Lemon sugar cookies recipe taste like you’ve taken a big bite out of summer! So fresh and delicious, it’ll become a favorite!
I always love bright, citrus flavors, especially in the summertime. Lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, I can’t seem to get enough of them! Add them to a cookie and you better believe I’m all about it!
I’ve been making this lemon version of my sugar cookie recipe for years and years and every time I take them to an event or to friends, I’m asked for the recipe and how to make them. They are packed full of so much lemon flavor!
So, if you love citrus flavors and sugar cookies, then this recipe is definitely one you are going to love! They are perfect for summer entertaining or enjoying with your family.
The secret really comes down to the lemon in the cookie and then rolling them in lemon sugar. It makes for the perfect citrus-y cookies in my opinion!
Here’s my Lemon Sugar Cookies recipe. I hope you love them!
Lemon Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups (297 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large (50 g) egg
- 2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons (24 g) lemon zest, 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) lemon juice, 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup (56 g) lemon sugar recipe , for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- Cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix until well-combined.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Allow to sit for about 3 minutes to allow lemon flavor to develop.
- Scoop cookie dough by the tablespoon full and roll into a ball.
- Add lemon sugar to a large bowl for rolling cookie dough in before baking. Place each ball of cookie dough into the bowl of lemon sugar and roll to coat well. Place cookie dough onto baking sheet, spacing about 1 1/2-inches to 2 inches apart. Lightly press each cookie down. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I made these cookies and now they are a must have in the kitchen. I add more lemon sugar on top of the cookies after I press them flat and yummm,you get a coating of lemon sugar on your lips.
I had a sudden desire to make citrus cookies, and you delivered. Didn’t have any lemons on hand, so I used Florida oranges instead. They were absolutely delicious, and I’m looking forward to trying this recipe again in the future with a different variety of citrus.
Cookies came out great. Highly recommend a lemon glaze with lemon juice from lemon uses to make the lemon sugar.
Tried these today. Came out AWESOME!!
I followed the recipe exactly but my dough came out too soft to roll in sugar. So i left it in the fridge overnight. This has happened to me a couple of times. What did i do wrong?
Theses were excellent! I chilled my dough for an hour. My family loves them. Thank you. This will be a repeat for sure!
My wife wants me to make these cookies for her – so I read through the comments first, and this post is crying out for some input/assistance from the OP. First, it says it’s a summer cookie, so we know upfront that it’ll be hot – then we add the heat from the oven, and the poor cookie dough doesn’t stand a chance. If you want/need to bake cookies in the summer (especially those based on creamed butter/shortening and sugar), it’s always good practice to immediately refrigerate the dough upon completing construction of the dough (the hotter the kitchen, the longer the cool-down). Then, proceed with recipe – that should remedy the ills of soft, sticky dough (wet your hands to roll them too).
Now, I’m going to make these beautiful cookies, and I will be refrigerating the dough!
Mine were flat too (but my batter was NOT runny, just sticky – which dipping your fingers in flour took care of) – but the flavor was good. Wondering if you add baking soda? I will try that next time – since they were no were near like the picture.
So – I made again… this time added 1 tsp of baking soda and 3 cups of flour. They now look like the picture and the taste is great. No more weird flat saucer cookies!
My batter also turned out prettty sticky. I ended up adding an extra two or three tablespoons of flour and freezing the already balled dough before baking it. The cookies aren’t the prettiest. They flattened out quite a bit and ran into each other and were hard to scrape off the sheet without breaking. However, I dont even mind how they look because they taste delicious. The edges taste like lemon drops and the inside is gooey and delicious. So I dont love the looks, but if you are going for taste these are delish!
I made these cookies last night for Easter. They came out perfect-and delicious! The dough was slightly sticky but no problem forming balls and rolling in the sugar. I didn’t roll half the batch in sugar; iced with lemon glaze this morning. Very very good both ways. I’m pretty sure my husband (who doesn’t like lemon) will eat them all before the guests even get here!
🙂 I hope you have at least one or two to share with your guests, but if not, hopefully your husband will enjoy them both ways! Happy Easter!
Hi. I think you need some baking soda and more flour. The first batch came out really flat and buttery so I added I teaspoon of soda and another cup of flour. The second batch turned out great, thank you!