These Glazed Lemon Cookies are thick, soft baked cookies with a bright sweet and tart lemon flavor. These are a hearty roll and cut cookies that make great summer time dessert ideas for picnics, barbecues, family reunions, and more.

The lemon glaze on these cookies makes these extra special with a sprinkling of lemon zest on the glaze before it dries.

A stack of 3 glazed lemon cookies sprinkled with lemon zest with another stack of 3 cookies and a dark blue, light blue, and yellow patterned napkin blurred in the background

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🍋 Simple Lemon Recipes
🥘 Ingredients
🍽 Equipment
🔪 Instructions
💭 Top Tips
📖 Variations
More Recipes to Try
📖 Recipe
💬 Reviews

🍋 Simple Lemon Recipes

I love lemon. It is probably one of my very favorite citrus fruits. Summertime always means lemonade and this Rhubarb Lemonade finds its way in the fridge every year.

Lemon is great in sweet and savory recipes. From glazing these soft cookies to squeezing over boiled shrimp. And, it's always great for making a lemon drop martini or Lemon Lime Rum Collins drink!

🥘 Ingredients

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Granulated sugar

Powdered sugar

Lemons, look for large lemons that give a little when gently squeezed.

All purpose flour

Canola Oil, using oil rather than butter is what helps keep these cookies on the softer side.

Milk

Lemon extract, I like to use this brand.

Vanilla extract, I like to use this brand

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt

A white ball of cookie dough on a black and white marbled floured countertop with a hand sprinkling flour over top of the dough.

🍽 Equipment

Parchment paper

Wooden Citrus Reamer

Sieve

Large baking sheet

Microplane zester, this is the style I use

Hand whisk (to whisk together try ingredients)

Cookie Cutter, I love this multipurpose cutter

🔪 Instructions

Step 1:

Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large mixing bowl. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar using your fingers, until the sugar is aromatic.
Add the oil, milk, egg, lemon juice, and lemon extract to the sugar mixture. Mix using a hand mixer on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Step 2:

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients until combined.

Step 3:

Divide the cookie dough in half. Flatten and roll out dough to approximately ¼ inch thick. Cut into round cookie shapes using a cookie cutter.
Transfer the cookies to the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly golden around the edges.
Completely cool the cookies on a cooling rack.

Step 4:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a medium sized mixing bowl until smooth.
Dip the tops of each cookie into the glaze and return the cookie to the cooling rack. Sprinkle the tops of the glaze with lemon zest (if using).
Allow the cookies to dry completely before storing in an airtight container.

Unfrosted baked cookies cooling on a black wire cooling rack.

💭 Top Tips

Rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar in the first step aids in releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar, resulting in an aromatic well infused lemon flavor.
If the dough becomes too stiff to mix with the electric mixer, use a sturdy wooden spoon or scraper to fold the dough together.
Sprinkle the countertop with a little flour to prevent the dough from sticking when rolling.
Use an insulated rimless baking sheet to allow for even baking like this one.
Store the cookies in an airtight container on the countertop up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Place a sheet of wax paper between stacked cookie layers to prevent sticking.

Upclose image of the wet lemon glaze sprinkled with bright yellow lemon zest on the freshly baked cookie drying on the black mesh cookie rack with glaze drips on the cooling rack.

📖 Variations

Substitute orange or lime juice and zest for the lemon
Add more powdered sugar to thicken the glaze and make it a spreadable icing.
Omit the glaze for a less sweet cookie
Stir in ½ cup of white chocolate chips

More Recipes to Try

An upclose image of 3 baked and stacked glazed lemon cookies sprinkled with bright yellow lemon zest and a three toned blue and yellow napkin blurred in the background.

*If you made these Glazed Lemon Cookies, please give them a star rating*

📖 Recipe