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Lemon Sugar Cookies
These are the most delicious, soft, and flavorful lemon sugar cookies you could hope to bake!
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Delicious and easy to make, this lemon sugar cookies recipe is baked from scratch to create a unique flavor. Our family is crazy about this old fashioned classic recipe. I personally think they’re the best — the soft and chewy texture with slightly crispy edges is hard to beat.
These chewy lemon sugar cookies are always a hit on cookie trays or for family gatherings. For all those lemon lovers, you have to try our other luscious lemon desserts such as our Lemon Lasagna, easy Lemon Poppy Seed Bread, White Chocolate Lemon Truffles or the crowd favorite, Lemon Cheesecake Bars.
LEMON SUGAR COOKIES INGREDIENTS
You will need:
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups sugar, divided into 1 ¼ cups and ¼ cup
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 egg
SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS
CITRUS: You could replace the flavor of lemon in this lemon sugar cookie recipe with other citrus flavors such as orange or lime. Just substitute orange or lime juice and orange or lime zest for the lemon equivalents.
HOW TO MAKE THIS LEMON SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE
STEP ONE: Start by whisking together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
STEP TWO: In a large bowl, with a hand mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, cream cheese, 1 ¼ cups sugar until it’s smooth and creamy. It should take about 1-2 minutes. Once mixed, you’ll add vanilla, lemon juice, and fresh lemon zest and then beat in one egg.
STEP THREE: Slowly add your flour mixture to the butter mixture, just a little at a time, until just combined.
PRO TIP: Do not over mix the batter. Over mixing can result in crumbly cookies.
STEP FOUR: Wrap the bowl with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
PRO TIP: Do not skip the chilling step, this is important to get the best texture for these delicious cookies.
STEP FIVE: Then preheat your oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
STEP SIX: Scoop dough into balls and roll dough in sugar until coated all over.
PRO TIP: You can use your hands to roll the dough into balls, but a cookie dough scoop will keep your hands clean and help to form the balls into a uniform size.
STEP SEVEN: Bake the lemon sugar cookies for 10 minutes, until the edges just start to brown.
STEP EIGHT: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes, and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
HOW TO SERVE
Serve these chewy lemon cookies for a delicious snack. Serve with one of our refreshing drinks such as our iced tea, raspberry iced tea, sweet peach iced tea, or our southern strawberry sweet tea on the side.
They make excellent treats for friends, coworkers, to take to a playdate or bake sale. I’m sure they’ll disappear quickly, so you might want to make a double batch of these cookies. Or triple!
STORAGE
ON THE COUNTER: Once the cookies are completely cooled, you can place them on a plate and then wrap them tightly with plastic wrap.
IN THE FREEZER: Once the cookies are completely cooled, wrap your cookies in plastic wrap and then place them inside a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. This lemon cookie recipe will last for up to three months in the freezer if properly stored.
The bright flavors of these lemon sugar cookies with a touch of sweetness thanks to the added sugar on the outside make for the perfect summertime cookie or treat for family and friends. Everyone will be asking for this perfect cookie recipe to make them for themselves!
FAQ
Can I use bottled lemon juice instead of real lemon?
Real lemon will give you the fresh lemon flavor but you can use bottled lemon juice instead in these lemony cookies.
Can I substitute lemon extract for lemon juice in these cookies?
Yes, you can substitute lemon extract for lemon juice. Since the lemon extract is far more concentrated than lemon juice, you will only need a couple of drops of the extract to replace the lemon juice.
Can I freeze these cookies?
You can freeze these cookies stored in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
Lemon Sugar Cookies
These are the most delicious, soft, and flavorful lemon sugar cookies you could hope to bake!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 24
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar divided into 1 ¼ cups and ¼ cup
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl
- In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, and 1 ¼ cups sugar until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes
- Mix in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest
- Beat in egg
- Slowly add flour mixture, mixing in a little at a time, until just combined
- Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Scoop sugar cookie dough into balls and roll in sugar until coated all over
- Bake cookies 10 minutes, until edges just start to brown
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
Taking the time to refrigerate the dough makes for easier rolling and a soft, delicious cookie.
Nutrition
Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 278IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
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Comments
Treena says
Wonderful flavor and extremely moist sugar cookie. Goes great paired with tea!
Jenny says
I love lemon desserts and sugar cookies and this combination sounds heavenly. Pinning & sharing. Thanks for partying at Merry Monday!
Toni Ayne Thomason says
Absolutley delicious. I cannot get enough of these. Prepare to make several batches. They will not last long.
Lori says
I really, really liked them! The video and written measurements are different so I used the written and hoped for the best. Didn’t disappoint!
Lauri says
Looks great ..but 2 sticks of butter is way too much for my family ..I know “butter makes it better” ..but ..may try cutting recipe in.half.
Shandi says
I made these once a loved them! Made them again last night but doubled the recipe. Was that my undoing? This batch turned out completely different. Taste was still great but they were not fluffy at all.
Layne Henderson says
How strange! I haven’t run into that before so perhaps this is one of those recipes to make in batches instead of doubling or tripling?
Cindy says
Is it better to use real lemon juice or is bottled ok?
Layne Kangas says
Real lemon juice will give you the best flavor, but bottled is ok 🙂 Enjoy!
Kate says
I made these tonight and they totally melted and spread into more of a giant flatbread than individual cookies….I followed the instructions exactly (with the exception of cooling them for about 2 hours instead of 1), so I’m puzzled about why this happened. Any ideas? Otherwise, the flatbread tasted great!
Layne Kangas says
How very strange, I am not sure!
Donna Hall says
I rolled these in red sugar and they turned out beautifully
Jennifer A Beeson says
I made these out of boredom and for what I had on hand during the current pandemic. They are amazing! Light and fluffy, I rolled them in pastel colored sugar for since it’s spring. The coarse sugar gave them a great coating. Definitely cheered my family up!
Layne Kangas says
What a lovely idea! ♥
Beth says
Do you use regular flour…the self rising?
Thanks
Beth
Layne Kangas says
Yes, I did!
Shelly says
The dough is so fabulous and not at all sweet before adding the rolled sugar, so you can control the amount you roll on before baking. I needed to add orange 🍊 peel seasoning To my mix bc I didn’t have very flavorful lemons in our yard.
Freda Sultana says
Just wondering if I can put lemon glaze on them?
Layne Kangas says
Sure! I bet that would be yummy. Enjoy 🙂
Priscilla says
These are the best cookies I have ever tasted. There are so many possibilities, I added some sesame seeds to a few, then I added some chia seeds (to cut the guilt) and then on half of the cookie I dipped in chocolate…it was all good!!
Cindy says
Sounds great,my husband and I like having a lemon cookie with our evening tea ,these looks great. I have to use gluten free flour I’m gluten free and soy free not by my wanting to be I have stomach allergies thx
CLS says
Is there something that can be used as a substitute for the cream cheese?
Layne Kangas says
I don’t think the cookies would turn out the same without cream cheese! 🙁
Brandy says
Can this dough be used to make cutout cookies like a traditional sugar cookie?
Layne Kangas says
I honestly haven’t tried to make it as cutouts yet, but I believe it should work ok!
Rian says
Hi. I was wondering can I substitute butter with vegetable oil?
Layne Kangas says
I believe you could, but I haven’t done it personally so I cannot tell you an exact amount. The typical rule of thumb is to use about 3/4 the amount of oil as the recipe calls for butter. Good luck!
morgan says
can the zest be omitted?
Layne Kangas says
Yes, if you’d prefer!
Samantha says
I don’t typically leave reviews however, these lemon sugar cookies are incredible! My family has devoured them! Thank you for the recipe, I’ll be making these again and again.
Tom Schaefer says
EXCELLENT!!!!
jay platte says
these are so yummy and easy to make! 5 stars!
Debi says
We have 7 people at home at the moment and as I took these cookies out of my oven I didn’t have time to take them off the tray ! They were gone in a flash ! My 30 yr old son loves the batter! Good thing they were right out of the chicken coop! Delicious!
Patricia Fernández says
Love this cookies, the recipe and instructions are great, no fail!
They disappeared in two days and I’m baking more tonight.
Is one of a few recipes that my whole family liked.
I was wondering if the dough will get sour if I left it overnight in the fridge without baking? Have you tried that?
Layne Kangas says
I haven’t tried leaving the dough, but if you do, please report back and let me know! 🙂 We gobble these up fast every time!
Ellen says
So I tried these again and they turned out great!
Amber says
Do I need to substitute anything if I leave out the cream cheese? I have a son with dairy allergy, but he can have butter.
Layne Kangas says
I haven’t tried making them without the cream cheese, I think it might change the consistency of the cookies if you leave it out!
Sue says
Do you have to press the balls down at all before you bake them?
Layne Kangas says
No, you don’t. Enjoy!
Cindy lofgren says
Can you substitute orange juice and orange zest fir the lemon?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Cindy, you can – but I think using orange is the yummiest option for this recipe. Enjoy! 🙂
Monet says
Can you cut this recipe in half to make 12 cookies?
Layne Kangas says
Sure! You could also bake the full recipe and freeze half for later. Enjoy! 🙂
Lianne says
I would like to make these as Christmas gifts, how long will they last?
Layne Kangas says
They’re good up to five days, so I would make them fairly soon before gifting. Merry Christmas! 🙂
rose coster says
an you roll these out and use cookie cutters to make different shapes?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Rose – I haven’t tried rolling this dough out. We do have these sugar cookies that you roll out and cut. Enjoy!
Debi says
I made these today. Well actually made them yesterday and left in the refrigerator overnight. Baked some today and froze the dough for later in the week. These will be my go to cookies! Very very flavorful. Now I did add more lemon peel double. And I added lemon extract. Probably a teaspoon. But these were soooo good. Soft but chewy around the edges. I will be making many of these.
Gloria says
Super delicious!