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Bright and zesty lemon cookies are an easy treat bursting with citrus in every bite! I make these cookies with lemon juice and lemon zest, with a fresh slice of lemon on top. They’re perfect with a cup of tea, or a cool glass of lemonade in the summer!
These lemon cookies were actually a Pinterest discovery a while ago. The original recipe was in Russian (thank you, Google Translate), but what caught my eye was the bright, sunshiney lemon slice baked on top of each cookie. With a few tweaks, I made a batch. These lemon cookies are amazing! They are sweet, crumbly, and citrusy. Biting into them is like getting a taste of spring, no matter the time of year.
Biting into a caramelized lemon slice, I’ll admit, is not everyone’s cup of tea. Even sprinkled with sugar, there’s still some bitterness to it. If you’re not sure about the lemon slice, I still encourage you to make these cookies! Simply remove the lemon after baking and enjoy a moist, chewy cookie infused with lemon and dusted with powdered sugar. YUM!
Why You’ll Love This Lemon Cookies Recipe
- Any occasion. These crumbly, luscious lemon cookies are perfect for all occasions. The bright color and fresh flavor make them great for spring and summer. They also make an easy 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!
- Slice and bake. The cookie dough comes together easily, and after a couple of hours in the fridge, all you need to do is slice the dough into cookies and bake.
- Adaptable. Remove the lemon slice before enjoying or leave it intact. I sprinkle my cookies with powdered sugar to sweeten them up a bit more before eating. There are a few different ways to change up these cookies!
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. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable ingredients list with amounts.
- Butter – Butter should be softened to room temperature for easing mixing.
- Eggs – Divided, since you’ll use eggs at different points in the recipe.
- Lemon Zest and Juice – You’ll need lemon zest and lemon juice for the cookie dough. Zest the lemon before you juice it!
- Flour – I use a combination of all-purpose flour and almond flour. You can use only all-purpose, or you can make almond flour by grinding almonds into a fine powder using a food processor.
- Sugar – I like to use superfine or caster sugar in the cookie dough. It makes the cookies very soft. I also dust the tops of the cookies with powdered sugar for serving.
- Lemon Slices – This part is optional, but the original recipe calls for topping each cookie with a lemon slice before baking. In this case, you’ll need additional lemons washed, dried, and cut into very thin slices.
How to Make Lemon Cookies
Lemon cookies are surprisingly easy to make! The dough needs a bit of resting time, but there’s only 20 minutes or so of hands-on time in between. Here are the steps:
- Make the dough. First, cream butter with an egg, then slowly add flour, sugar, and lemon juice to form the dough. Divide and shape the dough into two logs.
- Chill. Next, wrap each log in plastic wrap and place the dough into the fridge to chill.
- Make the cookies. Fast forward 3 hours, and you’ll slice the logs into cookies. Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet. Brush the cookies with an egg wash, place a lemon slice over each cookie, and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake. Finally, bake these lemon cookies at 350ºF for 12-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool and then dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
Tips & Variations
- 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.
How to Store
- These lemon cookies store well at room temperature for up to one week. Store them in an airtight container and keep them in a cool, dry place.
- If you’re stacking cookies with lemon slices, I recommend adding parchment paper between layers.
- You can also store these cookies in the fridge. Allow them to come to room temperature before eating.
Can I Freeze Lemon Cookies?
- Yes, you can also freeze these lemon cookies. I recommend removing the lemon slices (or leaving them off altogether) before flash-freezing the cooled cookies on a baking sheet.
- Transfer the cookies to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw on the counter before enjoying.
More Lemon Recipes
- Lemon Bread Recipe
- Raspberry Lemon Bars
- Macarons with Lemon Buttercream
- Two-Ingredient Mini Lemon Cakes
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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 😉