These no-chill lemon sugar cookies are perfect for spring or summer. Made with melted butter (no waiting for a stick of butter to soften!) and easy to mix by hand: No stand mixer required. Topped with a simple lemon icing that sets into firm glaze.
This simple lemon cookie recipe was an instant favorite with our taste-testers.
It's a summery twist on our favorite soft sugar cookies (if you've made that recipe, you'll notice some similarities here). Melted butter keeps the cookie dough quick and easy to mix by hand, and the soft dough is ready to bake right away - no chilling required!
You'll need a fresh lemon and a bit of lemon extract for these cookies. A mix of lemon juice, lemon zest, and extract gives these cookies a zippy flavor that feels bright and fresh without being overwhelming.
Jump to:
Ingredients
Find a full ingredients list with exact quantities in the recipe card below.
- Melted butter cuts down on prep time (no waiting for butter to soften on the counter!) and keeps this dough soft and easy to work with.
- If you have time, let eggs come to room temperature for half an hour before you bake: this helps them incorporate more smoothly into the dough.
- Fresh lemon zest adds brightness directly to the cookie dough; lemon juice forms the backbone of our glaze.
- Lemon extract gives this cookie dough its distinct lemon flavor.
Use a kitchen scale
Measuring ingredients like flour by volume (with a measuring cup) is notoriously unreliable. Because each person fills a cup a little differently, it's easy to accidentally use too much flour and end up with dry, dense cookies.
But when you use a kitchen scale to measure by weight (in grams), you get a perfect measurement every time. So if you have a kitchen scale, please use it! (No scale? Measure flour with the scoop and level method for best results!)
Variations and substitutions
- Add sprinkles to the finished cookies while the icing is still fresh. (As the glaze hardens, it will "grab" the sprinkles and hold them in place!)
- No butter? Vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil will work in place of melted butter in this cookie dough. Coconut oil will also work as a butter substitute in the lemon icing.
Step by step instructions
Stir melted butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon extract together in a large bowl until you have a smooth mixture.
Add the flour, salt, and baking soda; mix until you have a uniform dough. The cookie dough should be relatively thick and very soft. It's ready to bake right away - you don't need to chill it!
Pro Tip: Mix this dough by hand, or use the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low to medium speed. If you use a stand mixer, pause a few times while mixing to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 3-Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough, leaving an inch or two of space between each cookie so they have room to spread.
Bake the cookies, let them cool for a few minutes directly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the glaze.
How to tell when these cookies are done
As they bake, these cookies will spread out and develop slightly puffy, domed tops with a somewhat wrinkly texture. When they're ready, the center of each cookie should look soft, but not wet. You may also notice some very light browning around the outer edges.
Don't worry if the cookies look a bit puffy right out of the oven: The centers will sink as the cookies cool, creating a soft, chewy interior.
Make the icing
Stir melted butter, lemon juice, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt together in a small bowl. Whisk in very hot water a tiny bit at a time, until you have a smooth glaze that's easy to drizzle.
Arrange the cooled cookies in a single layer (we like putting them right back on the parchment-lined baking sheet for easy cleanup!)
Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over your cookies. (You can also add sprinkles at this stage if you'd like some extra texture!)
Let the cookies sit, uncovered, for an hour or so, until the icing is firm to the touch. Once the glaze has set, you can stack the cookies and store them in an airtight container for transport or storage!
Storage
Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to four days, or freeze for up to four months. If you're planning to freeze the cookies, we recommend freezing them without the icing (this will preserve their texture a bit better).
FAQs
Unfortunately, no. Fresh lemon juice loses its flavor in the oven, and isn't concentrated enough to achieve the effect we want here. Lemon extract gives this cookie dough a strong lemon flavor without losing potency as the cookies bake.
That said, if you want LESS lemon in these cookies, you can certainly omit the lemon extract from the cookie dough (or follow our standard soft sugar cookie recipe instead). You'll still get a hint of lemon flavor from the lemon glaze, although it won't be as strong.
Yes! This lemon sugar cookies recipe freezes very well. Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 months. Let frozen cookies defrost for a few hours on the counter when you're ready to eat them. We recommend freezing these cookies without frosting, and adding the icing once they're defrosted.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment and star rating below to let us know how it turned out!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 16-20 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies, Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft, chewy sugar cookies pack plenty of bright lemon flavor. Topped with a thin lemon glaze.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 53 grams (½ cup, or 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 250 grams granulated sugar (1 ¼ cups)
- 4 grams vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
- 8 grams lemon extract (2 teaspoons)
- Zest of 1 lemon (3 grams; about 1 Tablespoon)
- 300 grams all purpose flour (about 2 ½ cups)
- 4 grams kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
- 6 grams baking soda (1 teaspoon)
For the lemon glaze (optional):
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 100 grams powdered sugar (1 cup)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2-3 Teaspoons hot water (you may not need it all)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
- Whisk melted butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
- Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir until just combined.
- Use a large cookie scoop to portion out cookie dough. Put each cookie dough scoop on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat, leaving an inch of space between each cookie.
- Bake at 375° F for 9-12 minutes, until cookies have puffed up and just barely started to brown on the outer edges. The cookies may still have slight domes on top when you remove them from the oven; they will settle and flatten as they cool.
- Remove cookies from oven and let cool right on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Cookies may look a bit puffy right out of the oven, but the centers will sink down as they cool to form a beautiful, chewy texture.
- Make the glaze. Stir melted butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of kosher salt together in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in hot water, about ½ teaspoon at a time, until you have a drizzle-able glaze (you likely won’t need all of the hot water). Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies, then let it set for 1-2 hours until firm before stacking cookies.
Notes
Use a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable; for perfect-every-time measurements, use a kitchen scale to measure by weight and follow the gram measurements in the recipe above. If you don't have a scale, be sure to measure your flour with the scoop and level method for best results.
Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months. We recommend freezing cookies without the icing; defrost on the counter for a few hours and add icing when you're ready to serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 21.8 g
- Sodium: 209.6 mg
- Fat: 4.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.3 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 34.2 mg
More chewy, no-chill cookie recipes
Using melted butter (or olive oil!) instead of softened butter is one of our favorite techniques for rich, chewy cookies that are ALSO exceptionally quick and easy to make. See a few of our favorite recipes below (or check out our full collection of cookie recipes!)
Comments
No Comments