I love these Lemon Crinkle Cookies and have been making them for over a decade. They somehow manage to be light and fresh and at the same time ooey gooey and rich. They are ultra soft and tender and perfectly under baked. The best part of all is that they are SUPER lemon-y. I do not mess around when it comes to lemon desserts! These hit all the right notes. Originally published February 8, 2012.

Close-up of a lemon crinkle cookie covered in powdered sugar, with a cracked surface and a bright yellow color. Blurred lemon slices and more cookies are visible in the background.

HI GUYS! Happy January 75th. Have you started and already dropped your January diet? Resolved to be incredibly organized and on-top-of-life, but instead got the flu? I feel like 2026 hasn’t even started over here!! I am brightening up January with some zesty lemon cookies! Sure to cheer up these dreary days.

Okay, roll call, who’s been here since 2 0 1 2 ? ? I’ve been here sharing recipes on The Food Charlatan since 2011, so these cookies went up on the blog just a few months after starting. Want evidence?

That’s right. This lemon sandwich cookie was made in my apartment kitchen, carefully placed on a yellow button up shirt that I pulled from my closet, and artfully shot with a pile of whole lemons in the background.

Do you see the grease on the shirt? I probably never got it out… (Pretty sure I only started spot treating laundry stains like, 5 years ago??) Oh, Karen!!

This photo of the sandwich went viral on Facebook and brought me a lot of traffic back in the day. There is something about it that just speaks to people, stained yellow shirt and all 😂

I’ve reworked the cookie recipe to be even better. It’s fudgy, it’s chewy, it’s lemony to the max. And you can still make it as a sandwich cookie! The frosting recipe is in the notes. I usually eat them plain as-is. They are totally an amazing stand alone cookie, no frosting needed. (But. You know. Over-The-Top is my middle name.)

My favorite lemon cookies EVER

When searching for the best of any lemon dessert, I don’t want hint-of-lemon. I don’t want lemon-truck-passing-by lemon, or low-battery lemon. I want LEMONY-LEMON, pucker your mouth lemon, all the zest packed in lemon.

So when I set out to make a lemon cookie, I wanted to have it all. Intense, puckery lemon flavor, but in the form of an ooey gooey, fudgy cookie.

  • The texture is spot on! These are NOT cake-y cookies. They are chewy and soft and tender, just like the center of a Snickerdoodle. They don’t have the overwhelmingness of a chocolate chip cookie (because hello, there is no chocolate) but they DO have rich, fudgy centers. There are a few tricks you need to know to get this texture, namely melting the butter, and using the spoon trick after the cookies are baked!
  • Lemon flavor that will punch you in the face, or at least the taste buds. When it comes to citrus I am definitely a go big or go home kind of gal.
  • Homemade wins every time! You can definitely make similar crinkle cookies using a box of lemon cake mix. But this totally from scratch recipe isn’t much harder to make, and the results are about 100x better.
  • One bowl. This recipe is all made in one bowl, no stand mixer required!
A close-up of soft, lemon crinkle cookies dusted with powdered sugar. One cookie is broken in half, showing its moist, yellow interior, with more cookies and lemon slices in the background.

The secret to make these cookies fudgy:

  • Embrace the tiny: don’t make these cookies too big. Too big, and they won’t “crinkle.” The powdered sugar gets too spread out in the oven and they end up looking wonky. WONKY, I SAY!
  • Use the spoon trick. This is a method where you take them out of the oven and then immediately use two spoons (or your fingers, or whatever) to SMOOSH the cookies in toward the center. This is essential for avoiding a flattened out, overly-crisp-on-the-edges cookie. And it gives you ultra tall, fudgy cookie centers. I use this method on almost every cookie that comes out of my kitchen, but especially Chocolate Chip Cookies and Snickerdoodles.
A soft, yellow cookie dusted with powdered sugar and a few lemon zest flakes, shown in close-up with a bite taken out of it. The background is blurred, highlighting the cookies texture.

How to get the cookies to “crinkle”

The secret to getting the powdered sugar to show up and ACTUALLY CRINKLE is something that I spent a super long time testing (part of the reason I have 10 billion of these cookies in my freezer right now 😂)

I tried the trick where people roll them in granulated sugar first, THEN powdered sugar (nope, did not work at all), I tried sifting the powdered sugar (it does help but doesn’t solve the problem), I tried rolling an extra long time, and so many other things.

The ONLY thing that worked consistently for me was double rolling the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar. So you shape the dough into a ball, roll it in powdered sugar, then chill for 5-10 minutes, then take them out and roll in powdered sugar a second time. When I did it this way, the cookies came out of the oven with a thick, crinkly layer of powdered sugar, with perfect cracks all across that let you see into the center of the cookie. Perfection!

Close-up of several orange crinkle cookies coated in powdered sugar, arranged on parchment paper with a few orange wedges scattered around. The cookies have a cracked, textured surface and a light, fluffy appearance.

Important ingredients

This is actually a super easy recipe to throw together. A lemon or two and some pantry staples, and you’re all set! Let me talk about a few must-haves.

  • a microplane zester okay fine, not really an ingredient, but you can’t get the best lemon zest for this recipe without a microplane. It is the best product on the market for getting a super fine zest that is not gritty or bitter (bitter from the zest pieces being so big they have bitter pith on them. We want tiny zest, no pith) If you cook on the regular at all, do yourself a favor and get one!
  • real lemons, for both the juice and the zest, are essential to get that lip-puckering lemony goodness. Bottled lemon juice will not taste great in these cookies, where we want the lemon to shine. And nothing can replace the zing of the zest!
  • powdered sugar. Not once, but twice! Such a simple ingredient, but it’s the technique that makes the difference. Just one dunk, and your cookies are at risk of absorbing all the sugar while they bake. They come out pale and not quite white. We’re using a dunk, chill, dunk again method that will have them turn out perfect every time.

How to make homemade lemon crinkle cookies

I love that this is a ONE BOWL recipe! I don’t even use my stand mixer. It’s so easy. Here is everything you need:

But oh no oops! This recipe doesn’t have baking soda. We are using baking powder!! Sorry for this error! I took the ingredient shots too early in testing! Rookie mistake haha.

Two-part image: Top shows baking ingredients—flour, sugar, lemons, egg, butter, salt, baking soda—on a counter. Bottom shows sugar being poured from a measuring cup into a bowl of melted butter.

Start by melting the butter in a large bowl that is microwave safe, then dump in the sugar.

Then take a few minutes to zest your lemons. This is the most labor intensive part of this recipe! If you don’t have a microplane grater, then it’s time to buy one, stat. It makes zesting these lemons an absolute breeze.

Two images: The top shows a spatula in a glass bowl with lemon zest, honey, and grated lemon peel. A hand holds a lemon. The bottom shows a hand pouring liquid from a measuring cup into the same bowl with the spatula.

Then halve your lemons and add in the juice.

Add in an egg and stir,

Two images: Top, a glass bowl with an egg and yellow mixture being stirred with a spatula. Bottom, flour and a measuring spoon of salt being added to the bowl with the spatula beside them.

then dump the flour on top. Stir the baking powder and salt into the flour a little bit before stirring the flour in with a rubber spatula.

Two photos show a spatula stirring dough in a glass bowl. The top photo shows a partially mixed, lumpy dough, while the bottom photo shows a smoother, fully combined dough mixture.

Stir just enough to get the flour streaks out, then cover and let it chill out in the fridge.

When the dough is cold and you’re ready to bake, use a cookie scoop to shape the dough into balls.

A hand with pink nail polish uses a metal scoop to portion out dough, then holds a rounded ball of dough above the rest, ready to be placed for baking.

Don’t make these cookies too big. Smaller or medium size cookies are best. This will give you the prettiest crinkle from the powdered sugar. If you make them too big, the powdered sugar spreads out in the oven and they don’t look right.

A persons hand rolls cookie dough balls in powdered sugar, shown in two close-up images—one with several dough balls in a bowl, the other with a dough ball being coated in powdered sugar.

Then toss them in your bowl of powdered sugar.

THEN…hear me out. Do it again. Chill the shaped dough on a plate or pan in the fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes, then take them out and roll in powdered sugar again.

I tried A TON of different methods for making sure our crinkle cookies look “crinkly,” meaning the powdered sugar is visible on the baked cookies and not just melted in. This is the only method that worked for me. Double rolling the cookie dough balls before they go in the oven ensures that the powdered sugar on the cookie dough doesn’t melt into the cookie completely, so it looks pretty and crinkled when it comes out.

I use this same double roll method on my Mexican Wedding Cookies to make them the brightest whitest most powder sugary cookies of all time.

Dough balls coated in powdered sugar are placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet, ready to be baked. A close-up below shows two dough balls with powdered sugar scattered around them.

Line up the double-rolled cookies on a pan, this time for the final bake. See how much powdered sugar there is? Don’t mess. Make sure they have some space in between. (more than this, ha)

To get the best fudgy texture, these cookies need to be slightly under baked. Check your cookies carefully! You want to pull them out when the edges are set but there is still a bit of shine on the top. If they’re completely matte on top, they’ll still taste good but won’t be as soft or chewy. Definitely NO browning at all for these cookies! Can you see how this cookie still looks a little shiny on top?

A close-up of lemon crinkle cookies covered in powdered sugar, one on parchment paper with a spoon nearby, and another being picked up by a hand with pink nail polish.

As soon as the cookies come out, set the pan down and use two spoons to push or scoop the edges of the cookie toward the center. This will help keep that center nice and fudgy! It’s essential!! You can even use your fingers if you want, as I’m doing in the photo above. Every cookie needs a lil hug!!

Once they have cooled slightly, sprinkle them with lemon zest for an extra punch of flavor. Then eat one RIGHT AWAY!!! these cookies are so dang good right out of the oven. Ooey-gooey lemon-heaven!!

A hand with pink nail polish holds a round lemon crinkle cookie topped with powdered sugar and yellow cracks.

How to store leftover cookies

Make sure the cookies are completely cooled, then transfer them to an airtight container. They’ll be good out on the counter for about 3 days. Don’t refrigerate them! All that circulated air will dry them out, promise. A stale, crunchy crinkle cookie is a travesty, so leave the container on the counter or in the pantry for best results. Anything longer than that and you’ll want to freeze them! ↓

Close-up of several lemon crinkle cookies coated in powdered sugar, arranged on parchment paper with a few orange slices visible at the edges. The cookies are golden yellow and have a cracked, textured surface.

Can you freeze them?

Lemon crinkle cookies are perfect for freezing. I have a ton in my freezer right now, actually! The best time to freeze these cookies is while they’re still in dough form, as they will stay freshest that way. Also, who can say no to freshly baked cookies at any moment you want down the road? Not me!

Freezing dough

To freeze the dough, scoop the dough into 1 and 1/2 inch balls as directed in the instructions, and place on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Fill the whole sheet, then place the pan in the freezer to flash freeze for about 30 minutes. After the flash freeze, transfer the dough balls to a ziplock freezer bag. The dough will be fine in the freezer for a good 3-4 months.

To bake, take the cookies out of the freezer and let them sit for about 20-30 minutes. Dunk 12 dough balls in sifted powdered sugar and chill the pan for 10 minutes. Dunk them again and bake according to the recipe card instructions. They may need a minute or two longer since the dough was frozen, so keep an eye on them and pull them out as soon as they are ready!

Freezing baked cookies

For already baked cookies, the method is similar. Place as many cookies as you can in one layer on a baking sheet. Flash freeze for about 30 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a freezer ziplock bag. Get as much air out as possible, then seal. Baked cookies will be good for about 1-2 months. After that the quality will start to go down. Set the bag on the counter for 1-2 hours and they will be ready to eat. Keep in mind that the freezing and thawing process may cause the cookies to absorb the powdered sugar, so they may not be as pretty as when first baked. But they will still taste amazing!

A close-up of a soft, crumbly lemon cookie dusted with powdered sugar, with a slice of lemon in the background.

Finger lickin’ lemony treats

A good dose of sweet-tart (heavy on the tart) is always a dessert win in my book. Here are some more of my lemon favorites!

I love these cookies!

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Lemon Crinkle Cookies

4.67 from 3 votes
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 30
Close-up of a lemon crinkle cookie covered in powdered sugar, with a cracked surface and a bright yellow color. Blurred lemon slices and more cookies are visible in the background.
I love these Lemon Crinkle Cookies and have been making them for over a decade. They somehow manage to be light and fresh at the same time as being ooey gooey and rich. They are ultra soft and tender and perfectly under baked. The best part of all is that they are SUPER lemon-y. I do not mess around when it comes to lemon desserts! These hit all the right notes.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, 1 stick
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest, from about 2 lemons*
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice, from about 1 lemon*
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted, for rolling
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest, to garnish baked cookies; optional

Instructions

  • In a large microwaveable bowl, add 1/2 cup butter. Heat in the microwave until it's melted.
  • Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and use a whisk to combine.
  • Use a microplane grater to zest 2 lemons* into the bowl. You need about 1 tablespoon of zest.
  • Juice one of the lemons and measure out 1/4 cup lemon juice. You might be able to get this amount from 1 large lemon, or you might need to bust into the second lemon to get all the way to 1/4 cup.
  • Add 1/4 cup lemon juice to the butter and sugar mixture and whisk well.
  • Add 1 large egg to the bowl. (By this time, the melted butter should have cooled slightly. If it is still pretty hot, make sure you wait a few minutes to add the egg, so it doesn't curdle from the heat.) Whisk until smooth.
  • Add 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour that you have spooned and leveled. This means you should spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level off the top. Don't stir in the flour yet!
  • On top of the flour in the bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Use your teaspoon to stir the baking powder and salt into the flour, making sure to get out any lumps.
  • Use a rubber spatula to combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Once all the flour streaks are gone and the mixture is well combined, stop stirring. Stirring cookie dough too much makes the cookies tough!
  • Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes, or up to 2 days.**
  • When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 half baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper.
  • Sift 1 cup powdered sugar into a medium bowl.
  • Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to shape the dough into 1 and 1/2 inch cookie dough balls.
  • Roll the shaped cookies in the sifted powdered sugar.
  • Place the cookies on a baking sheet or a plate, and place them in the fridge or freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Roll each cookie dough ball in sifted powdered sugar a second time. This is the step that will make sure your powdered sugar does not dissolve into the cookie while baking!
  • Line up the double-rolled cookie dough balls on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silpat. I usually put 12 on a pan.
  • Bake the cookies at 350 for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set on the edge when you tap the edge with your finger, but there is still a tiny bit of shine on top. The shine on top should be no larger than a quarter.
    If you bake so long that the cookies are completely matte on top, they will still be good, just not quite as soft. Underbaking these cookies is KEY to getting the fudgy texture we are after.
  • Immediately after you take them out of the oven (seriously, don’t wait) use two spoons to gently push each cookie together. I just use two regular spoons, the kind you eat cereal with. Shove the cookie together so that it comes up a bit in the middle. That’s how you’re going to get a soft, thick center. If you wait even just a minute after taking them out of the oven, the brown edges will start to crisp up, and you won’t be able to re-shape the cookies. Use your spoons all the way around the edges so that your cookie is a nice circle shape. Work quickly to shape all the cookies before they crisp on the edges. 
  • Sprinkle the hot cookies with lemon zest, if you want a little extra color! Eat one IMMEDIATELY, seriously nothing better than a hot lemon cookie.
  • Store cookies covered on the counter for up to 3 days.
  • Freezing: To freeze the dough, scoop the dough into 1 and 1/2 inch balls as directed in the instructions, and place on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Fill the whole sheet, then place the pan in the freezer to flash freeze for about 30 minutes. After the flash freeze, transfer the dough balls to a ziplock freezer bag. The dough will be fine in the freezer for a good 3-4 months.
    To bake, take the cookies out of the freezer and let them sit for about 20-30 minutes. Dunk 12 dough balls in sifted powdered sugar and chill the pan for 10 minutes. Dunk them again and bake according to the recipe card instructions. They may need a minute or two longer since the dough was frozen, so keep an eye on them and pull them out as soon as they are ready!

Notes

*I like to use the zest from 2 lemons for this recipe. The zest is a powerhouse of flavor! You only need 1/4 cup lemon juice, which you can usually get from 1 large lemon. So if you want to just use 1 lemon for less waste, that’s totally fine, your cookies just won’t be QUITE as tart as if you used a full tablespoon of zest. 
**If you have chilled the dough and it has become quite hard, let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before you try to scoop it. 
FROSTING for sandwich cookies: Below the recipe card, there is an original photo of this cookie that I posted back in 2012. It shows 2 lemon cookies sandwiched with frosting. Here is the frosting recipe if you are interested in making the sandwich cookies! It’s so good:
Frosting:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, very soft
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1-2 tablespoons lemon zest from 2 large lemons
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat for 2 minutes until soft and creamy. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, then 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1-2 tablespoons lemon zest. Beat until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until it is thick enough to be a good spreading consistency. Use as little powdered sugar as possible, if you want a very lemony frosting.
Spread between two lemon cookies and smash!
 

Nutrition

Calories: 88kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Potassium: 13mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 104IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 88
Keyword: Cookies, crinkle, lemon
Did you make this? I’d love to see it!Mention @thefoodcharlatan or tag #thefoodcharlatan!

I posted this recipe in 2012

Here’s what was going on back in the day:

I currently have a mound of laundry on my bed waiting to be folded. Putting it all on my bed is my strategy for getting it done, because then I have to do it before I can get in bed when the time comes. Unfortunately this strategy usually fails because I have no problem shoving my clean laundry off the bed to get into it when all is said and done.

But the real reason I am stalling to do it is for fear of injury. That’s right. Most people who injure themselves have a pretty good reason. Oh, you hurt your knee snowboarding? That’s cool. Oh, you threw out your back helping your friend move? That was sure nice of you. Me? Oh, I injured my shoulder folding my underwear. (Awkward silence.)

Seriously, I have no idea how this happened. Folding underwear! It’s not that strenuous! But somehow I twisted my shoulder weird and ending up with my face in the laundry, moaning in pain. What is it with me? Sometimes I think I should live in a plastic bubble.

These cookies have been all over the internet for a good reason. They are amazing. I had leftover frosting from these lemon cupcakes and decided to do a mashup. Best idea ever. It is lemony heaven. The frosting recipe is in the recipe card notes.

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4.67 from 3 votes

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    LOVE these cookies!! I made them in lime, they were exactly what I was hungry for. So easy to make and SO good. Thanks for the recipe, will be making these again.

    Reply

    1. Hi Anna! Thanks for asking–I know it’s probably super frustrating to read American recipes and see these non-metric measurements. We don’t have measurements in grams, but you can use a conversion calculator online if you’d like to convert them yourself. Best of luck and enjoy!

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    These cookies are delicious and super easy to make.  Family and friends request that I make them and they disappear fast!  

    Reply

  4. 4 stars
    I used some lemon curd I had left over from a previous recipe instead of the frosting and it was delicious!!

    Reply