Enjoy every bite of these mouth-watering lemon crinkle cookies with bright and tangy lemon flavor, and a soft texture that melts in your mouth. These cookies are coated with granulated and confectioners’ sugar that create beautiful crinkles on top.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies are easy to prepare and perfect for lemon lovers!
Make Ahead Instructions
Cover the bowl with the unbaked dough with a plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days before baking.
Store Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Let them cool completely after baking. Then, place in an airtight container and store for up to 5 days at room temperature.
Variations and Substitutions:
- Use bottled lemon juice if you don’t have fresh lemons, but I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice because it has a brighter flavor and taste.
- Feel free to use limes or oranges to make your own citrus cookies. Optional, use orange or green food coloring to add color to your cookies.
- Add about 1 teaspoon of lemon extract if you want to get a stronger lemon flavor. You can also increase the amount of lemon zest.
How to Freeze Lemon Crinkle Cookies?
This lemon crinkle cookie dough is freezer-friendly. Prepare the dough according to the recipe instructions.
Let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Then, scoop the chilled dough and roll into 1 ½ inch balls. Arrange the cookies on a lined baking sheet.
Freeze until the cookies are firm. Then, transfer to a freezer-safe ziploc bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let the cookies thaw in the refrigerator before baking and rolling in sugars.
Tips for making the best Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Don’t skip the step of rolling the cookie balls in granulated sugar before rolling them in confectioners’ sugar. This prevents the confectioner’s sugar from dissolving.
- It’s important to use room temperature egg, egg yolk, and butter to achieve a soft and light texture.
- Feel free to make the cookies smaller or larger in size, but make sure to adjust the baking time. Bake until the edges set and the top cracked and puffed. The cookies should still be soft in the center.
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp lemon zest
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 drops yellow food coloring, optional
For rolling:
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar and lemon zest using a fork until combined. Add the softened butter. Using an eclectic mixer, beat on medium-high speed for about 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, egg yolk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and yellow food coloring until combined and smooth. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Beat on low speed just until combined and no big lumps of flour remain. Don’t overmix. The dough should be thick. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Scoop the chilled dough and roll into 1 ½ inch balls. Then, roll evenly into granulated sugar and confectioner’s sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes or until the edges are set and the top cracked and puffed. The cookies should still be soft in the center.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5-10 minutes. Then, transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions about Lemon Crinkle Cookies
1. How do I know when the lemon crinkle cookies are fully baked?
Lemon crinkle cookies should be fully baked after 12-14 minutes. The edges should be set and the top cracked and puffed. The cookies should still be soft in the center, but not jiggling.
2. Why are my cookies spreading too much?
The key step in this recipe is chilling the dough at least 4 hours before baking. This helps to firm up the dough and prevent the cookies from spreading. So, if you skip this step, your dough will be too warm and as a result your cookies will spread too much.
3. Why is my dough too sticky to roll into balls?
The dough should be sticky after you make it. That’s why you need to chill the dough in the refrigerator. As a result, you will have a firm dough that is easy to handle and roll out into balls.
4. Should I flatten the cookies before baking?
No, you shouldn’t flatten the cookies before baking. The balls will spread and puff during baking.
5. Why is my dough too wet to handle after chilling?
Adding too much lemon juice may be a reason why your dough is too wet after chilling. Try to add extra flour until you achieve a consistency that is easy to work with.
