Lemon Sugar Cookies
Perfectly soft and chewy lemon sugar cookies – bake up a delicious batch of summertime, any time of year! Made with 100% real lemon – no lemon cake mix or pudding necessary.
I always think of citrus as a winter flavor — clementines, meyer lemons, grapefruits. But regular lemons? Those are 100% summer. Nothing says summer like a big pitcher of lemonade (preferably this blueberry basil (bourbon) variety!), amiright?
(Okay, let’s be fair. I love lemon YEAR ROUND. But there’s something extra summery about it.)
Now that Memorial Day is behind us, we’ve hit the unofficial start of summer. You guys know how I feel about seasonal desserts – it’s time to pack up all the heavy chocolate and peanut butter and celebrate all things light, fresh, and fruity! Like these simple soft and chewy lemon sugar cookies.
(Actually, it appears I started my summer dessert celebration just a little early this year. I miiiiight have a little bit of a lemon problem right now. Lemon lavender bundt cake. Carrot cake with lemon cinnamon cream cheese frosting. French vanilla lemon blueberry scones. All in a four week period. And now, lemon sugar cookies. Spring… summer… whatever. Lemons are seasonless.)
I’m not a huge fan of plain sugar cookies. I always feel like they need a little something extra, like a boatload of sprinkles or, in this case, a double dose of lemon. These lemon sugar cookies use both lemon juice (freshly squeezed, please!) and lemon zest for a bright, lemony punch.
Cookies with Real Lemon
Here’s the thing about lemon desserts: there’s an awful lot of fake lemon involved in them. I am never one to bash shortcuts (no boxed cake mix scolding on this blog!), but fresh lemon is so easy to find. Why do so many lemon cookie recipes call for lemon cake mix or pudding or extract?
For these lemon sugar cookies, it’s nothing but real lemon: freshly squeezed lemon juice and some lemon zest baked right in. And then an extra little sprinkling of lemon zest on top, because: more lemon. Yes, please!
Make Ahead Lemon Sugar Cookies
One of the best things about these lemon sugar cookies? Make them ahead and have them whenever you want! The dough can be frozen unbaked (I like to roll it into balls first and freeze the balls, then thaw and bake) or the fully baked cookies can be frozen. Bake a double batch, store some cookies in a freezer-safe bag, and pull one (or many) out whenever the mood strikes.
Homemade cookies whenever you want them? I’m so in.
These lemon sugar cookies are begging to tag along for your next picnic, potluck, or pool party. But don’t think these are a summertime only treat – bring a little summer sunshine into your kitchen year round with a fresh batch of lemony cookies!
Love lemon? Don’t miss these other lemon desserts!
- Lemon Pie Bars
- Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Lemon Pie
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Lemon Lavender Bundt Cake
- All Lemon Recipes »
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Perfectly soft and chewy lemon sugar cookies – bake up a delicious batch of summertime, any time of year!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest, divided
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed. Beat until butter is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg. Add in 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until flour is fully incorporated and no dry streaks remain. Refrigerate dough for 1-2 hours, until chilled.
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick mat or parchment paper.
- Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into round balls. Space 3 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until tops of cookies are slightly puffy and bottoms are just barely starting to brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest. Let the cookies sit on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months. Remove frozen cookies from the container to thaw.
A Bunsen Burner Bakery Original Protocol
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 109Total Fat: 4.1gCarbohydrates: 16.6gSugar: 8.5gProtein: 1.3g
These look gorgeous and so bright and fresh! I am adding them to the menu for Henry’s birthday party next weekend. 🙂
They sound absolutely amazing! I’m obsessed with lemons lately 🙂
salted or unsalted butter?
Unsalted! For recipes that don’t specify, always use unsalted — it allows you to precisely control the amount of salt in a recipe. Different brands of salted butter have different salt contents.
Your recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and lemon zest but your instructions call for 1 tablespoon of each……which is it?
Hi Mary Ann,
One tablespoon of lemon zest goes into the cookie dough, the other tablespoon is sprinkled on top of the cookies after they bake. Both tablespoons of lemon juice go into the dough.
Love, love, love these!! Huge hit with my family.
I’m so glad you like them, Rosa!!
Love these! I’ve been putting a lemon glaze on top:)
A lemon glaze on top sounds delicious! Lemon is my favorite flavor for baking, so the more lemon flavor, the better!
Love these! I made a batch of these for my kids, and they loved these. They want me to make these again for their friends also.
Glad to hear you liked them, Jenny!