Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes 13 of Our Favorite Lemon Cookie Recipes Our lemon cookie recipes include perfect sugar cookies, brown-butter crinkle cookies, and pink lemonade-inspired thumbprint cookies. By Kelly Vaughan Kelly Vaughan Kelly Vaughan is a New York City-based food writer and editor with six years of digital editorial experience in roles at MarthaStewart.com, Food52, and TODAY Show. In addition to her roles, Kelly has seven years of food writing experience with work found in Allrecipes, Bon Appètit, Food & Wine, Real Simple, and more. Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 26, 2024 Close Photo: Jason Varney Lemon cookies are one of life's simplest pleasures, and so many people count them as a favorite for a reason: With subtle hints of citrus and a light, delicious taste, they're easy to enjoy and even easier to make, especially when you use our collection of recipes as a guide. Our lemon cookies balance sweet and tart flavors, and can be served as an everyday dessert or for a more special occasion. 24 Fun Things to Bake—Including Cake, Cookies, Pretzels, and More 01 of 13 Perfect Sugar Cookies Lennart Weinbull Upgrade basic sugar cookies—ours are extra soft and chewy thanks to the inclusion of sour cream—with a lemon glaze and candied citrus. View Recipe 02 of 13 Meyer-Lemon Shortbread Wreath Cookies Mikkel Vang Citrus is in season in winter, so why not let it shine bright in these Christmas cookies? Meyer lemons, which are more aromatic and a touch sweeter than Eureka lemons, are used in both the cookie dough and glaze for these adorable wreath cookies. View Recipe 03 of 13 Sparkly Lemon Cookies Lennart Weibull Coarse sanding sugar gives soft lemon cookies a shimmering appearance that's so enticing. The zest of three lemons is mixed into the dough and topped with a sweet lemony glaze. View Recipe 04 of 13 Lemony Brown-Butter Crinkle Cookies Stephen Kent Johnson Brown butter adds a rich nuttiness to these cookies, which is accented by ground cinnamon and dark brown sugar. Each ball of dough is rolled in powdered sugar before being baked. View Recipe 05 of 13 Easter Chick Cookies Chelsea Cavanaugh Basic shortbread cookies are buttery and delicious on their own, but when decorated with lemon icing and cut out in the shape of Easter chicks, they're the perfect springtime bite. View Recipe 06 of 13 Lemon-Ginger Cookies With Mint Marcus Nilsson Lemon and crystallized ginger are a soothing duo of flavors that are a welcome combination in these cookies. A few tablespoons of mint leaves not only add color, but also bring a touch of freshness to these treats. We dare say they're the perfect tea cookie. View Recipe 07 of 13 Crisp Lemon Cookies Everyone loves lemon poppy-seed muffins, so we made a genius batch of cookies inspired by the beloved breakfast treat. This recipe calls for lemon juice and lemon zest, plus a tablespoon of poppy seeds that are mixed in the dough and sprinkled on top. View Recipe 08 of 13 Old-Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies Perk up with this easy lemon cookie recipe. Granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and lemon zest are mixed together to create the base for these classic cookies. View Recipe 09 of 13 Embellished Wreath Cookies Mike Krautter Delicate pastel garnishes like candied ginger, candied citrus, chopped pistachios, and sugared flowers top these buttery citrus cookies. A bit of orange zest in the cookie dough and lemon juice in the glaze add a brilliant touch of brightness. View Recipe 10 of 13 Glazed Lemon Cookies Raymond Hom This easy cookie recipe has a double dose of lemon that we can't get enough of. Lemon zest and juice are mixed into the dough; once baked, each cookie is topped with a lemon glaze that's sweet as can be. View Recipe 11 of 13 Lemon Icebox Cookies The ultimate make-ahead cookie dough recipe, these lemon cookies get a touch of tartness from plenty of lemon juice and zest. The dough is rolled into a log, frozen until firm, then sliced into rounds of buttery cookies. View Recipe 12 of 13 Small-Batch Lemon-Strawberry Cookies David Malosh Imagine a snickerdoodle blended with a macaroon, and that's sort of what these cookies are. Their pretty pink color comes from crushed dried berries, and the lemon flavor from fresh juice and zest. View Recipe 13 of 13 Pink-Lemonade Thumbprints Jason Varney Pink lemonade is a refreshing summer beverage that is totally timeless. We've turned that flavor into a sweet dessert by mixing fresh raspberries into the lemon glaze, which is the filling for these simple thumbprint cookies. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit