Prepared with lemon juice, almond flour, and a fresh slice of lemon on top, these Lemon Cookies are infused with bright citrus flavor in every bite. Perfect with a cup of tea, or a cool glass of lemonade in the summer!
Easy Citrus Cookies
There is a unique story behind these lemon cookies. I actually discovered them on Pinterest a few years back, when a slice of lemon atop, what looked like a shortbread cookie, caught my eye. I clicked and was taken to a site with gorgeous photos and recipes…in Russian.
Google Translate saved the day, as did my kitchen scale that helped me convert the metric system ingredient list, and soon I was whipping up my own batch of lemon cookies.
My real curiosity behind these cookies was the taste of a baked lemon slice…with the peel. Baked or not, I’ve never eaten the peel of a lemon so I was curious what it would taste like, especially on top of a cookie. ?
The verdict? These lemon cookies are amazing. They are sweet, crumbly, and citrusy. Biting into them is like getting a true taste of spring, no matter the time of year.
The lemon peel, though? I’m not a fan. It was chewy and bitter, as expected, and adding more sugar didn’t help. ? That’s an easy problem to solve though – I just removed the lemon slice after the cookies cooled. I was still left with moist, crumbly cookies infused with lemon and can avoid the bitter flavor.
These citrus cookies are going to become my official go-to for an easy spring dessert, but I also plan on making them throughout the year. Since they store well, they’ll be perfect for holiday cookie trays! I can even see them being offered at baby and bridal showers as something new for the dessert table.
What You’ll Need
These easy lemon cookies require less than 10 ingredients! They are made with pantry staples, so you likely have most of what you’ll need on hand!
- Butter – Butter should be softened for easing mixing.
- Eggs – Divided, to be used at different parts of the recipe
- Lemon – Both lemon zest and lemon juice are used in the dough and you’ll also want additional lemons washed, dried and cut into very thin slices.
- Almond flour – You can also finely ground almonds yourself.
- Sugar – Use superfine or caster sugar for this recipe.
- Flour – Basic all-purpose flour works perfectly.
- Powered sugar – For sprinkling on top at the end
How to Make Lemon Cookies
Lemon cookies are surprisingly easy to make! Though they do require ample rest time, there’s only 20 minutes or so of hands-on time!
- Form the dough. Beat the butter with an egg, then add flour, sugar and lemon juice. Mix on the lowest setting. Shape the dough into two logs and put in the refrigerator.
- Make the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350F. Slice the logs into cookies and place on baking sheet. Brush the second egg on top of each cookie. Add a lemon slice on each cookie and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes.
- Cool and serve. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.
Tips for Success
For sweet, melt-in-your-mouth cookies every time, remember these tips.
- Brown the cookies. If you like the tops of the cookies browned, put them under the broiler the last 5 minutes of baking.
- Don’t overmix the dough. It’s important to beat the dough on low speed and only do so as long as necessary to combine all of the ingredients. Overmixing leads to tough dough.
- Don’t overcook the cookies. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they’re finished baking. Baking them for longer than 15 minutes can dry them out.
- Allow ample chill time. While it only takes a few minutes to prepare the dough, it is important to set at least 3 hours aside to allow the dough to chill properly in the fridge. This is not a step you want to skip.
Serving Suggestions
These crumbly, lusicious cookies are perfect for any ocassion. The bright color and flavor makes them great for spring and summer but they also make an ideal addition to a cookie tray during the holidays or even as a dessert at a baby or wedding shower. They’re so colorful and unique that everyone is sure to love them!
My one suggestion is to remove the lemon slice before enjoying, unless you like the bitter taste and chewy texture. I’m sure some people do but I’m not one of them! I also sprinkle my cookies with a little bit of powdered sugar to sweeten them up just a bit more before eating.
How to Store Cookies
- These lemon cookies store well at room temperature for up to one week. Store them in an airtight container and keep in dark, dry place.
- If you’re leaving the lemon slices on the cookies, I recommend adding parchment paper between slices.
- If you live in a humid area, you can also store them in the fridge and just allow them to come to room temperature before eating.
Can I Freeze Lemon Cookies?
- Yes, you can also freeze these lemon cookies. Allow to cool completely on the counter then flash freeze on a baking sheet.
- Transfer to an airtight container or ziploc bag. I recommend doing this with the lemon slices removed.
- Thaw on the counter before enjoying.
- They’ll last for up to 3 months in the freezer.
ENJOY!
Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 cups finely ground almond flour
- ½ cup superfine sugar or caster sugar
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 whole small lemons, with peel, washed, dried with paper towels, and cut into very thin slices
- powdered sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter with one egg until smooth.
- Add almond flour, sugar, all-purpose flour, and lemon juice, and beat with the mixer on the lowest setting until completely combined and smooth.
- Shape the dough into two logs, about 2 inches each in diameter; cover logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Slice each log into cookies, about 1/8-inch thick, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
- Lightly beat the second egg and brush the top of each cookie with it.
- Place one lemon slice on top of each cookie.
- Sprinkle with superfine sugar and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
- If you like the tops of the cookies browned, put them under the broiler the last 3 minutes of baking.
- Cool and optionally sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
You have zest in the ingredient list, but not in the directions… when should it be added?
Thanks for catching that! It should be added at the beginning, together with the butter and egg.
A Mandrin slicer works very well to get the lemons very thin!!!
Do you mean a mandoline slicer?
These cookies were delicious! I converted them into gluten free using an all purpose gluten free flour and egg replacer. I also used a food processor to slice the lemons into really thin slices, much thinner than the ones shown in the picture, this will give you a small burst of lemon flavor. great post.
Hi Estela!
So even in GF form these were awesome?! YAY!! 😀 I love these cookies, too! Thank you so much for chiming in!
I believe the slice of lemon should be paper thin for it to work……good luck.
Maybe candied lemon peel would work nicely ?
That was my thought too, candied lemon slices. I’ve made them before and they are AMAZING!!!!
Have you tried to sprinkle salt on top of the lemon, you’ll gonna like it 😉
Oh, they look so wonderful and I love lemon things. Of course, though we learned Imperial measures at school, we changed to SI in 1972. Now I have to change all the measurements back to metric!
I’m baking them this afternoon! They look delish! Do you know if there is any nutritional info available such as the fat, calories, carb count, fibre, etc?
Eeeek… I have no idea about the nutritional value of these cookies :/ I’m sorry. 🙁
Vitamin C! 😉
I’m baking them right now! I also found this picture on pinterest and was frustrated when the site was in Russian. I translated the page but for some reason I couldn’t find the recipe….thus it was nice to find it right here, all ready for me.
I’m using myer lemons too as there peel is way less bitter….I’m quite excited to eat these I must say!
Hi Emily!!
Please let me know how they turned out… I wish I had Meyer lemons around here!
I have Meyer Lemons and those peels are quite edible. I will be making these.
OMG!! I have to make these… now!
Looks delicious!
I love the way that slice of lemon speaks to me… “Yes, you can eat me. I’m fruit! Healthy for you! Have two… or three!” 🙂
what an interesting cookie recipe. love the almond – lemon combo. thinking of trying them soon. thanks for sharing Kate
even tho I’m in Us for quite a while I still use the metric system when I’m cooking and transform it when I have to write a blog post. seems so complicated 🙂
I love lemon anything, but lemon cookies are irresistible to me. I love their, color, aroma and texture. Yum!
I have tasted lemon peel, but not in such a large quantity! Maybe a bit too much for me too … But these cookies look gorgeous. Cooking has definitely gotten me more used to thinking in grams and liters, and they’re SO much easier than ounces. Couldn’t live without my kitchen scale!!! (Btw, has the book arrived? It should have come by Monday or Tuesday ….)
Yes, the book is here!! I got it at the beginning of the week… I love it! Thank you sooooo much! xo
I love your photos of these cookies. It definitely sounds like an interesting recipe. And, I totally agree with you on loving pinterest. How easy to waste time away. I just don’t spend enough time on the internet already 😉
I love the peel from all citrus fruits! These cookies look fantastic!