These soft and chewy lemon cookies are drizzled with sweet citrus icing. Fresh lemon zest and lemon extract add a bright, tart flavor which brings balance to these sweet sugar cookies.
This is the perfect soft lemon cookie recipe. These cookies are one of my go-to crowd-pleasing treats! Everyone at your next gathering, family party, or wedding will love these lemon cookies - and probably ask you for the recipe!
This easy recipe creates irresistibly soft cookies with a bright, refreshing taste. Made with lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract - these sugar cookies are packed with zingy lemon flavor.
This cookie recipe is a popular option for cookie tables at weddings and parties. The small size is perfect for feeding a crowd and they stand out from other classic cookies like chocolate chip.
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For more unique cookie flavors, try these matcha white chocolate chip cookies or these coconut macaroon cookies.
Or enjoy a new take on a classic with these marble cookies and chewy espresso chocolate chip cookies.
The Best Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies!
If you love lemon desserts, you're going to swoon over these iced lemon sugar cookies. Soft in the center with a light crunch around the edges, they’re a refreshing treat that’s hard to resist.
This is an easy, one-bowl recipe that calls for simple ingredients.
How To Make Perfectly Chewy Iced Lemon Cookies:
Are you excited to make these perfect lemon cookies?! This recipe just has 5 simple steps from start to finish and soon you'll be able to take a bite into one of your chewy citrus sugar cookies drizzled with a bright, lemon icing.
- To start, beat softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. The butter should lighten in color after a few minutes.
- Next, add in the lemon zest, lemon extract, and one egg and beat to combine.
- Now it's time to mix in the dry ingredients. Rather than dirtying another bowl, I scoop my dry ingredients right into my mixer with the wet ingredients. But I have a special trick for this step! After adding the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into your mixing bowl, use a small spoon to stir the rising agents into the top of the mound of flour. This helps evenly distribute the baking powder and soda into the dry ingredients so your cookie dough comes out perfectly!
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto two lined baking sheets. Place dough balls about 2" apart and leave rounded. You should have about 24 small cookies.
- Bake your lemon cookies at 350°F for 10 minutes. Don't overbake or they won't be as soft. Let the cookies cool completely before drizzling with the sweet lemon glaze.
Super Lemon-y Icing:
A drizzle of this lemon icing is a requirement, not a suggestion. It's just too perfect! If you didn't think these chewy lemon cookies were packed with enough lemon flavor yet, then trust me when I say you're going to love this bright lemon glaze.
To make the lemon icing, whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Drizzle this delicious citrus glaze all over your perfect lemon cookies, the messier the better!
Everything You'll Need
For the cookie dough,
- Salted Butter: I always use salted butter because I love the combination of sweet and salty. You can also use unsalted butter if you'd like! Just add another pinch of salt.
- Granulated Sugar: We couldn't make a soft and chewy sugar cookie without any sugar! I use white sugar or cane sugar.
- Egg: You'll need one egg to form the cookie dough.
- Lemon Zest: Rinse and zest two lemons to enhance the citrus in this easy cookie recipe.
- Lemon Extract: This is the special ingredient that makes the lemon flavor pop in these chewy iced lemon cookies!
- All-Purpose Flour: (gluten-free if necessary) We prefer to use all-purpose flour to make light and fluffy cookies. Or you can use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These are the rising agents in our chewy iced lemon cookies.
- Salt: Always add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness.
For the lemon icing,
- Powdered Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Lemon Extract
- Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
Need to make a substitution?
No lemon extract?
Lemon extract is not an optional ingredient in this recipe. If you don't have lemon extract, add it to your next grocery list!
Gluten-free?
Substitute the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free flour, Bob's Red Mill has a good one. I have not tested this substitution.
If you make these chewy iced lemon cookies, be sure to tag #bakedabundance on Instagram. We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below and rate the recipe. We appreciate you!
PrintRecipe
Iced Lemon Sugar Cookies
These perfectly chewy iced lemon cookies are bursting with bright citrus flavor and topped with a sweet, tangy glaze. Soft in the center with a light crunch around the edges, they’re a refreshing treat that’s hard to resist.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Lemon Cookies:
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- zest of two lemons (avoid over-zesting, the white rind of a lemon is bitter)
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Lemon Icing:
- 2 cups powdered icing sugar
- juice of one lemon
- ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of lemon extract (optional, enhances lemon flavor)
- ⅛ teaspoon or a pinch of salt
Instructions
- Beat softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. The butter mixture will lighten in color after a few minutes.
- Next, add lemon zest, lemon extract, and egg and beat to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a bowl and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Don't overmix.
- Use a small cookie scoop to scoop the dough, placing each cookie dough ball about 2 inches apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets. This recipe makes about 24 small cookies.
- Bake the lemon cookies at 350°F for 10 minutes. Baked cookies will be light in color, with the faintest touch of a light golden brown color on the edges and bottoms. Let cookies cool completely.
- Whisk together the lemon icing ingredients and drizzle over cooled cookies. Let icing set before storing in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Rachel
This cookie was soooooo good! If you are obsessed with lemon like I am this cookie is for you! The cookie itself is so chewy and lemony and the icing gives the cookie the right amount of sweetness. My boyfriend and I have eaten half the batch in just 24 hours!
Marley
Awh thanks Rachel! I agree that the icing adds the perfect touch to these chewy lemon cookies. So glad you and your boyfriend devoured them, I would too!
Megan
These lemon cookies are to die for.... seriously I loved them!! Thank you Marley! I love your recipes and this is one of my new favorites. The lemon icing is so good. YUM!
Amy
These are the best!! I made them for a family wedding and everyone loved them. They are the perfect size for favors or a cookie table. I made 7x the original recipe and got 185 small wedding cookies!! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Marley Braunlich
Hey Amy, Wow! That is a lot of cookies. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and made these for a wedding! So fun!!
Ashley L
I think these look so good! Is it possible to make them with out the egg? I can’t eat eggs. I absolutely LOVE your eggless chocolate chip cookies and would love to expand.
Marley Braunlich
Hey Ashley, so glad to hear you love my eggless chocolate chip cookies. I have not tested this lemon cookie with an egg substitute. But I appreciate you sharing this comment with me. I will make sure to add an eggless lemon cookie to my list of recipes to create! Thank you. If you have any more eggless recipe requests, please let me know. 🙂