vanilla ice cream or sorbet in between two lemon crinkle cookies.
Especially if you make a gluten-free version of these cookies, they’re delicious to crumble up over some yogurt and berries.
Frequently Asked Questions
The crinkle in these crinkle cookies happens when the cookies spread and the powdered sugar separates into cracks. If your dough is too warm, or if your oven temperature is too low, the powdered sugar could simply melt into the dough without creating the crinkle effect!
If the cookie dough didn’t spread this could mean that there is too much flour in the dough, or that your oven temperature might be running too hot. Make sure to stir the flour, scoop or spoon it into the measuring cups, then level the cups. It’s also a good idea to use a hanging oven thermometer to test the accuracy of your oven. Most ovens offer a way to manually calibrate them to the accurate temperature, if they have become too hot or too cool over time. (Check YouTube for a video on your specific oven.)
The cookie dough is very soft and delicate. Therefore it’s messy to work with if not chilled, and will spread too much in the oven.
Chilling the dough makes the whole scooping and rolling process much easier. Plus, it makes the cookies puffy! You do not have to chill the dough. Yet, you will get better results if you do!
As mentioned above, the dough needs to be very cold when it goes into the oven so the cookies don’t spread too thin. If the dough was well-chilled and the cookies still spread, it might mean you mis-measured the flour and there is too little flour in the dough, so the fat ratio causes spreading.
Similar Recipes You Might Like
Lemon Crinkle Cookies Recipe + Video
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (stir, spoon into cup, and level)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2-5 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Turn on high to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Scrape the bowl again. Then on low, mix in 1 cup of flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and food coloring. Once combined mix in the remaining 2 cups of flour, just until smooth. (Do not overmix the dough!)
- Cover and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. (The longer you chill the dough the better for puffy cookies.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Once the dough has chilled, set out a small bowl of powdered sugar. Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls. Roll each ball in powdered sugar, then set on the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. (Make sure the cookies have a generous coating of powdered sugar. Do not shake them off.)
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, until the edges are just golden brown, and the center looks slightly underbaked. Cool on the baking sheets so the centers continue to bake as they cool.
These cookies have been enjoyed by everyone I’ve shared them with over the years! After being tasked with bringing a large dessert to an Easter gathering an hour away and stressing over the elaborate Easter dessert ideas online, I remembered that these delicious (and spring-colored) cookies would be an easy-to-make hit! Also, I’ve loved making these for Christmas when citrus fruits are truly in season.
Delicious ! Last summer I visited Roma Italy and I bought lemon sugar from a small boutique, I use it to roll the dought before rolling in powder sugar. Oh oh so good. I have to keep the leftover lemon sugar to bake an other batch. Thank you for the recipe !