*This post may contain affiliate links. As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases.

Homemade and simple is how we describe our lemon crinkle cookie recipe. We used fresh lemon juice and zest to create these adorable crinkle cookies!

I started making lemon crinkle cookies a few years ago. At first glance, Kim didn’t seem interested.

She prefers our soft sugar cookies. However, after one bite, she was hooked.

Now, we make them from time to time as a treat.

In fact, she wanted to share her adaptation of my lemon crinkle cookie recipe. While the recipes differ slightly, the outcome is very similar.

A soft and chewy lemon cookie that we both love.

Her cookies feature fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. As well as, the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

How do you make lemon crinkle cookies from scratch?

First, start by removing the butter from your fridge to let it soften. Honestly, it needs to sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

After that, when the butter has softened, place it and 3/4-cup of granulated sugar into a bowl.

Next, beat the ingredients together until the butter and sugar have, “creamed,” together.

Meaning, after 3 minutes (on medium speed) the mixture should be light and fluffy.

Now, add in a cracked egg, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, a tablespoon of lemon zest, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Continue beating the mixture on low speed until all the ingredients have been combined.

At this point, you can start adding the dry ingredients. Pour in 2 cups of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, and 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring.

• The food coloring is completely optional. Between you and me, if I were making this for my family, I would skip it. All it does is add a little yellow color to the finished product.

Once you have the dry ingredients and food coloring added, beat the mixture on low speed until all the ingredients are combined.

You don’t want to have any clumps of flour in the cookie dough. Otherwise, you’ll get a nasty surprise when you bite into the lemon crinkles.

Afterward, when lemon crinkle cookie dough is mixed, cover it and place it into your fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.

The butter needs time to harden before the next step. If not, your cookies will flatten out during the baking process.

Why are my crinkle cookies flat?

Typically, cookies bake up flat because the butter was too soft. This happens when softened butter is not re-chilled after being incorporated into the dough.

In other words, after you mix a cookie batter, it needs to go back into the fridge to chill and firm up before baking. If you skip this step, then your cookies will, “melt,” or flatten out when baked.

About 15 minutes before you remove the cookie dough from your fridge, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

Then, grab a small mixing bowl and add 1 cup of powdered sugar to the bowl. When dough has finished chilling, it’s time to dip the crinkle cookies.

Take a pinch of the dough (about 1 teaspoon) and quickly roll it into a ball. Dip the ball into the powdered sugar and place it on a sheet pan.

Make sure to leave enough room between each lemon crinkle cookie. At least 1-inch of space on each side. Use the photos above and below as references.

Continue the process until all the lemon crinkle cookie dough is gone.

Place the sheet pan into the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes. They won’t cook all the way through in the oven.

But, don’t worry, similar to our chewy M&M chocolate chip cookies, they’ll finish as they cool.

Once the lemon cookies finished baking, leave them on the sheet pan for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

That’s it, your lemon crinkle cookie recipe is done! Kim and I hope you enjoy this treat and wish you all the best 🙂

Looking for something a little different? Then try our chocolate chip loaf cake.

If you like this recipe, please leave us a comment and rate the recipe card. You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram searching for Berly’s Kitchen!

Join our Facebook group for more recipes from Berly’s Kitchen, our new site More Than Meat and Potatoes, and some of our blogger friends!

Share to Save The Recipe!