These Lemon Crinkle Cookies are pretty to look at and just as delicious to eat. Made with fresh lemon zest, and then tossed in powdered sugar that crinkles as they bake. They’re sweet, moist a little tangy and easy to make. The best part is, they’re made of simple ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard.
These pillowy lemon cookies would brighten any cookie platter. Include them in a cookie exchange, as a gift, make them for Easter, or any spring or summer gathering.
These addictive, soft, chewy lemon cookies are among my favorite treats. If you’re a fan of crinkle cookies, be sure to check out my recipe for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies as well.
WHAT IS A CRINKLE COOKIE?
It’s a basic cookie, but the dough gets rolled in powdered sugar before it gets baked. As the dough bakes, it flattens out and the surface cracks, exposing the dough under all that powdered sugar and leaving patches of white powder on the top. Crinkles! They’re so pretty.
Crinkle cookies were invented by Helen Fredell in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and later made popular by one of Betty Crocker’s early 1950’s publications, the Cookie Carnival.
WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE LEMON CRINKLE COOKIES
- These cookies are zesty and have a delicious lemony flavor that is not too strong.
- This recipe is easy to make with a few simple ingredients.
- These cookies are so pretty with their crinkly pattern.
- These cookies travel well and are great for potlucks.
- They’re delicious!
LEMON CRINKLE COOKIES INGREDIENTS
- All-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar– Rolling the cookies dough in the powdered sugar really highlights the crinkle look of the cookies as the cookies spread in the oven.
- Baking powder -Make sure it is fresh and not expired.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter to ensure the cookies are not too salty.
- Large eggs
- Fresh lemon zest – Using lemon zest adds a ton of lemon flavor to the crinkle cookies. You can add more if want stronger lemon flavor.
- Yellow food gel– just a few drops to brighten the yellow. This is completely optional.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON CRINKLE COOKIES
Step-by step instructions are in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick overview.
Zest the lemon. Combine the sifted flour, powdered sugar, baking powder. Then, whisk in the eggs, butter, lemon zest and the food coloring if using.
Stir all ingredients just until a dough forms. Chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, place powdered sugar in a small bowl. Scoop 1 teaspoon (about 20 g) of cookie dough; roll cookie dough between hands to get a nice round ball. Roll each ball, one at a time, in the powdered sugar until completely covered.
Place onto the prepared baking sheet about 2-inch apart as cookies will spread in oven.
Bake for 10-11 minutes. Do not over bake the cookies. Repeat the scooping, rolling and baking process with the remaining dough.
Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
EQUIPMENT
CRINKLE COOKIE RECIPE ADD-INS
Chunky Cookie Lover, feel free to add in white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, sprinkles or dried fruit.
FAQs
Do you have to chill the dough before baking?
Chilling helps made the rolling and dredging in powdered sugar easier. Plus, helps the dough puff in the oven, creating that beautiful crinkle effect.
Why don’t my cookies have crinkles?
This may be because you didn’t let the dough chill in the fridge for long enough. If the dough is not chilled properly, it will spread too quickly and you won’t get the signature crinkles.
HELPFUL TIPS
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
- An electric hand mixer makes quick work of mixing all ingredients. You can also do it by hand, but it requires a little more effort and time.
- Lemon zest is made from the outer yellow layer of the lemon. When zesting the lemon it is useful to have a lemon zester. Only use the yellow part. The white part is bitter and would not be an asset to the cookies.
- Always stir the flour before measuring. This can make a big difference in the outcome of the cookies. Compact flour makes a dry cookie.
- You want to work quickly when rolling the cookies dough and coating it with powdered sugar, so the dough doesn’t get too warm before baking.
- The cookies will be light in color, do not over bake these if you want chewy and soft cookies on the inside.
- Pretty yellow cookies. For the prettiest cookies, add a few drops of quality food coloring and roll very generously in powdered sugar before baking.
STORING
ON THE COUNTER: Store any leftover lemon crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
IN THE FREEZER: The baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container, in a single layer, for up to 3 months. NOTE: Freezing baked cookies can cause some of the powdered sugar to get moist and then the pretty, crinkly pattern won’t be as visible. That said, they still maintain most of their pattern and are just as delicious.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake
- Kolachkes
- Raspberry Coconut Linzer Cookies
- Easter Bunny Cookies
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE AND LOVE IT?
If you try this Lemon Crinkle Cookies recipe please rate the recipe and leave comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram. For more delicious recipes ideas follow me on Pinterest. Don’t forget to sign up for my email list t00!
Happy Baking! -A
The nutritional and calories information shown is an estimated provided by an online nutrition calculator. It does not assert or suggest that readers should or should not count calories, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s or doctor’s counselling.
LEMON CRINKLE COOKIES
Equipment
- Microplane Grater
- Parchment paper
- 1 Teaspoon Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 210 g all-purpose flour sifted
- 180 g powder sugar
- 4 g baking powder
- 60 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup lemon zest (about 4 lemons)
- 2-3 drops of yellow food gel optional
- 50 g powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sifted flour, powdered sugar, baking powder. Add the eggs, butter, lemon zest and mix to combine into a thick dough (You can either do this by hand or use a electric hand whisk or stand mixer with a paddle attachment). If using, add enough yellow food gel to reach desired shade and mix until combined.
- The dough will be very soft and sticky; do not add any more flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place powdered sugar in a small bowl. Scoop 1 teaspoon (about 20 g) of cookie dough; roll cookie dough between hands to get a nice round ball. Roll each ball, one at a time, in the powdered sugar until completely covered.
- Place onto the prepared baking sheet about 2-inch apart as cookies will spread in oven. Repeat the steps with the remaining cookie dough.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes. Do not over bake the cookies. They will have puffed up and will have a crackle on top.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will be very soft, but will firm up as they cool.
- Cookies stay fresh, kept in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze.
Notes
- Chilling the dough: The dough is chilled because it is quite sticky, after cooling it, it is much easier to scoop and roll in the powdered sugar without getting dough all over your hands. If it does start to stick to your hands, coating your hands in powdered sugar should help prevent this.
- Vivid yellow colour: If you want a vivid yellow colour, use a few drop of food gel. If you want a natural colour, use ground turmeric ( 1 tsp of turmeric or 2 drops of yellow food gel.) Both ways work perfect.
- Evenly sized cookies: To get evenly sized cookies, weight out the dough using a set of kitchen scales to 20g per cookie before rolling into balls.
- Crackly look: It’s best to coat the cookies excessively in powdered sugar before baking as the sugar tends to melt into the cookies. If you want the crackly look you need to coat them excessively so it doesn’t all melt away.
- Cookies Will continue to harden after baking: Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely before transferring. Cookies will harden within a few hours to overnight.
- Spoon & sweep method. Use a spoon to fill measuring cup with flour until required amount is obtained. Scooping measuring cup directly into flour bag will firmly pack flour resulting in too much flour required for recipe.