Name: Glazed Lemon Cookies
Total time: 30 minutes (plus chilling, cooling, and setting)
Yield: Makes about 22
Ingredients: Zest of 3 lemons (about 3 Tbsp.); 1⅔ cups (333 g) granulated sugar; 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled; 1 large egg; 1 large egg yolk; 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract; 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour; ½ tsp. baking powder; ½ tsp. baking soda; Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbsp.); 1½ cups (165 g) powdered sugar

Lemon Cookies on a blue surface with white glaze on top of the cookies.

Photography by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon, Food Styling by Luciana Lamboy

A chewy, soft lemon cookie is a thing of beauty—bright and zingy yet wonderfully understated. At first glance, these might look like simple iced sugar cookies, but housed within is enough lemon zest to add some serious pep. This lemon cookie recipe requires just one mixing bowl—no need for an electric mixer—and achieves otherworldly citrus flavor by massaging the zest into the sugar. This tints the sugar a cheery yellow hue while releasing the fruit’s fragrant oils and perfuming everything with sunny lemon flavor.

From there, it’s as simple as mixing in the wet ingredients (melted butter, eggs, vanilla) followed by the dry ingredients (flour, leavening). The key? Don’t overbake. As soon as you see cracks form, pull the cookie sheet from the oven. Though they may seem alarmingly soft, as the cookies cool, they’ll set to a sublimely chewy texture with delicately crisp edges. A final drizzle of lemon glaze—fresh lemon juice whisked with powdered sugar—adds a tangy finish, enlivening each bite with that trademark lemony zip.

Recipe information

Total Time
30 minutes (plus chilling, cooling, and setting)
Yield
Makes about 22

Ingredients

Zest of 3 lemons (about 3 Tbsp.)

1⅔ cups (333 g) granulated sugar

2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbsp.)

1½ cups (165 g) powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1
Combine zest of 3 lemons, 1⅔ cups (333 g) granulated sugar, and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl. Using your fingers, massage zest into sugar and salt until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled, and whisk to combine. Add 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract and whisk until glossy and emulsified. Add 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, ½ tsp. baking powder, and ½ tsp. baking soda and, using a rubber spatula, mix just until no dry pockets of flour remain (be careful not to overmix). Working one at a time, scoop cookie dough out into 2 (packed) Tbsp. portions and roll into smooth balls between your palms. Divide dough balls between 2 parchment-paper-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart (you should have about 11 cookies placed in a 4-3-4 grid per sheet). Chill, uncovered, at least 2 hours and up 12 hours.
Step 2
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat oven to 350°. Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until puffy and cracked on top, 13–16 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets.
Step 3
Whisk juice of 1 lemon and 1½ cups (165 g) powdered sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cookies and let sit 1 hour to allow glaze to set.
Do Ahead: Lemon cookies can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Editor’s note: Head this way for more of our favorite lemon desserts →