Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Buttery and absolutely packed with lemon flavor, with the perfect balance of sweetness and lemony acidity.
Texture: Beautifully tender, with a soft shortbread-like consistency.
Ease: Crazy easy. No chill time required!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Easy, delicious cookies that are so pretty – especially when decorated with a little extra lemon zest.
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There’s something about Glazed Lemon Cookies that immediately puts a smile on your face.
Arizona is famous for its citrus, so I constantly see citrus baked goods everywhere. But often they lack a citrusy punch or are overly sweetened to compensate for the acidity.
So, when I went to work on this recipe, I wanted to make sure these Lemon Cookies weren’t too sweet and were packed with as much lemon flavor as possible. After all, lemon is one of my favorite dessert flavors (second only to chocolate!)
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These cookies are full of bright, beautiful lemon flavor. The lemon glaze adds a touch of sweetness, along with even more wonderful lemonyness. They’re an absolute joy to eat!
And, bonus: they’re crazy quick to make and don’t require a chill time, so they’re ready to serve in no time.
Add a platter of my easy Blondies or my pretty Raspberry Cream Sandwich Cookies and you’re ready for Mother’s Day, Easter, or any party!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Glazed Lemon Cookies
What is the Texture of These Lemon Cookies?
Glazed Lemon Cookies have soft, moist interiors with a slightly crisp exterior. These cookies are somewhere between my Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies and a shortbread in texture.
The glaze adds a little sweetness and a refreshing zip of lemon flavor that I just love. You can always enjoy these without the glaze, but I love the additional bright, citrusy-sweet layer the glaze gives these cookies.
Measure Your Flour Correctly!
If you add too much flour, you may end up with dense, hard cookies that don’t spread. I recommend using a digital scale, but if you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method.
The Lemons
I used two very large lemons for these cookies, plus an additional medium lemon to add the pretty zest to the tops. If you can only find smaller or medium-sized lemons, you will need more.
The Butter
Always use unsalted butter in baking. It’s important that your butter is at a cool room temperature. If your butter is too warm, your cookies can spread into thin puddles. Sticks of butter should give slightly when pressed but still hold their shape, about 67°F.
Parchment Paper vs. Silicone Baking
I typically prefer to use parchment paper. See my side-by-side experiments with parchment paper and silicone baking mats here! Whatever you do, never spray your baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or grease them any other way when baking cookies. This will lead to too much browning and spread (hello, burnt cookie puddles).
How to Get Bright, Fresh, Super Lemony Cookies:
- Don’t use bottled lemon juice. Some contain preservatives and the flavor just isn’t as fresh.
- Lemon extract? I don’t find it necessary. The zest in the cookies and the fresh juice in the glaze provide plenty of lemony flavor – but feel free to add a little to the glaze to taste if you prefer a super strong punch of lemon flavor.
- Food coloring? Some recipes include yellow food coloring, but I don’t think that’s necessary here. These cookies are bright and cheerful all on their own.
- Smooth glaze: For an ultra-smooth glaze, remove the pulp by straining the lemon juice with a small fine mesh strainer.
- Helpful tools: This is the juicer I love, and this is the zester I love.
- Tip: Be sure to zest your lemons before juicing.
Glazed Lemon Cookie FAQs
Do I Need to Refrigerate This Dough Before Baking?
No! Unlike many cookie recipes, these delicious Glazed Lemon Cookies can be baked right away – no waiting required. In testing, Team HTH found no improvements in the baked, finished cookies after a 24-hour refrigerated period – so bake and enjoy right away.
If you need to prep these cookies ahead of time, however, I have tips on that below.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Sure! Simply double all ingredients, no modifications needed.
Can I Halve This Recipe?
Halving this recipe is easy and works well, but you’ll need to also divide the egg in half. To do this, crack the egg into a small bowl and beat well. Let it settle, then measure out two tablespoons for the recipe.
Why No Vanilla in These Cookies?
Most cookie recipes will include vanilla extract. However, I don’t find it necessary here since the punchy lemon flavor will overpower the vanilla flavor anyway.
Try my Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies if you’re looking for soft sugar cookies where vanilla is the star flavor!
Can I Use A Different Citrus Instead?
Although we haven’t tried that ourselves, there’s no reason why orange, lime, or even grapefruit wouldn’t work in this recipe. Just note that it may take a little experimenting to get the flavor perfect, as other citrus fruits have differing levels of flavor, acidity, and sweetness, so it might not be a straight swap.
If you give another citrus a try yourself, let us know how it goes in the comments below!
Can I Make This Recipe Into Glazed Lemon Cookie Bars?
Yes, and they’re delish! Line an 8×8-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper. Press dough evenly into the pan. Bake for 23-25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the center is no longer wet. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from parchment paper to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled, use a spatula to evenly coat the cookie bars with glaze (use 2 tablespoons lemon juice + 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar for a thick glaze that sets perfectly), then garnish with extra lemon zest. Let set for 30 minutes before slicing.
Can I Make These Lemon Cookies Ahead of Time?
Yes! Although these cookies don’t require a chill period before baking, they can definitely be prepped and portioned ahead of time if needed.
Store the dough balls inside an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator before baking, cooling, and glazing.
How to Store Glazed Lemon Cookies?
Glazed Lemon Cookies store very well in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Be sure the glaze has completely dried before storing. If you live somewhere humid, you can place wax paper between each layer of cookies to prevent them from sticking to one another.
Can You Freeze Glazed Lemon Cookies?
I wouldn’t recommend freezing a glazed cookie. The glaze will seep or get sticky and tacky after freezing and thawing.
The portioned balls of dough can be stored in a zip-top bag or an airtight container for up to 2 months. Learn how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen here!
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Lemon Pound Cake (Starbucks copycat recipe!)
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars
- Strawberry Swirl Sugar Cookies
- See ALL my cookie recipes here!
Glazed Lemon Cookies
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Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 ¼ cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest, from about 3 medium lemons
- 1 large egg, at a cool room temperature
For the glaze:
- 1 ½ cups (189 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Additional lemon zest, to garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl at least once. Beat in egg until very well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl. On low speed, add the flour mixture and blend until just incorporated. Dough will be slightly dry.
- Using a medium spring-loaded cookie scoop, drop 1 ½-tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Roll each ball with your palms, then using your palm, gently flatten dough to about 1/3-inch thick.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are just set and slightly golden brown at the edges. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to cooking racks. Cool completely.
Make the glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice, a tablespoon at a time, until a very thick but pourable glaze forms. Spoon each cookie with the lemon glaze. Garnish with extra lemon zest, if desired. Let cookies sit until icing has set, at least 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2011 and updated in 2023 with new photos and recipe improvements. Photos by Joanie Simon.
I subbed out the lemon for grapefruit (the only citrus I had in the fridge), and they turned out great!
5 stars for the cookie texture and buttery flavor, but the lemon flavor was non-existent. Bummer because of the description saying how citrus cookies are usually lacking in lemon flavor and then this was too! The rest of the cookie was awesome.
Hi Lynn! I’m honestly surprised to hear that – we found that these truly packed a punch of flavor when we tested this recipe. Did you use fresh lemon juice and zest? Bottle juice just doesn’t bring as much flavor, unfortunately. Next time, feel free to add additional lemon zest, and you can even add a little lemon extract if you’re looking for even more lemon flavor!
These cookies are not complicated to make! My wife and friends love love them.
Very flavorful.. I just miss the weight measurements.. I will use Tessa’s chart next time I make these.
Hello! This recipe sounds delicious! Is this a cookie dough that could be frozen before baking like chocolate chip dough?
Hi Lauren! That should work! Check out our How to Freeze Cookie Dough article for more tips and instructions. Hope you enjoy your Lemon Cookies!
Hiii you mention baking powder and not soda may I know why?
Hi Grace! Baking powder and soda aren’t always used together in recipes, it really depends on what type of cookie and texture you’re trying to achieve! Check out our article about the difference between Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder. We wanted these cookies to be tender and soft 🙂 I hope that helps!
Delicious! Perfectly soft texture and melt-in-your-mouth glaze. So good!
Hooray!!
Dear Tessa,
the Lemon cookies were a success. I am glad to have found your recipes.
Cookies always put a smile on my face
It's not spring here but I think I'll make them anyway and just close my eyes when I eat them. They look really yummy. I love lemon cookies.
I love any dessert with lemon so these sound perfect!
So glad you liked the cookies! They are perfect for spring!