This Lemon Sugar Cookie is everything you want in a cookie—soft, tender, and real citrus flavor! The secret to that bakery-style texture? Two special ingredients and cold butter makes all the difference. Plus, each cookie gets rolled in homemade lemon sugar—no extract needed! We worked hard to perfect these, and trust us—they’re a refreshing treat for spring and summer or even a fun addition to your Christmas cookie exchange!
This is just one of our lemon recipes in a collection that’s got it all—everything from chicken wings to coffee cake and all kinds of lemonade flavors.
These are honestly the best lemon sugar cookies to whip up in a pinch. What’s great about them is they’re perfect for almost any time of year—bright and fresh in the spring, refreshing in the summer, and absolutely amazing on a Christmas cookie platter.
We’ve baked plenty of batches of sugar cookies over the years, including some popular Crumbl Sugar Cookie copycats. We use that as the base for these, adding two bakery secret ingredients and a super simple technique for infusing real lemon flavor—no lemon extract here! It’s all about getting that fresh, zesty punch with just the right softness and texture!
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Why this recipe is great
- Real lemon flavor, no extracts needed—just essential oils from the zest! These cookies have the perfect level of lemon: not too tart, but not too mild, with a light and bright intensity that hits just right.
- Plus, we use cold butter, so there’s no waiting around for it to soften. When you’re ready to go, just bake them up, and you’ve got yourself a batch of delicious lemon sugar cookies in no time.
- You can make these in two sizes: the standard cookie for a perfectly sized treat, or go all in with the jumbo version—don’t worry, we’ve got the instructions for that too. And neither one require cutting out or rolling!
- After lots of experimenting, we finally landed on the perfect method for tall and fluffy cookies—a quick chill in the fridge, then straight into a really hot oven for a short bake. It gives you that perfect rise and soft, tender center every time.
Lemon sugar cookie ingredients
These ingredients work together to make cookies that are soft, flavorful, and totally crave-worthy!
- Butter: We only use salted butter, but use unsalted butter works as well.
- Oil: Any neutral flavored like canola oil or avocado oil are good options. It helps keep the texture soft without overpowering the lemon.
- Granulated sugar: Good old white sugar is perfect.
- Powdered sugar: This sweetens the dough but also keeps them extra tender.
- Eggs: Large eggs are standard for any baking recipe.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract adds a smooth edge to balance the tang.
- Lemons: The outer peel is the holy grail of real, fresh lemon flavor!
- Cornstarch: Just a little bit really does help with tenderness.
- Baking soda: Be sure it’s fresh—if it’s old, it won’t do its job properly.
- Kosher salt: Just a pinch brings out the other flavors.
- Cake flour: This super fine flour is one of the secrets to that soft, tender texture.
- All-purpose flour: This is the one that helps the structure of the cookies.
Helpful kitchen tools
How to make lemon sugar cookies
These cookies are not hard to make, but there are a couple key steps to ensure that they come out as tender and soft as they should.
Start by making homemade lemon sugar—this is the main way that bright lemon flavor gets into the cookie. Just toss the granulated sugar and plenty of lemon zest into a food processor and blend until the sugar and zest basically become one. It smells amazing and gives the cookies that fresh citrus kick.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with hand mixer, mix the cold butter, oil, and sugars on low speed for about 30 seconds. Give the bowl a good scrape, then bump it up to medium speed for another 30 seconds. Finally, crank it to high for 30 more seconds, or until the mixture looks super light and fluffy.
Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing well after each one. Then toss in the zest from the fresh lemons and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything's mixed in evenly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, salt, baking soda, cake flour, and all-purpose flour. Then pour the dry ingredients right on top of the wet mix. Mix until everything is just combined—don’t overdo it! Make sure to scrape down the sides and get all the way to the bottom of the bowl. The dough will be pretty moist, but not sticky or gooey.
Scoop the cookie dough, roll it into a ball, and then roll it around in that lemon sugar mixture until it’s fully coated. Place each one on a cookie sheet that has been prepped with parchment paper, leaving a little space in between.
If the lemon sugar has clumped up a bit, just run your fingers or a fork through it to break it up—it’ll fluff right back up.
Use the bottom of a measuring cup to gently press the cookie dough balls down to about ¾ of an inch thick. Pop the tray in the fridge for 30 minutes. This step is super important because it helps the cookies keep their shape and height while baking.
Once they’re chilled, bake at 400°F for 6–8 minutes, until the edges are just set but the centers still look soft. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
Hint: This recipe is written for regular-sized cookies, but if you're going for those extra-large, bakery-style ones, just use a 3.25-inch cookie scoop. Bake them for 9–10 minutes instead, and you'll get those big, soft, lemony cookies that look straight out of a bakery case.
How to store
To ensure these cookies maintain their softness and tenderness, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
How to freeze
To freeze these cookies, make the dough, scoop the cookies, and roll in the lemon sugar. Then flatten gently as instructed. Freeze flattened cookies on a cookie sheet to maintain their shape. Once fully hard, then store in a freezer zipper bag. Bake straight from frozen for an extra minute or two.
When to serve lemon sugar cookies
While this is not an exhaustive list, we think these occasions would be well served with a soft lemon sugar cookie.
- Easter
- Mother's Day
- Patriotic Summer Holidays
- Memorial Day Parties
- Fourth Of July Get togethers
- Labor Day Celebrations
- Any summertime activity:
- Pool days
- BBQ night
- Lake or river vacations
- Family reunions
FAQs
We’ve got two secret ingredients that ensure an ultra soft lemon sugar cookie—cornstarch and cake flour. Both of them add that light, tender bite, and that gives the dough a super fine texture that bakes up really soft every time. Total game-changers!
The main culprits behind flat cookies? Over-softened butter (which we don’t use here) and skipping the chill time. This dough has to be chilled for 30 minutes after the cookies are formed—that quick rest helps them bake up tall and fluffy instead of spreading out too much. Absolutely worth the wait!
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t substitute the cake flour. All purpose flour will make a heavy cookie. If you don’t have any, use this cake flour substitute method.
- Don't skip refrigerating. I know it's an annoying extra step, but it's so worth it to keep the cookies thick instead of flat.
- Be really careful not to overbake or they will be dry. They will be very soft in the center when you take them out. They will continue cooking on the pan slightly.
- Variation: Drizzle our lemon glaze on them!
More favorite cookie recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Super Soft Lemon Sugar Cookie (Uses Cold Butter!)
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer with bowl
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
Lemon Sugar Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup 1.5 sticks butter cold and cut in small cubes
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
Lemon Sugar
- Make the lemon sugar in a food processor (I used my little immersion blender one, or use your fingers).½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
Lemon Sugar Cookie Dough
- In a stand mixer or a large bowl with hand beaters, beat the cold butter, oil, and sugars on low for 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl, then increase to medium speed for another 30 seconds, then high speed for 30 seconds, or until very light and fluffy.¾ cup 1.5 sticks butter cold and cut in small cubes, ¼ cup canola oil, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup powdered sugar
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and zest. Scrape well.2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- In a medium bowl, combine the cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cake flour, and all-purpose flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine on low until just combined. The dough should be very moist. Scrape the bowl well.1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 ½ cups cake flour, 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Using a standard scoop, scoop cookies onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place 12 cookies per sheet pan.
- Break up the lemon sugar until smooth. Roll the cookies in lemon sugar. Place on sheet lined with parchment, 12 per sheet. Then use a flat measuring cup or glass cup to gently flatten the cookies to about ¾ inch thick. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until the cookies are slightly golden on the bottom but still soft in the center. Cool completely on the cookie sheet.
Notes
- Don’t substitute the cake flour. All purpose flour will make a heavy cookie. If you don’t have any, use this cake flour substitute method.
- Don't skip refrigerating. I know it's an annoying extra step, but it's so worth it to keep the cookies thick instead of flat.
- Be really careful not to overbake or they will be dry. They will be very soft in the center when you take them out. They will continue cooking on the pan slightly.
- Variation: Drizzle our lemon glaze on them!
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Mary Ernst says
I want to make these in the morning. Can I use bread flour? Please don't make me go to Walmart...
Danielle says
Mary,
It does not bring me pleasure to say this, but a Walmart run it is. Bread flour contains more protein which means it has more structure and a lot less tenderness. Lemon cookies need the softness in all-purpose flour to ensure their tenderness. I wish it were not true, but alas, it is! Happy shopping! And if you end up making them, we would love to hear how they turned out.
Danielle says
These cookies are the perfect spring treat!