These glazed lemon cookies are soft, chewy cookies made with both fresh lemon juice and zest in the dough and lemon glaze! They are light and sweet with fresh citrus taste.
Easy Glazed Lemon Cookies
As much as I love plain soft sugar cookies there’s just something special when you add a fresh lemon flavor. Just like my lemon brownies and lemon crinkle cookies, it adds a bright, refreshing taste and leaves a zesty zing on the tip of your tongue.
These glazed lemon cookies are bursting with bright spring flavors. The freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest adds just the right amount of tart to balance out the sweet, chewy cookie base. With the powdered sugar icing on top, they literally melt in your mouth!
Ingredient Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Salted butter: I used room temperature salted butter, if you use unsalted butter increase added salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
- Egg yolks: For a soft and tender cookie, this recipe uses only the egg yolks.
- Grated lemon zest: This is best fresh. Use a microplane grater to lightly shave the outside of the lemon skin. It will be a fine lemon zest.
- Lemon juice: Fresh is best for lemon juice! This will give the lemon cookie recipe that beautiful flavor from the lemon of sweet and zesty.
How to Make Glazed Lemon Cookies
- Mix. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Then slowly mix in flour. Mix just until combined.
- Refrigerate. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Roll the cookie dough into a 1 1/2-inch ball. Then press down with a cup. Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly golden. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
- Lemon glaze. To make the lemon glaze for cookies, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and juice in a medium size bowl. Add a teaspoon of water at a time, until you reach a nice and smooth glaze. Then drizzle or spoon on top of the cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving. Enjoy!
Baking Tips
Fresh is best with this recipe! These glazed lemon cookies are bright and sunny with so much flavor.
- Fresh lemons. Use REAL lemon juice and zest (instead of lemon extract). It makes all the difference and gives these cookies the absolute best flavor. Learn how to zest a lemon for the best flavor.
- Chill the dough. It’s important to chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This keeps them from spreading in the oven and helps make a thick and delicious cookie.
- Press the dough down. Instead of rolling out the dough, scoop it into balls and then use the bottom of a cup to press the cookies down, similar to my Swig cookies.
- Don’t overbake. These lemon glazed cookies should be super soft and almost melt in your mouth when you take a bite. Bake them until the centers are set and the bottoms are lightly golden.
- Let cool. Make sure to let the cookies cool completely before adding the glaze on top. If they are still warm, the glaze could melt.
- Glaze. Spoon the lemon cookie icing on top, use a whisk to drizzle it over or use a piping bag (or plastic baggie with the corner snipped off). You can even dip the tops of the cookies in a bowl of glaze.
Storage
- Store: Make sure the glaze has dried completely, then place iced lemon cookies in an airtight container or bag. If stacking in layers, use a piece of parchment or wax paper in between to avoid sticking. They will stay fresh for about 5 days. Refrigerate if your kitchen is humid.
- Freeze: Freeze the cookies for up to 3 months. I like to flash freeze first then place in a freezer safe bag.
More lemon desserts to try include lemon bars, lemon coconut bars and lemon poppy seed bread.
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Lemon Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup salted butter , at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Lemon glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 3 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1-3 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Make cookie dough. Combine 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the 2 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Then slowly mix in 2 cups flour. Mix just until combined.
- Chill. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Then press down with a cup. Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly golden. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
- Lemon glaze. To make the lemon icing for cookies, whisk together 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 3 Tablespoons lemon juice in a medium size bowl. Add a teaspoon of water at a time, until you reach a nice and smooth glaze. Then drizzle or spoon on top of the cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Cookies, Desserts, Easter, Freezer-Friendly, Frosted Cookies, Fruit Desserts, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Is it ok to chill the dough for longer than one hour? I’m thinking up to several hours. Thanks!
That’s fine! You may need to let it sit at room temperature to scoop the dough but a longer chill time is totally okay.
Followed the instructions to the letter including making tips but did not turn out. Cookies melted and didn’t hold their shape (even after chilling for 1 hour).
Sorry to hear this Connie! We have never had that happen during testing. Without being in the kitchen with you, it can be hard to troubleshoot exactly what went wrong. Was the butter too soft or melted? That can affect texture.
Can these be stacked for packaging purposes as gifts after the glaze has set?
Should be okay to stack, ensure the glaze sets completely and is dry to the touch. Enjoy!
The cookies was a hit at my job meeting. I had a few people come up to me and said can you make me some for myself 😊. Loving it his recipe
So glad everyone enjoyed them!
These are the VERY best lemon cookies! I’ve made them several times always to rave reviews and recipe requests. Thanks for this recipe!! So yummy!
Easy to make and even easier to eat.
I made these as part of a smorgasbord of treats for a tea I’ll be having in August.
Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe.
That sounds like a great occasion! Thanks for using my lemon cookies recipe for it!
Can you use gluten free flour like bobs red mill chickpea or does it need to be a lighter flour like rice flour?
I have not tried these lemon cookies with GF flour. Let me know how it turns out!
Ok. Going to try :)
Great “melt in your mouth”. 😋
Is it possible to substitute coconut sugar in for regular sugar?
Hi Robynn, I haven’t tested this recipe using coconut sugar.
I followed the recipe exactly but I found they came out a bit dry. The dough was kinda crumbly. Maybe 1 3/4 cup of flour instead of 2 cups?
These are so delicious. Delicate and a hint of lemon.