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Soft and tender lemon cookies topped with a sweet-tart lemon glaze.
These dome-shaped lemon cookies are like little bursts of sunshine. Each lemon cookie is coated with a sweet-tart lemon glaze, made from fresh lemon juice, for extra bright lemon flavor.
Why You’ll Love These Glazed Lemon Cookies
Simple Ingredients – made with simple ingredients including butter, sugar, eggs, four, and real lemon juice and zest.
Refreshing – the lemon in the cookies and the glaze is a refreshing and bright flavor.
Sweet-tart Glaze – the glaze, made with fresh lemon juice, packs a delighful citrusy punch.
Texture – they’re soft and tender with a slightly crisp outer edge.
Taste of Spring – with a bright flavor, these cookies are perfect for spring and summer.
Perfect for Occassions – They’re great for brunch, Mother’s Day, Easter, bridal showers, baby showers, etc.
Tips for Making Glazed Lemon Cookies
Slightly Softened Butter – you may notice that this recipe calls for slightly softened butter. You should be able to lightly press your finger to indent the butter, but we don’t want it super soft. If it’s soft enough that you would easily be able to spread it on a piece of white sandwich bread, it’s too soft and may not allow the cookies to keep their structure.
Cream the Butter and Sugar Well – you’ll want to beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes to ensure it’s creamed well. The mixture should be pale and fluffy. This helps provide structure to the cookies to keep them from spreading and prevents them from having a doughy texture.
Lemon Zest – lemon zest adds lovely lemon flavor. 1/4 cup of zest is used in this recipe. If you want a bit more lemon flavor, use 1/4 cup of zest, packed. You can also add lemon zest to the glaze for even more lemon flavor.
Chill (optional) – for slightly more domed cookies, or if your butter is too soft, you can chill the dough uncovered in the fridge for 20 minutes before scooping.
Adding the Glaze – ensure the cookies have fully cooled before adding the lemon glaze. This prevents it from melting off and from seeping into the cookies.
More Lemon Recipes
Equipment
In a pinch, a cheese grater will work to zest lemons, but it’s nice to have a microplane or lemon zester. You may also like a handheld juicer for this recipe. The following are helpful items to have for most cookie recipes:
- Cookie sheet
- 2 tbsp (#40) cookie scoop
- Parchment paper
- Thin and flexible spatula
- Wire cooling rack
- Mixer
- Kitchen Aid stand mixer
- Bosch stand mixer (great for big batches)
- Hand mixer
Soft Lemon Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 226 g) butter, slightly softened*
- 1 ½ cups (290 g) sugar
- 2 tbsp (28 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup lemon zest
- 1 egg
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 cups (360 g) flour
Lemon Glaze
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) powdered sugar
- 2 – 3 tbsp (28 – 42 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Cream the butter and sugar well by mixing on a medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy*.
- Add lemon juice, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Add flour and mix until just combined.
- Scoop 2 tbsp (#40 scoop) balls of dough onto a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until tops are set and edges are golden brown.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Glazing the Cookies
- Whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth. (Use 2 tbsp of lemon juice for a thicker glaze or 3 tbsp for a thinner glaze.)
- Once the cookies are completely cool on the wire rack, spoon the glaze over each cookie and allow it to set.
Notes
If you try out this lemon cookie recipe, I’d love to know what you think! Please leave a comment with a rating below and share a photo of your creation on Instagram using the hashtag #BrooksideKitchen and tag @BrooksideKitchen
