Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (2024)

  • 84 Comments
  • Baking, Cookies, Desserts

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The BEST soft and chewy Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies with icing. You’ll want to bake these lemon citrus cookies this summer. Each bite is delicately crisp on the outside, soft, chewy, and cakelike inside.

Lemon desserts and sugar cookies are my two favorite types of desserts. This luscious cookie is packed with plenty of lemon flavor.Made from scratch, this quick and easy cookie is one of my most requested summer recipes. These cookies pair nicely with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream toppings.

If you are looking for a way to make the most out of your lemons this season, use fresh lemon juice in place of extract flavors. By doing this, the cookies will have a subtle floral flavor instead of tasting like regular sugar cookies with any artificial flavor. Along with the tart flavor, we also add lemon zest for texture and citrus notes.

I use fresh lemon juice and zest instead of extracts in my recipe. The cookies are very soft and moist. The technique I use is to roll the drop dough and bake it at 350°F for about 9-11 minutes or just until the edges turn brown. I recommend greasing a baking sheet or using a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to prevent spreading.

I list two ways to make these cookies. I have a homemade version that uses fresh ingredients like fresh lemons, and butter and I have an easier version to make a quick lemon cookie recipe. I prefer the homemade version because fresh lemons are amazing, but I’ve also made the cake mix cookie version when I just didn’t have all the ingredients and was short on time.

Lemon Cookie Ingredients

☑ LEMON: I used fresh lemon juice and zest instead of extracts to get the best flavor.

BUTTER: Adds flavor and moisture which results in a cookie chewy.

SUGAR: I use granulated sugar in my sugar cookie recipes. Using this sugar also helps sweeten the lemon juice so it’s not tart.

FLOUR: All-purpose flour.

EGG: Helps bind the ingredients.

How to Make Lemon Sugar Cookies

  1. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
  2. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Roll 1-inch balls of cookie dough.
  4. Bake in 350°F oven for 9-11 minutes.
  5. Mix together water and powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies using a spoon.

Easier Lemon Cookies – Made with a Cake Mix

Looking to make these luscious lemon cookies but don’t have the time or all of the ingredients? These Lemon Sugar Cookies can be made an alternative way and come out just as good and mix up in half the time. Using pre-made boxed cake mix is a super simple way to bake desserts ranging from this Peach Cobbler Delight to this Strawberry Shortcake Muddy Buddy recipe. A box of lemon cake mix from your grocery store will yield delicious lemon sugar cookies in just a few easy steps.

Ingredients

  • Lemon Cake Mix, I like Pillsbury
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a medium bowl, place all of the ingredients together.
  3. Using a spoon, fold ingredients together until dough forms and everything is well incorporated.
  4. Grease a cookie sheet and form 1 inch round balls and flatten slightly.
  5. In a small bowl, roll the top of the cookie in powdered sugar.
  6. Bake for 5-6 minutes, don’t allow to turn golden brown.
  7. Mix glaze together and drizzle over cooled cookies.
Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (4)

For more cookie recipes, try my Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies. These cookies bake up thick and chewy, with just the right about of lemon notes, and remind me of bakery-style cookies.

The ultimate soft and chewy lemon cookies are great for any occasion.You are not done with summer until you have baked a batch of these decadent and cheerful sunshine cookies. Simply add poppy seeds for extra flavor and texture.

Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (5)

Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

Favorite Recipe

Soft and chewy lemon sugar cookies rolled in powdered sugar and drizzled with icing. Truly a lemon lovers’ dream dessert cookie.

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cookies

Calories 122 kcal

Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter , softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling

For the Glaze

  • 1 + 1/2 tablespoons water
  • 3/4 cup – 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  • For the Lemon Cookie Dough

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

  • Slowly add flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir well to combine.

  • Use a cookie scoop or roll dough into 1 inch balls, then roll in powdered sugar. Place on lightly greased baking sheets.

  • Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes, or till set and crackly. After a couple minutes, remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

  • For the Glaze – Slowly add powdered sugar to water until a thick consistency forms. Drizzle over cookies.

Notes

These Lemon Sugar Cookies can be made an ALTERNATIVE WAY and come out just as good. We are talking about Lemon Cake Mix, the pre-made kind. Yep, that’s right, the cake mix found in your grocery store. Follow these simple steps to get started.
Ingredients
Lemon Cake Mix, I like Pillsbury
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, place all of the ingredients together. Using a spoon, fold ingredients together until dough forms and everything is well incorporated.
Grease a cookie sheet and form 1 inch round balls and flatten slightly. In a small bowl, roll the top of the cookie in powdered sugar. Bake for 5-6 minutes, don’t allow to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and cool. Follow the recipe below to glaze these cookies.

Nutrition

Calories: 122kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 68mgPotassium: 19mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 128IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.

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updated 6/2021

84 Responses

  1. Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (6)
    I make these every holiday and it is my most popular cookie (and I make a bunch of cookies). They are the most fought after as well. This recipe is amazing. I do add some lemon extract to the cookie and the frosting because we LOVE lemon! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

    1. Awe! Thank you so kindly for those words. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

  2. I make these every year! They are the most requested cookie that I make when making my yearly holiday cookies for friends and family. I make a lot but everyone wants these! My family and friends all love them. This is a MUST make recipe. Thank you for sharing it!

    Reply

  3. Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (7)
    Can these be made with orange cake mix and orange glaze?

    Reply

    1. Sure, sounds delish!

      Reply

  4. Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (8)
    EVERYONE loves these. If you like lemon, you must add to your list. They are easy to make (from scratch).

    Reply

  5. These look amazing! Can you make these ahead of time, freeze them, and then let them thaw before adding the glaze?

    Reply

    1. Yes, that works!

      Reply

  6. Do you sift the powered sugar before measuring it? Most recipes call for doing that.

    Reply

    1. No, I just spooned it in for this recipe. However, if yours is really lumpy, go ahead and sift it.

      Reply

  7. Can the lemon cookies be mailed?

    Reply

    1. Yes! Just be sure to stack them between parchment paper and paper towel for any extra space.

      Reply

  8. Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (9)
    These turned out wonderful. I used extra lemon juice to make the glaze instead of water, they are so good!

    Reply

  9. Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (10)
    Gorgeous pictures. I made these glazed lemon sugar cookies for the super bowl party and it was a crowd favorite. I’m also gonna pin this post on my Pinterest board my followers will love it. Thanks for sharing, Laura!

    Reply

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Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (11)

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Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies | Swanky Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is lemon glaze made of? ›

Lemon glaze requires only two ingredients: powdered sugar and lemon juice. Some recipes call for milk, but such a small amount of milk dilutes the lemony punch without adding much in return.

What makes sugar cookies puff up? ›

Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder puffs the cookies up. If your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Caution: This could result in an unwanted flavor shift.

How to jazz up sugar cookies? ›

Take plain sugar cookies up a notch with exciting mix-ins like chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, toasted chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit or M&M's. Add these after blending your butter and egg into the sugar cookie mix.

Can you over mix sugar cookies? ›

Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want. The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer.

What are the 3 basic ingredients in glaze? ›

A BASE GLAZE is a mixture of these three basic groups: SILICA, FLUX AND ALUMINA.

What are the three basic ingredients in a glaze What does each ingredient do? ›

Every glaze is made of the following 3 materials:
  • Silica – Creates glass. Examples: quartz, flint, pure silica.
  • Alumina – Stiffens the glaze so it doesn't slide off the clay. ...
  • Flux – Causes the glaze to melt at a low enough temperature to be used in ceramics.

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

What happens if you add too much sugar to sugar cookies? ›

Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown. Adding too little sugar can affect the taste and texture of cookies. Adding too much can cause them to be brittle. Take your time creaming the sugar and butter together at the beginning.

Can you roll out store bought sugar cookie dough? ›

Just roll the dough into one inch balls and then coat them in equal parts cinnamon and sugar. Then I press them gently with a glass before baking them according to the directions on the package. That's it!

How can I keep my sugar cookies soft? ›

Putting a slice of fresh white bread in the container with the cookies will help the cookies stay soft: fresh bread is moist, and that slice will give up its moisture for the greater good: keeping the cookies from drying out.

Should sugar cookies be hard or soft? ›

Unlike many things in the baking world, sugar cookies are meant to be foolproof. They don't have much butter or leavening, so they'll keep their shape when you roll out the dough and cut them. They're sturdy enough to be handled and decorated, but soft and delicious enough to be a Christmastime dessert staple.

Should you refrigerate sugar cookie dough? ›

Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps to make the cookie dough firmer. Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies.

What happens when you add too much butter to sugar cookies? ›

Classic signs of a cookie with too much butter include crispy-bordering-on-burnt edges, a greasy surface, an excessively brittle texture, and a predominantly buttery flavor that overpowers the other caramel and chocolate notes.

What happens if you over cream butter and sugar for cookies? ›

Undermixed butter and sugar looks gritty and chunky, which can lead to dense cookies and cakes. It is possible to overmix the butter and sugar. If you overmix, the butter will separate out of the mixture and it will be grainy and soupy. Be sure to stop once your butter becomes light and fluffy.

What is the main ingredient in glaze? ›

Glaze: there are more than 3 basic components in glaze, these are: silica, alumina, flux, colourants and modifiers. The common ingredients in glaze colours are, “ copper oxide", “copper carbonate", “cobalt oxide" and “ iron oxide.”

What was glaze made out of? ›

Glazes consist of silica, fluxes and aluminum oxide. Silica is the structural material for the glaze and if you heat it high enough it can turn to glass. Its melting temperature is too high for ceramic kilns, so silica is combined with fluxes, substances that prevent oxidation, to lower the melting point.

What is the most common ingredient in glaze? ›

Silica (or industrial sand) is the key ingredient in glass, raw clay, and ceramic glazes. Silica can be obtained naturally from quartz, sandstone, sand, or flint, or it can be manufactured as silica oxide. When making your own glazes, products like quartz, flint, and pure silica can be added as the glass-former.

What is a glaze and how is it made? ›

A glaze is made up of three parts. A flux/melter that lowers the melting point, a refractory/stabilizer that bonds the glaze to the clay, and a glass former like silica. This creates the base and then a stain is added to give the glaze its color. It's a bit like mixing paint and a bit more like a chemistry experiment.

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