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These Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies are soft, perfectly chewy, and flavored with plenty of lemon zest and juice. Your family will love these bright sugar cookies!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made these Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies in the past 10 years, but it’s been a lot.
I originally posted this recipe in 2010 after finding it on Rock Recipes and after 10+ years, I thought it was time to share them again with new photos and updated text.
These Chewy Lemon Cookies are simple to make and bursting with lemon flavor, which in my opinion makes them the perfect cookie for summer!
WHY I LOVE THIS COOKIE RECIPE
I love citrus in my desserts and baked goods.
Whether it’s lemon in Lemon Blueberry Bread and No-Bake Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecakes, orange in Orange Scones and Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake, or lime in Key Lime Pie Bars and Key Lime Pie Ice Cream…I love it all.
And I really, really love my Chewy Lime Sugar Cookies. So you know I had to try the recipe with lemon instead of lime.
And these cookies are so good! I might still prefer the lime version…but I’ll probably need to try them both again to decide for sure. You know, for science.
Now I love basically every type of sugar cookie. Decorated sugar cookies? Soft sugar cookies? Sure!
But there’s really something special about a crinkly, chewy sugar cookie. Especially one that has a bright lemony flavor.
I also love that you don’t have to let the dough chill before baking, because sometimes I just want cookies right now.
I had to give most of these cookies to a friend in order not to eat them all myself.
HOW TO MAKE THESE LEMON SUGAR COOKIES
To make these chewy cookies, you’ll need:
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of one large lemon, finely grated or minced
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Yep, you’ll use the zest of a large lemon and ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice in these cookies. When we go for lemon flavor, we go hard.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl and set that aside.
Beat together the softened butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, then add in the egg, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Once the wet ingredients are well combined, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
No chilling required! I like to use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the dough, then roll the dough into balls and roll them in some more granulated sugar.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until they are just set in the center and barely golden.
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
CAN YOU FREEZE CHEWY LEMON SUGAR COOKIES?
I love freezing cookies. They’re one of the easiest baked goods to freeze.
If you want to freeze the dough before baking, check out my tutorial on how to freeze cookie dough. Just roll the dough balls in sugar just before baking, after you take them out of the freezer.
If you want to freeze the baked cookies, layer cooled cookies in a freezer-safe airtight container with parchment paper between the layers or place them in zip-top freezer bags.
Freeze for up to 3 months. They’ll thaw quickly at room temperature, so take them out a couple of hours before serving them at a party or grab a few whenever a cookie craving strikes.
Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Zest of one large lemon finely grated or minced
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup sugar for rolling cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
- Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
- Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
- Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is there a way to print the picture of the cookies along with the recipes? I need pictures as a visual not only while baking but for saving in my “good cookie” folder. :)
There isn’t at this time, but we’re working on it! Thanks for stopping by!
Jamie
i make these cookies atleast every other week if not every week for my husband’s work and for home or just because and they get eaten so fast i make a double batch every time and they dont last more than two days.needless to say my new fav cookie of all time
These cookies are so good and very easy to make. My family loved them. This recipe will go in my favorites recipe book. Thank You , Vicki
Vicki-
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for reporting back!
-Jamie
Made these tonight. Only thing I did different from recipe was to use 1 Teaspoon lemon extract instead of the vanilla. Used fresh lemon juice & lemon zest. Very little lemon flavor.
Tried using a mixture of powdered lemonade & granulated sugar – awful !
Don’t think I will make again. I was making for a birthday gift to send up North. Now I have to try another recipe.
These were AMAZING! I don’t bake often (or enough) and these lemon sugar cookies are the BEST sugar cookies I’ve ever had. They’re ridiculously delicious first out of the oven. I’ll be bringing them to a design meeting later on today. Can’t wait to share them with my co-workers!
Mine came out pretty flat too. I threw some of the rolled balls in the freezing before baking, and that seemed to help a little.
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you so much for stopping in to share :). Have a great day and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie
I made these with my 7 yr old nephew. He made this with my little help (holding the bowl) and the cookies were a hit. Everyone loved them and were surprised he made them. Thank you
Juliet-
That’s so sweet! I’m thrilled that you two enjoyed making the cookies and that they were a hit! Have a wonderful day and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie
Loved the Chewy Lemon Cookies. Mine did not brown at all. Which didn’t bother me. These might be tasty with a lemony cream cheese filling sandwiched in between!!
These look delicious! Do you have a variation for us chocoholics?
Hi Debbie,
I haven’t made a chocolate version. I’ll have to work on that.
– Jamie
These were seriously heaven in a bowl! I made the cookies according to directions, then (because I felt like living on the edge ;) I frosted them with pink lemonade frosting. ……holy cow! Now I want to go make some more!
I LOVED these sugar cookies! Mine did flatten a bit though, any suggestions? Also, I am looking for a good sugar cookie (plain) recipe. If I omit the lemon in this one, do you think it would work as a good plain sugar cookie recipe? Thanks for the amazing lemon recipe! LOVE them!