Lemon Crinkle Cookies.
[This lemon crinkle cookies post is sponsored by Barnes & Noble! I’m so excited to partner with them to share My Cookie Story!]
Today we are finally talking lemon crinkle cookies!!
Watch the video on exactly how I make my lemon crinkle cookies!
You guys. It has been a YEAR since I first shared on Instagram that I was making lemon crinkle cookies. An entire year! I had just had Emilia, was doing some holiday baking and knew that a lemony cookie had to make the cut for our cookie trays. You guys freaked and I sent the recipe to many of you through DMs, but at that point, already had my content done through February and couldn’t add it to the list since Emilia was a newborn.
I considered posting it in January since it was peak citrus season, but cookies in January? I couldn’t get into it.
So here I am. Posting it a year later for you, finally!
I promise it is worth the wait. I mean – lemon crinkle cookies!
First, can we talk about how I am SO SO SO excited to be partnering with Barnes & Noble for this post?! As a huge book lover, my heart is overwhelmed. You’ve probably heard me talk over the years about how I am THAT person when I walk into a bookstore: the smell of books, the sight of books, the feeling I get when I walk into a bookstore is dreamy. Like I could stay there forever.
One of the other reasons I always get lost in Barnes & Noble is because of the adorable gifts, stationary and JOURNALS and… the toys! The pen and paper freak that I am just tends to go crazy. I usually get something for my mom every year and get my dad a B&N gift card – like clockwork.
But the toys? The toy section is fantastic. I find the most unique yet classic toys for the kids – things I can’t find other places.
It’s always a stop for my holiday shopping because you can get everything!
We’re chatting about cookies for a super fun reason. It’s so true that every cookie has a story – and Barnes & Noble is (literally!) full of stories. This year, Barnes & Noble is asking you to share your favorite cookie recipe and the story behind it. You can enter the My Cookie Story Contest until December 17th and win $5000, along with having a version of your cookie (!!!) sold at Barnes & Noble in the 2019 holiday season! How fun, right?! You can enter here.
Can we talk about how there is always a place for chocolate AND lemon? I need both in my life during the holiday season.
I need both in my life during the holiday season.
When I would do my big baking days with Mother Lovett, we actually didn’t make any lemon desserts, but we did make orange cookies. She was famous for her orange cookies and those were such a staple of her cookie boxes that I don’t think there was room for any other citrus.
And back then, it wasn’t like I wanted to eat citrus. Remember what a baby I was up until, oh, eight years ago? I didn’t have much interest in lemon desserts, but as I’ve gotten older, they are all I crave. They are super refreshing.
What Mother Lovett DID make was a killer lemon meringue pie – it was like she infused her love of lemon desserts in places other than cookies. But cookie baking was my THING with her. It was OUR thing. I wanted to take some of that lemon love and infuse it in my own lemon crinkle cookies!
As a kid, it wasn’t difficult for me to get over to her house for our baking day. My mom would drop me off and I’d help her the entire day. In high school, I’d go over after school or even on a Saturday to help. And after college, even when I worked, I would often take a half day or head over later after work (Mother Lovett was the original night owl) and we’d bake for hours. I loved that day, but didn’t realize how much I loved it until after she was gone, you know?
Most of you know that I took Mother Lovett’s chocolate crinkle recipe and used it for the Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies in The Pretty Dish. While those will always be in my cookie boxes every holiday season, these now will be too. I love that both cookies have a little piece of her story built in. They add the memory and fantastic flavor to the cookie tray.
Something different, unexpected, light and refreshing. Oh and DELICIOUS.
Here’s how it went down! I used my chewy lemon cookie as the base. While I’ve used Mother Lovett’s chocolate crinkle recipe for years, it’s not like chocolate can easily be transformed to lemon! You know? So I took matters into my own hands and used this classic that you guys have flipped over for years. The end result is SO good.
I highly suggest using the combo of lemon zest, extract and fresh juice if you can. It gives the perfect amount of lemon flavor. And when that lemon is paired with sugar, it is a TREAT. Oh my gosh yes it is. These have consistently been one of the biggest hits of the cookie box the last few years, and I’m so excited to share!
So remember! You can enter the contest here and they also have forms in store. Go go, get it, get it!
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the melted butter and whisk in the sugar until smooth. Add in the egg and egg yolk, mixing to combine, then whisk in vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir in dry ingredients, mixing until a dough forms. If needed, use your hands to bring together the dough. Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill a bowl with powdered sugar.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll it in the powdered sugar, coating completely. Place the balls on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are just set and the center isn’t jiggling. Let cool completely for serving!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Lemon crinkle loves.
135 Comments on “Lemon Crinkle Cookies.”
YAY! Well worth the wait for this recipe; and I love its connection to Mother Lovett.
thank you love!! xoxox
I love chocolate crinkle cookies and would like to try the lemon. Sounds yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I dont see the amont of sugar to blend with the butter…
thanks cindy!!! it’s 1 cup. :)
Can we discuss something, while you’re talking about chocolate and lemon cookies? I have watched every episode of Great British Bake Off an embarrassing number of times (can’t stop/won’t stop) and am flummoxed every time someone makes something that is both chocolate AND lemon. Chocolate and lemon do not go together. To borrow a phrase from Joey Tribiani: chocolate? good. lemon? good. Chocolate AND lemon? NO NO NO.
Perhaps when we struck a blow for freedom from King George, we lost our taste for chocolate and lemon? Am I the only one who wonders about this? Probably, but we can’t help how our brains work, I suppose.
Thanks for the Friends reference, lol! I agree!
hahahaha you kill me. i agree. i do NOT want them together!!
That’s interesting. I never think about chocolate and lemon, and can’t recall eating it. But I do love CHOCOLATE and ORANGE — I think it’s a wonderful paring.
Lindt chocolate used to make a lemon chocolate bar… Was my favorite candy bar until I couldn’t find it anymore
I feel like lemon is usualy forgotten this time of year, so I LOVE these!
me too! thanks abby!!
this looks AMAZING. Do you think i could substitute the melted butter with coconut oil (or a more flavourless oil?) to make it dairy free? Thanks!!
i haven’t personally tried it, but i think you can!! let me know how it works. :)
I tried it with equal sub of coconut oil instead of butter – turned out super moist and great! these cookies disappeared before the brownies on the dessert table!
Is it better to make the cookies ahead of time and thaw them when you want to eat them, or can you make the dough ahead of time and bake it when ready? I’m thinking the night before.. would they still turn out?
Do these freeze well? Was wandering if I could make them now and thaw cookies for trays late next week! I love lemon
Chocolate crinkle cookies freeze well so I am sure these do, too.
oh and yes chocolate crinkles do too!! i love ’em.
yep!! they do! i froze these when i made them for my holiday cookie box shoot and they were great. the powdered sugar stays on nicely!
Hi! Do you think it would work to freeze them after rolling and doing the powdered sugar but before baking? I usually do all my batches and flash freeze the raw cookie balls and then bake fresh before putting them out! Do you think that would work with these? Thank you!
i would wait to roll them until right before baking! you can do the whole flash freeze with the balls, but for these, take them out (no need to thaw), roll them in powdered sugar, put on the sheet and bake!
LOVE LOVE LOVE
thanks keri!
I love lemon anything! These cookies look so delicious and perfect for Christmas!
thank you natalie!!
hey girl- these cookies look amazing! Right up my alley!
thanks so much!! xo
Hi how long can I save lemon cookies?want to make ahead for cookie gifts.
you can make them now and freeze them! take out right before you’d like to gift!
Has anyone made these without the lemon extract? I want to make them ASAP and don’t have any of that around!
i made them once without the extract. they still taste good, but they are no where near as lemon-y! the extract really adds exactly what this cookie needs!
From the second I saw this post, I knew I had to make these ASAP. Prepped the dough last night and just pulled the first cookie sheet out of the oven. I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E. I think having the dough in the fridge over night really helped that lemon flavor marinate in the dough!
so glad you like them kay!!
xoxo
These are so cute! Can’t wait to try these myself xx Bry Jaimea | bryjaimea.com
thanks!
This sounds so yummmm!!! Can’t wait to try it. But I am wonderin’ if I could put on some glucose to make it chewy? I used to put glucose on my chocolate crinkles and my friends just love how chewy the crinkles are because of the glucose. I am not sure if it work the same with the lemon crinkles. Can I have your insight please? Thanks! ;)
I made these and brought them to work today- big hit! The only change I made was leaving out the lemon extract and adding in more lemon juice. For some reason I didn’t like the idea of adding in artificial flavoring, plus I didn’t have any lemon extract and since I don’t use it it felt silly to buy a bottle just for these cookies. But as for lemony flavored goodness, it definitely shined with just the lemon juice. Tasty!
so glad they were a hit!! xo
Do you bake at 325 convection setting? These are getting mixed up shortly 😀
i bake at 325 regular!
All I have is Meyer lemons in the fridge so I’ll be trying with those today! Can’t wait… live any form of lemon!
meyer lemons are the best!
Hi Jessica, love this!! Do You know the ingredients per grams? I’m from Holland :-)
Made these today for our annual Christmas cookie bake party and they’re SO good! For those making, a thought: I’m someone who loves a slightly underdone cookie, but these ones really don’t hold up well if they’re too underdone. My first batch I took out at 10 mins and they seemed ok, but kind of fell apart on the cooling rack. The second batch I did for just over 12 minutes and they were perfect and freaking delicious (and still moist, chewy, all the good things) Thank you, Jess!
thank you dana!!
My preschooler called these lemonade cookies! So good. They needed a full 12 minutes. Delicious!
so cute! thanks jenna!
I made these for an office cookie exchange and they were a big hit! I loved the fact I didn’t have to use a mixer. Highly recommend them!
so glad you liked them! YAY!
My cookies turned out pretty flat, not plump like yours. And the powdered sugar just like melted into them. I did chill them but let the dough sit for a little while because it was hard as a rock and I couldn’t scoop it out. I put saran wrap right on top of the dough too when I refrigerated it so I know the dough didn’t dry out. Any thoughts? This was my first time making a crinkle cookie. They don’t taste bad and I made them for a Christmas gift so I’m still going to give them bc I have no time to remake them, but they don’t look like yours at all.
hi holly – crinkles are definitely tricky if they dough is left to sit out. you really have to make them straight out of the fridge so they hold their shape! if you can’t scoop it, i would use your fingers and start grabbing pieces of dough to roll. that is what i do if i can’t scoop the dough. they have to be baked directly from the cold fridge!
My first batch was perfect. The second came out hard as rocks. What would affect the outcome? Not chilling long enough? I did bake four sheets this time. Maybe I overbaked to allow for extra cookies in the oven? Baking soda is the correct ingredient – not baking powder? My guests and I loved the first batch. I brought the second batch to a cookie exchange. Oh no!
Thank you! Merry Christmas.
I am currently doing a Whole60 so holiday baking my favorite flavor was a killer!! My stand in taster was my husband. He said these cookies were unbelievable!!! Fantastic lemon flavor. (Christmas Eve I get to try them)
Jessica, it’s three in the morning and I just took my fourth tray out of the oven. These are little 🍋 gems! So good! Bringing them to a holiday party tomorrow. So hard not to eat more then two…
I made 3 batches of these as my “Christmas cookies” this week to give to coworkers as gifts. Made them Monday, left them out in sealed trays, and gave them out on Friday. My coworkers loved them! Many requests for the recipe. Thank you!
Hi Jessica,
I would love too make these for Christmas but in Australia the measurements are different to the US a cup of fluid is 250 mil, spoons are differnt tsp 5mil Tbls 20mil, butter comes in 250/500gm blocks. Could you specify the measements by weight and fluid capacity please.
This would be helpful for the UK followers as well, many thanks Mel.
Hi, I made these during my holiday and whilst being off my diet and enjoyed them so much. I humbly ask if there’s any possible way these can be a Keto-fied. Low- carb – ified.
Pretty please?
Love, a lemon- crinkle-cookie addict
Can you use all lemon juice for the flavorings instead of the vanilla and lemon extract?
Made these for work and they were a hit! The only downside is that the powdered sugar gets everywhere, but it is totally worth it. Thanks for the recipe!
Made these today and they are fantastic! Followed the recipe exactly, except I chilled the dough for 5 hrs (just because that’s how my day went). Baked for 11 min, came out perfectly!
Oops I forgot to do a rating in my first post! Five stars!
Great recipe. Only change I would make is in the prep time to include the 2-4 hour fridge set time. I did not read past the ingredients and could not bake the night I preped the dough. Very yummy!
This is the one, this is the one I’ve been looking for. I made them today and it’s all there, the lemon, the chew, the sugaryness. This will be a remake, over and over again. Many thanks!
already commented and already rated……just wanted to add……if you roll the cookie balls in granulated sugar then in the icing sugar…..the icing sugar sticks better. I read this trick in another recipe and used it when I made these……I will do that again.
Wish I knew that about two hours ago. The powdered sugar all but disappeared when they baked. Will keep that in mind for the future since I’m sure I will make these again.
This sounds so yummmm!!! Can’t wait to try it. But I am wonderin’ if I could put on some glucose to make it chewy? I used to put glucose on my chocolate crinkles and my friends just love how chewy the crinkles are because of the glucose. I am not sure if it work the same with the lemon crinkles. Can I have your insight please? Thanks! ;)
These taste good but is it really 325? I had to bake for 5 mins extra (and my cookies came to 22 so not that they were super large) and still think they could have be in longer. Was it meant to be 375?
It’s a simple and delicious recipe! I used coconut flour and it gave it a hint of coconut with a smooth dough :)
Made these with Yuzu extract & half as much sugar for a delicate and more complicated flavor profile.
I also let the dough sit in the fridge overnight; and baked for 25 minutes on 325 to fully cook them.
Batch size was 18, and they baked into about 3 inch circles. Pretty delightful.
In the future I would love to experiment with coconut and lavender in this recipe.
THESE WERE A BIG HIT FOR MOTHERS DAY GIFTS & MY HUSBAND LOVED THEM TOO!
These are wonderful cookies: soft, not too sweet, light and lemony! Made them for a baby shower and gave leftovers away…everyone complimented them!
Yum, eating my first one now. Thank you. Will become familiar in my kitchen.
Hi, I don’t usually leave reviews but have to on this one. These are the most delicious and easy to make cookies. I made them for a pot luck along with the chocolate ones and they were the hit of the pot luck. Everyone raved about them. Thank you sooo much for such an awesome recipe that’s the hit where ever you take them. YUMMY is an understatement !!!!
I followed this recipe to the letter except I used completely cooled melted margarine & chilled it overnight. I was concerned when I did not have to use my hands to bring the dough together. The dough was sticky when I put it in the refrigerator but hoped it would set up more while chilling. Nope. Too sticky to roll into balls. I baked in a 9 x 13 pan after I sprinkle powered sugar over the top to turn into bars. We shall see if this worked once the pan cools.
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These were posted last year when I was studying for the bar exam and working full time so no time for Christmas baking but I knew had to make them this year for my annual cookie trays. Such perfect lemon flavor. Lemon is completely underrated for Christmas cookies but such a refreshing flavor against all the chocolate and spice. The powdered sugar disappeared while baking but saw the hint of first rolling in granulated sugar before the powdered sugar so will try that next time.
I made the dough a few days ago to keep chilled in the fridge and just rolled out tonight so great to split up the work/time.
Wow – I have never had a baking fail like this. I don’t know what I did wrong. I made the chocolate crinkle cookies from The Pretty Dish and they were perfect. I chilled these in the fridge for a little more than four hours. The first batch spread so badly that they just made one solid cookie! I put the second batch in the freezer for a bit and rolled them a little smaller. They didn’t spread quite as badly, but they were still flat. I didn’t make a third batch. They do taste good so it’s disappointing that they look so terrible. Was the butter supposed to be completely melted and cooled (that’s what I did) as opposed to softened?
So I made these and they taste great . ..but they didn’t look like crinkles – the powdered sugar disappeared- any ideas why?