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!)
What Makes Cookies Chewy, Crisp, or Cakey?
My free guide reveals the ingredients and tweaks that matter.
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 fine sea 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
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This recipe was originally published in 2011 and updated in 2023 with new photos and recipe improvements. Photos by Joanie Simon.
I’m in the mood for these lemon cookies but only have lemon extract. Can I substitute the juice and zest for extract?
Hi Kira! We haven’t tried that, but the fresh lemon really does give these cookies a beautiful light, bright, fresh flavor – but feel free to experiment if you aren’t able to grab a fresh lemon. Let us know how it goes 🙂
Hi. I usually don’t comment on recipes I try from the internet, but this time, I felt I should. I didn’t have fresh lemon, so I used lemon extract, and the day I baked them, the flavor was bitter and tangy. I thought I had just wasted my time and ingredients. However, the next day and in the days following, they began to taste much better. I don’t know why. My husband and I actually enjoyed them. I really enjoyed the texture. I want to use this recipe again and substitute orange. This recipe is bookmarked so I can use it from now on.
So glad to hear that it worked out for you! Flavors often tend to mellow or intensify (depending on the flavor and the recipe) the next day, so I’m glad to hear that this worked so well for you. Orange works beautifully in these cookies, so I’m sure you’ll love them, too! Happy baking 🙂
I baked using an orange..they were good..but not as good as lemon
Very dry and crumbly, almost shortbread texture but have a very good flavor
Hi LC! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the flavor of these cookies – but the texture shouldn’t be dry or crumbly. It sounds like perhaps a little too much flour was added. How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe – resulting in things like dry, crumbly cookies. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time. I hope that helps, and I hope you’ll give these cookies another try – they really are delicious! Happy baking 🙂
Can I substitute lemon juice instead of the lemon zest?
Hi Liz! The lemon zest in this recipe gives these cookies a beautifully bright lemony flavor. Lemon juice doesn’t pack quite the same punch as fresh zest, and adding so much liquid to the dough will alter the texture of the dough and therefore change the taste and texture of the cookies. We recommend using a fresh lemon for both the zest and juice needed, for best results. Let us know what you think of these cookies once you have given them a try 🙂
I normally don’t like lemon desserts, but I made these for my family and really liked them! They are easy to make and the cookies are really delicious. Everybody loved them and the lemon is not to overpowering.
These were very, very good exactly as made according to the recipe (except I did not add the zest as I don’t care for it). Even my husband who isn’t very fond of lemon desserts said that they were quite tasty.
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Hi, I wanted to try making these for party favors and was just worried that the glaze would get messed up if I store them in cellophane bags. Do you think the glaze would hold up okay? Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth! This glaze sets up solid to the touch, but it is quite delicate. I don’t think I’d recommend stacking the cookies! A thinner layer of glaze (using more lemon juice) could work to help it set up more firmly, but it’d require a little bit of experimentation. These would make for gorgeous favors though, please let us know how it goes if you end up using our recipe!
I don’t know why, bug even after following the recipe exactly, using a scale, the same temperature for cooking and everything, my cookies became fragile and they brake when i touch them. The only thing i suppose i didn’t do right is maybe i scooped to much batter, i really don’t know. Do you think that if i ad more flower than shown, and let the batter rest for a bit, i could have a different result. I don’t think its the recipe‘s fault, perhaps the ingredients i use are different since i live in another country.
I’m sorry to hear you experienced issues with your cookies! Did you substitute any ingredients? What type of flour did you use, and is it possible you used too much? Typically if too much flour is added to cookies, they’ll become crumbly and dry. What type of butter did you use? Were your cookies under- or over-baked? Is it possible you missed adding an ingredient? It’s so hard to say what went wrong without baking right alongside you, but hopefully these questions will help pinpoint what went wrong so your next batch of cookies bakes perfectly! How did they taste?
follow the recipe to the tea it is absolutely perfect. absolutely perfect texture in the cookie and in the icing and the both combined please post more recipes
These lemon cookies are utterly delicious! I’m usually more of a chocolate fan for desserts, but I easily make an exception for these flavorful, easy, and beautiful cookies. I’ve made them at least 3 times, and they always get race reviews. Another hit!
Hi Tessa, made your chocolate chip cookies bakery style and loved them. I want to make this one and freeze the dough. can I have tips on thawing them before freezing?
Hi Esse! Check out the last item in the pink tip box (above the recipe) for freezing instructions, as well as a link to Tessa’s article about freezing cookie dough and baking from frozen! 🙂