This Glazed Tart Lemon Cookies recipe is one of my favorites. Bright, tart and sweet with a classic soft and chewy crinkle texture, these lemon cookies taste like sunshine—light, tangy and utterly irresistible.
Everyone loved these tart lemony cookies! The crinkled tops are so pretty — I’ll be making another batch this weekend!
-Emily
Why This Recipe is the Best
If you love lemon, you want both real lemon flavor and a chewy cookie. Many lemon cookie recipes use only zest or end up cakey. This recipe balances fresh lemon zest and lemon juice with a tested ingredient ratio to deliver a tangy, chewy crinkle cookie every time. The technique—especially properly creaming the butter and sugar—creates that tender, chewy texture we love.
Try another summer favorite: Strawberries and Cream Cookies for a different bright flavor.
Key Ingredients
Below are the main ingredients for these cookies with a few quick tips for the best results.
- granulated sugar – Use regular granulated sugar for the right texture and flavor; brown sugar changes the texture and makes the cookie less bright.
- lemon zest and lemon juice – Zest provides intense lemon oil and aroma, while fresh lemon juice gives the bright tang. Fresh juice makes a noticeable difference versus concentrate.
How to Make Lemon Cookies
These photos and steps show the important stages and textures so you can match the results at home.
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Zest and juice your lemons—use a microplane for easy zesting and a juicer to get the most juice.
2. Cream the butter and sugar on high for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. This step helps create that tender, chewy crumb.
3. Add the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat on high for about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined—do not overmix.
4. Scoop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 9–11 minutes, until the tops look matte and the edges are set. Let the cookies rest on the sheet 5–15 minutes before transferring to a rack.
5. While the cookies cool, whisk the glaze by combining lemon juice and powdered sugar to a smooth, pourable consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies.
Helpful Hints
Fresh lemon juice offers the best bright flavor compared to concentrate. If you’re short on juice, a teaspoon or two of bottled lemon juice is fine, but fresh is preferred.
A microplane makes zesting easy and gives the finest texture. Use a citrus juicer to extract more juice than hand-squeezing.
Top Tip
Don’t overbake. The cookies are done when the tops are completely matte and the edges are set. Overbaking yields dry, crumbly cookies instead of soft, chewy ones.
Recipe
Tart Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Nicole
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- zest from one lemon
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Glaze
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½-2/3 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
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Zest and juice your lemon(s). You may need more than one lemon depending on juiciness.
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Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
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Cream butter and sugar with a mixer, then add vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and egg. Beat about 2 minutes until smooth.
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Stir in the dry ingredients slowly until just combined. The dough will be fairly wet.
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Drop scoops of dough (~1¼ inch diameter) onto the lined sheet. Bake 9–11 minutes until the tops are matte and edges set. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.
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Let cookies cool at least 10 minutes. Whisk powdered sugar with lemon juice (start with ½ cup powdered sugar) until you reach a drizzleable glaze.
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Spoon or drizzle the glaze over cooled cookies. No need for a precise pattern—the glaze adds a bright finish.
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Enjoy!
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Warm briefly in the microwave (around 8 seconds) if you prefer them softer.
Use a microplane for zest and a citrus juicer to get the most juice from each lemon.
Thoroughly creaming the butter and sugar is key for the best cookie texture—don’t rush this step.
Avoid overbaking. Cookies are finished when their tops are matte and the edges are just set; allow them to finish on the baking sheet for 5–10 minutes.
Nutrition
Storing and Freezing Lemon Cookies
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat briefly in the microwave for about 8 seconds to soften if desired.
These cookies and the dough freeze well. To freeze dough, form into balls and store in a freezer-safe container; thaw in the refrigerator before baking and then bake as directed.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few ways to change things up while keeping the lemony character:
- lemon juice – Fresh is best. If necessary, bottled lemon juice can substitute in small amounts, but the flavor won’t be as bright.
- Raspberry Lemon – Fold in ⅔ cup freeze-dried raspberries for a fruity twist.
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies – Add fresh blueberries for a cookie that tastes like a lemon-blueberry muffin in cookie form.
- Strawberry Lemon Cookies – Top the tart lemon cookie with a sweet-tart strawberry frosting for another summery option.
- We don’t recommend using lime juice for this recipe; testers preferred the lemon flavor.