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Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Bursting with lemon flavor, lemon crinkle cookies will brighten any cookie platter. Soft crinkle cookies reveal their distinctive crinkle cracks as they bake.
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Soft, chewy, and bursting with lemon flavor, these lemon crinkle cookies will brighten any cookie platter. Delightful to eat, the cookies reveal their distinctive crinkle cracks as they bake.
MORE RECIPES: Lemon Brownies | Lemon Lasagna | Lemon Sugar Cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Light and refreshing, lemon crinkle cookies are not only a popular summer dessert, but they are like a ray of sunshine any time of the year. Cheerful lemon cookies stand out with their fresh citrus flavor and recognizable crackles appearing on the surface.
Simple to make, these fluffy cookies take just 15 minutes of prep time. To create the cracks on top of the cookie, the dough gets rolled in powdered sugar before it gets baked.
These sweet and tart cookies would be perfect to serve at a brunch or shower, take to a holiday cookie, or wrap up as a gift. Enjoy your cookies with a warm cup of coffee or a latte, or with a cold glass of milk.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies Ingredients
- Flour - all-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sugar - granulated sugar
- Butter - unsalted butter, softened
- Lemon juice - fresh lemon juice
- Lemon extract
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon - zest of one lemon
- Egg
- Yellow food coloring - yellow food color gel
- Sugar - powdered sugar
Don’t be afraid to be generous with the coating of powdered sugar on the outside of the cookie dough. The decorative “crinkle” happens as the cookies expand in the oven and the powdered sugar pulls apart to create a unique pattern.
While you want the cookies to spread some to create the pattern, you don’t want them to spread too much. Chilling the cookie dough for at least an hour will prevent them from spreading out too much while baking. The dough can also be refrigerated for up to 4 days before baking.
White chocolate chips are a sweet compliment to the tangy lemon flavor. Finely chopped pecans or walnuts also add a crunch to the lemon cookies. Try adding ½ cup of finely chopped nuts or white chocolate chips to your cookie recipe.
How to Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies
FIRST STEP: Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside.
SECOND STEP: Using either a stand mixer, or a medium-sized mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the butter and 1 cup granulated sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
THIRD STEP: Lower the mixer speed to medium, add the lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix for an additional 30 seconds.
FOURTH STEP: Keeping the mixer on medium, add the egg and mix until no more yellow streaks of egg are visible.
FIFTH STEP: Lower the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time. Mix just until the flour mixture is just combined, do not over mix the dough.
SIXTH STEP: Add the 4 - 5 drops of yellow food color gel. Mix just until the yellow is worked into the dough. Cover well, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
SEVENTH STEP: Just before you remove the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, set them aside.
EIGHTH STEP: Using a tablespoon cookie dough scoop, scoop out the cookie dough. Roll the dough into balls. Roll the dough balls 1st in the ¼ cup granulated sugar, then roll the dough balls in the powdered sugar. Space the dough balls 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, the edges should not be golden, and the center should appear to be not completely set. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.
What if I don’t have lemon extract?
If you don’t have lemon extract, you can double the lemon juice. You can also replace the lemon extract with 7-9 drops of lemon oil.
How do I make my cookies all the same size?
You can use your hands to roll the dough into balls, but using a cookie dough scoop will help to form the balls into a uniform size and keep your hands clean.
Can I use other citrus flavors?
You can make these cookies with other citrus flavors like lime or orange. Simply replace the lemon juice and zest with either lime juice and zest, or even orange juice/extract and zest if you want to try something different.
Can I make cookies ahead of time?
You could make the cookie dough ahead of time, roll them into balls, and freeze them right before the baking step. Thaw the cookie dough a few at a time and pop them in the oven when you are in the mood for a cookie or two.
How to Store Lemon Crinkle Cookies
ON THE COUNTER: Store leftover lemon crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Transfer the cookies carefully so that the sugar coating doesn’t rub off.
IN THE FREEZER: Place baked cookies in a single layer in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before serving.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Bursting with lemon flavor, lemon crinkle cookies will brighten any cookie platter. Soft crinkle cookies reveal their distinctive crinkle cracks as they bake.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 21 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour +½ teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar + ¼ cup for rolling cookie dough in before baking
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick, 113 grams)
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 4-5 drops yellow food color gel
- ½ cup powdered sugar for rolling cookie dough in before baking
Instructions
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside
- Using either a stand mixer, or a medium-sized mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the butter and 1 cup granulated sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Lower the mixer speed to medium, add the lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Mix for an additional 30 seconds.
- Keeping the mixer on medium, add the egg and mix until no more yellow streaks of egg are visible.
- Lower the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time. Mix just until the flour mixture is just combined, do not over mix the dough.
- Add the 4 - 5 drops of yellow food color gel. Mix just until the yellow is worked into the dough. Cover well, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Just before you remove the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, set them aside.
- Using a tablespoon cookie dough scoop, scoop out the cookie dough. Roll the dough into balls. Roll the dough balls 1st in the ¼ cup granulated sugar, then roll the dough balls in the powdered sugar. Space the dough balls 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, the edges should not be golden, and the center should appear to be not completely set. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.
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Nutrition
Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 146IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg
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