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Glazed lemon cookies are packed with lemon zest and lemon juice in both the cookie dough and the glaze. These big, chewy cookies are the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
I don’t need to tell you about my love for lemon again, do I?
Whether it’s mini lemon cheesecakes, lemon poppy seed scones, or my favorite homemade lemon bars, if you put chocolate and lemon in front of me and ask me to choose, I’m most likely gonna pick the lemon every time.
So when I saw Sarah Rae Vargas make some big lemon cookies on her Instagram, I was in the kitchen almost immediately playing around with the recipe.
These glazed lemon cookies are big, chewy, and the best mixture of sweet and a bit tart. I can’t get enough of them!
How to make glazed lemon cookies
These cookies are big, like the type you might get at a bakery. But don’t let that fool you – they’re just as easy to make as any of my other drop cookie recipes!
Ingredients you’ll need
To make the lemon cookie dough, you will need:
- 1 cup room-temperature unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 heaping tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
The dough has tons of lemon zest and a little lemon juice in it. Using 2 full tablespoons of lemon zest helps that lemon flavor and aroma really come through after the cookies are baked.
This recipe also uses a mix of granulated sugar and a little bit of brown sugar for depth of flavor and a bit more chewiness.
The lemon glaze is a pretty important part of this glazed lemon cookie recipe. To make the glaze, you will need:
- 3 tablespoons melted and cooled unsalted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
If you’re keeping track, we will need just shy of 3 tablespoons total of lemon zest and 4 tablespoons total of lemon juice. You’ll probably need 3-4 large lemons to get the zest you need for this recipe.
And please make sure you’re actually using freshly squeezed lemon juice! It tastes so much better in these cookies than the bottled stuff. And since you’re zesting the lemons anyway, you may as well get some juice out of them.
Making this recipe
To make these glazed lemon cookies, start by beating the butter with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes.
In another bowl, use your fingertips to mix together the sugars and the lemon zest until well combined and fragrant. This helps infuse the flavor and aroma of the zest into every bite of these cookies.
Add the lemon sugar mixture to the butter and beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes. You want this mixture to be light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and the lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add this to the wet ingredients until just combined.
Use a large (3 tablespoon) cookie scoop to portion out the dough. I like to place all of the dough balls onto a large parchment-lined sheet pan – don’t worry about spacing them out yet, because they are going to go into the freezer first.
Freeze the dough balls for 30 minutes before baking. After freezing, place them on lined baking sheets with at least a few inches between each cookie.
I like to leave the remaining dough balls in the freezer while baking each batch.
Bake the cookies for 14-17 minutes, until the edges are very light golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies have cooled completely, get ready to glaze them.
Whisk the glaze ingredients together until smooth. If you want a thinner glaze, add a bit more lemon juice. For a thicker glaze, add a bit more powdered sugar.
Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze, shaking off the excess slightly before placing the cookies back onto the wire rack for the glaze to harden.
Helpful resources
- Before getting started, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly. This is a seemingly simple step that makes a big difference in how your glazed lemon cookies will turn out!
- This recipe uses the creaming method. Check out my post on how to cream butter and sugar to make sure you know what to look for when doing this.
- If you are out of brown sugar, make an easy brown sugar substitute with just 2 ingredients. You can also soften hardened brown sugar and save yourself a trip to the store.
- You can also make a powdered sugar substitute if you are out of powdered sugar for the glaze.
Storage tips
Store these glazed lemon cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
If the weather is particularly hot and humid, the glaze might soak into the cookies a bit after a day or two. They will still taste delicious, though!
You could also freeze these cookies. You can freeze the baked cookies before or after adding the lemon glaze.
Or try freezing the dough balls before baking! I have a whole post on how to freeze cookie dough that will walk you through the best way to freeze the lemon cookie dough portions to bake later.
Give these glazed lemon cookies a try. They’re bound to be a favorite for any lemon fan!
Glazed Lemon Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (we used Land O’ Lakes)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 heaping tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugars with the lemon zest and mix with your fingertips until the zest is fully incorporated into the sugars.
- Add the sugar mixture to the butter and mix on medium speed for an additional 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the vanilla and lemon juice and mix until incorporated.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined
- Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) to portion the dough. Place the portioned dough balls into the freezer for 30 minutes before baking.
- Remove the dough balls from the freezer and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, being sure to leave a couple of inches between each dough ball.
- Bake in preheated oven for 14-17 minutes, or until the edges are a very light golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat the process with remaining dough.
- Once the cookies are cooled, prepare the glaze by whisking together the melted butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. If the glaze is too thick, you can add more lemon juice, a little at a time to achieve a thinner glaze. Dip the cookies in the glaze, shake the excess off lightly and place the cookies back onto the wire rack for the glaze to harden.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family loved this!
recipe looks great …. I will try! A question … if measuring is so important, I’d find it really helpful to have weighted measurement info given for the recipe. Maybe I missed something?
TIA!