{Recipe} Lemon Crinkle Cookies (2024)

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68 · Sep 7, 2011 · 47 Comments

Lemons are the quintessential summer fruit and though our summers are {hopefully} winding down to a dull burn, we can still enjoy the pleasures that this snappy little citrus provides.

Conjured into life by Lauren Brennan, these gently sweet, chewy and tender Lemon Crinkle Cookies are award winning, and you’ll know why the moment you take one bite and let the flavors dance on your tongue. Stirred up with zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice and rolled in a soft dusting of powdered sugar, they are the perfect punch for your lemon craving.

Here’s the recipe:

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

By Lauren Brennan

Makes 2-3 dozen (if you don’t get generous in your scooping)

Ingredients:

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Now, try to keep you kids from weedling you into giving them handfuls so they can have one little treat in their lunch boxes tomorrow. Good luck!

For another aaaaamazing lemon recipe from Christene you have to check out her Lemon Curd Cheesecake or if Chocolate and Peanutbutter are more your style you have to check out this recipe!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

trish says
September 7, 2011 at 4:34 am

YUM! This sounds good! I can’t wait to try it! Printing your recipe right…now!
Reply
susan@pocacosa says
September 7, 2011 at 7:07 am

yummilicious!
Reply
Shona says
September 7, 2011 at 7:54 am

Those sound amazing! We love anything with lemons. Your photo is gorgeous too! Thanks for sharing!
Reply
Emily says
September 7, 2011 at 7:59 am

Wow! Heather, these look so delicious and I love the styling in your photograph 🙂
Reply
Angi says
September 7, 2011 at 8:56 am

Yummy. Gotta try to make these. 🙂
Reply
Ellie G says
September 7, 2011 at 9:34 am

Ummm….yeah…I have a lemon recipe ready for this week! I LOVE lemon. Like, adore. I can’t wait to try these! Yummers!
Reply
Amanda says
September 7, 2011 at 9:53 am

Great lookin cookies!
Reply
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Jo-Anna says
September 7, 2011 at 11:03 am

Oh these look delish! And an amazing photo!!
Jo-Anna
Reply
Kim says
September 7, 2011 at 1:04 pm

Do you think I could leave out the lemon juice and zest and substitue almond extract? If so, how much would I add to keep the consistency of the cookies right?
Reply
- Christene {WhipperBerry} says
  September 7, 2011 at 8:12 pm
  
  Kim, you’d have to mess with it. There’s a whole Tablespoon of juice that you put in, so you might have to add milk. Let’s say 2 t. milk and 1 t. almond extract while omitting the zest entirely. Try it out. My dough was very soft. You could test out the moisture by adding a little milk at a time to be sure. Let me know how it turns out!
  Reply
Diane {Created by Diane} says
September 7, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Oh how I love lemon….and I do love the way they “pucker” up too 🙂 they look delicious.
Reply
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
September 7, 2011 at 5:33 pm

wow so pretty
Reply
Squash Blossom Babies says
September 7, 2011 at 6:12 pm

WOW! These look great! I want one!
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marla says
September 7, 2011 at 6:54 pm

Such sweet & pretty little cookies 🙂
Reply
Christene {WhipperBerry} says
September 7, 2011 at 8:14 pm

Thanks for the love, ladies! I hope you try and enjoy these sweet little gems!
Reply
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says
September 7, 2011 at 8:23 pm

Your photo is gorgeous! I love a good puckery lemon dessert. These cookies look delightful.
Reply
Beth R. says
September 8, 2011 at 1:48 pm

ohhh I’m going to have to try and make these gluten free.. they sound delicious!
Reply
- Heather says
  September 8, 2011 at 1:49 pm
  
  Let me know if you do! I would love to learn how…
  kisses
  heather
  Reply
Rachelle @ The Shabby Tulip says
September 12, 2011 at 10:36 pm

Oh goodness! I made these for a get together this evening and everyone RAVED about them! Wonderful recipe…definitely one for the book;)
Reply
Morsels of Life says
September 29, 2011 at 5:03 pm

These cookies look quite tasty – and pretty!
Reply
Toni says
January 9, 2012 at 10:00 am

How much of the baking soda?? Thanks!
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Sana says
January 9, 2012 at 5:17 pm

Hey there, I made these yummy cookies a while ago in Germany (where everybody loved them) using unsalted butter cause this is what’s normal for us. Now I am in the States and started wondering if you actually meant unsalted butter.
And is it really inportant to make a ball and roll it in the powdered sugar? Cause I had some troubles forming balls.
Reply
sweetsugarbelle says
January 20, 2012 at 11:00 pm

Happy birthday to me…literally. YOu posted on my birthday. HOW appropriate!
Reply
Lorraina Allen says
January 29, 2012 at 4:08 pm

Do you flatten them before baking or do they flatten themselves during baking?
Reply
- vg says
  February 15, 2012 at 6:29 am
  
  I made them last night, and just put them on the pan as balls. Mine didn’t flatten like these, they were more domed. So next time I’ll try flattening them a little.
  Reply
sarah says
March 3, 2012 at 1:40 pm

Just made these with Meyer lemons and they are freakin’ awesome! Definitely a keeper in my recipe book – thx!
Reply
Alyssa says
March 26, 2012 at 10:13 am

Hi!
I’d love it if you’d stop by and link these up to A Themed Bakers Sunday! The theme this week is anything Citrus!
Hope to see you there!
Cupcakeapothecary.blogspot.com
Reply
Liz says
May 26, 2012 at 11:17 pm

Amazing–made them exactly as the recipe stated and baked them for 8 minutes and they were perfect!
Reply
Sarah @ Miss Candiquik says
March 26, 2013 at 11:22 am

This is seriously my favorite cookie recipe…I could literally eat the entire batch. Made these several times now! Thanks Lauren & Heather!
Reply
- Heather says
  March 27, 2013 at 4:20 am
  
  Sarah- I’m so glad!! Thanks so much for sharing the love…
  kisses // heather
  Reply
Jennifer says
April 26, 2013 at 5:07 pm

YUM!!! I saw this today and went straight to my kitchen and made them for my grandma. She loves lemons!! She said I could leave out some sugar and make them more tart. 🙂 That's my grandma! The person who surprised me was my son. He does NOT like sour… and he loved them!! They are so soft and yummy! This recipe is going into my binder full of favorite recipes. Thank you for posting it!!!
Reply
- Heather says
  April 26, 2013 at 7:44 pm
  
  Oh Jennifer… I’m so excited that you liked them!! They are some of my favorites too!!
  kisses // heather
  Reply
Annie says
September 5, 2014 at 10:49 pm

Really great recipe! I’ve been wanting to try a lemon cookie recipe for a while so I finally made these for my 96 year old grandmother a few days ago. She fell in love with them instantly and Grandpa loves them too! I just made up another quadruple batch of dough for her to keep in the fridge so she can bake a few at a time when she feels like something sweet (the recipe as written is very small). They don’t flatten or crinkle for me though. I started flattening the balls before baking and they are turning out more like the photo but still puffed up in the middle and not crinkly. I also abandoned rolling them in the confectioners sugar (it takes too much time) and instead just dust them with it when they come out of the oven. I also found that baking them on parchment paper works great. You can reuse the paper several times and it makes it so easy for cooling. Just lift the paper with the cookies still on it off of the baking sheet and place the whole thing (paper and cookies) onto a cooling rack to cool. No need to transfer them one by one!
Reply
- Alexis says
  June 2, 2015 at 5:02 pm
  
  This was a great comment! I will try out the parchment paper- it seems very convenient. Also, do you think they would still turn out okay if I didn’t use powdered sugar at all?
  Reply
Haley says
December 13, 2014 at 10:22 am

These cookies are so cute and packed with great lemon flavor!
I was making a bunch of other cookies and had a lot of cream cheese frosting left over, so I just dumped a bunch of lemon juice in it and put it on the cookies and it was great!
Definitely a fun and easy recipe to hold on to!
Reply
some nerd says
September 15, 2015 at 3:08 pm

ok so i made these thrice and once i added fresh mint + like cut open a bag of moroccan mint tea and put it in there and then the second time i used fresh basil and the third time i used like english lavender that was really sick so i def reccomend that
also i had this idea to llike use orange stuff instead of lemon stuff and then throw some earl grey in there so maybe that wont be as good but pretty neat idk im gonna do it today
Reply
Annie says
February 14, 2018 at 10:03 am

Just wanted you to know these are my all time favorite cookies! Thanks so much for posting?
Reply
- Heather says
  February 14, 2018 at 7:21 pm
  
  Thanks so cool Annie! Thanks for sharing!!
  Reply
jannel says
May 12, 2018 at 9:15 am

Do you think these could be frozen after baked and cooled?
Reply
- Heather says
  May 14, 2018 at 1:23 pm
  
  I think they would work great that way. However, none have ever stayed around long enough to freeze 😉
  Reply
Ida says
January 8, 2019 at 9:59 pm

Just wondering about the amount of flour. Is it 1,5 cups of flour, or 0,5-1 cups? Can’t wait to try!
Reply

FAQs

Why aren t my crinkle cookies crinkling? ›

While we found that multiple factors can affect how quickly the top dries out and thus how many cracks are formed (including the temperature of the dough and how rapidly it spreads in the oven), a simple tweak turned out to be key to producing a maximum number of fissures: rolling the balls of dough in granulated sugar ...

Why didn't my crinkle cookies crack? ›

Why didn't my chocolate crinkle cookies crack? The most common reason for cookies that don't crack is either that the oven was not hot enough or the baking powder was expired.

Know More ›

Why didn't my crinkle cookies spread? ›

There are several possible reasons: if your dough is too cold, the cookies won't spread as much in the oven. If you chilled dough overnight, try setting it out at room temperature 20-30 minutes before rolling your dough.

Explore More ›

How do you make cookies soft instead of crunchy? ›

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

View Details ›

How do I make my cookies chewy instead of crunchy? ›

How To Make Cookies Chewy Without Cornstarch

Go heavy on brown sugar. It has more moisture than its granulated counterpart, which means the cookie comes out less crispy. ...
Choose margarine or shortening instead of butter. ...
Use baking powder instead of baking soda. ...
Rest your dough. ...
Shorten baking time.

May 14, 2023

Get More Info Here ›

How do you know when crinkle cookies are done? ›

Bake until the tops of the cookies are cracked and the edges are firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Learn More Now ›

How do you keep powdered sugar from melting on crinkle cookies? ›

How to Prevent the Powdered Sugar from Melting. The trick is to coat the dough with granulated sugar first, and then with powdered sugar. This way, the granulated sugar draws out moisture from the surface to create that crinkled exterior while the powdered sugar remains on top.

Get More Info ›

How do I get my cookies to crack? ›

The means that as the cookie expands, it starts to crack the dry surface. For this to happen, you need to dry the surface of the cookie by coating them in sugar, use sufficient leavening for the cookie to rise, and bake in a hot oven.

Why are my cookies not spreading enough? ›

Oven Is Not Hot Enough

Cookies spread while baking because the fats in the dough melt. If your oven isn't set to a high enough temperature, this won't happen. Make sure that your oven has preheated to the appropriate temperature before baking.

Why do my cookies never spread in the oven? ›

Your cookies won't properly spread if your oven temperature is too high; the edges of your cookies will cook faster than the middle before they have a chance to spread properly. To avoid this issue altogether, always double-check the temperature setting on your oven before beginning any cookie-making sessions.

Read On ›

What are crunchy cookies called? ›

Most English-speaking countries call crunchy cookies "biscuits", except for the United States and Canada, where "biscuit" refers to a type of quick bread. Chewier biscuits are sometimes called "cookies" even in the United Kingdom.

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Can I bake crinkles without parchment paper? ›

Yes, you can bake Chocolate Crinkle Cookies without parchment paper. Grease the baking sheet with cooking spray, oil, or butter. Don't overdo it because it can cause the cookies to spread out too much.

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Can you freeze cookies with powdered sugar on them? ›

You can freeze filled cookies, such as thumbprint cookies and cookies that are coated in powdered sugar, such as Mexican wedding cookies either after they are baked or freeze the cookie dough. If you're freezing the baked cookies, wait to fill them or roll in powdered sugar until you're ready to serve.

Read The Full Story ›

Why are my cookies not puffing up? ›

If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise. Moreover, butter that's warmer than room temperature melts in an instant in the oven, encouraging the dough to spread quickly with it.

Why have my cookies not flattened? ›

The most common culprit behind non-spreading cookies is too much flour. This may seem counterintuitive—after all, isn't flour a key ingredient in baking? Yes, but if you add too much flour, your cookies won't spread as they bake.

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Why do my cookies not stay crispy? ›

Summer, though welcomed for the sun and fun, also brings humidity that makes your cookies limp -- not so fun. Keep those cookies crisp by storing them in an airtight container. Some people toss a piece of bread in with the cookies to help absorb any excess moisture.

Why didn't my ginger snaps crinkle? ›

Possibly you are not getting enough leavening to cause the cookies to crack as they bake. The kind of fat used might also affect the way the cookies rise, not making them crack.

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