Snickerdoodle meets lemon in these soft and chewy Lemon Crinkle Cookies. With or without the white chocolate drizzle, these zesty treats have the perfect combination of flavors.
Can’t get enough lemon dessert recipes? You’ll love these Lemon Ricotta Cookies, lemon sugar cookies, and my lemon bars are the ultimate citrus treat.
Chewy Lemon Cookies
I took my gingerdoodle cookie recipe and lemon-ized it. I also created a new verb in the process. From now on adding lemon flavor to a recipe is known as “lemon-izing” in this house!
But seriously, let’s talk about these lemon crinkle cookies!
- Lemon zest. This addition brings bright flavor and a heavenly citrus aroma to the simple cookie dough.
- Rolled in granulated sugar. Instead of the classic cinnamon-sugar topping of a snickerdoodle, these cookies have a crackly pure sugar topping!
- White chocolate drizzle. For an added treat, I added a little melted white chocolate to the baked cookies. Heavenly!
- Freezer friendly recipe. Make a double or triple batch. You’ll love having a stash of these in the freezer for later!
The result? Perfect chewy Lemon Crinkle Cookies. If you love crinkle cookies, try our classic chocolate crinkle cookie recipe. Or give our delicious, soft and chewy red velvet crinkle cookies a try soon.
Ingredient Notes
- Lemon zest. You’ll need the zest of about 2 or 3 lemons. A zester or microplane grater is perfect for removing that fragrant outer peel. Use our guide on how to zest a lemon for best tips and tricks.
- Butter. We opt for unsalted butter in our baking, unless otherwise noted. This allows us to control the amount of salt added (learn why we use kosher salt in baking). Be sure to soften your butter to room temperature using our tips on how to soften butter quickly.
- Light corn syrup. Creates a chewy texture!
- White chocolate melting wafers. I used my trusty Ghirardelli melting wafers. These are optional but add a sweet and pretty finish that makes the cookies even more appealing.
Tips & Tricks
- Use a medium sized cookie scoop. Mine holds 2 tablespoons of dough to ensure evenly sized cookies.
- Roll in sugar. After scooping the cookie dough into balls, give each one a quick roll in granulated sugar.
- Freeze dough. Use our tips to freeze cookie dough if you don’t want to bake all the cookies immediately.
- Let cool completely. Adding warm chocolate to a warm cookie is a recipe for disaster. Wait until the lemon crinkle cookies are fully cooled. Then slowly drizzle the melted white chocolate on top.
Recipe FAQs
Store Lemon Crinkle Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep well for one week.
Yes, other citrus flavors would be tasty in this recipe too. Or you can try these Orange, Lemon, and Lime Citrus Cookies. They’re very similar to Lemon Crinkle Cookies and include all your favorite fruity flavors.
You COULD use melted white chocolate chips but they won’t drizzle over the cookies as smoothly and definitely won’t look as neat. I strongly recommend using white chocolate or vanilla melting wafers, which are formulated to melt and drizzle smoothly. You can also leave off the white chocolate entirely. The Lemon Crinkle Cookies are just as delicious enjoyed au natural.
More Cookie Recipes
- These Iced Oatmeal Cookies are a great way to make a healthy cookie even better!
- Your favorite cinnamon cookie took a fall twist! Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are here and they are so scrumptious!
- Dreaming of these creamy Peanut Butter Cookies? I definitely am!
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are thick, fudgy, and chewy, and perfect for your next holiday party!
- Try out these classic Toll House Cookies! The tried and true delicious cookie recipe!
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Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lemon zest about 2-3 lemons
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling the cookies
- 1 cup Ghirardelli white chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat together until fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until smooth. Add in the corn syrup and beat until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. Stir in the lemon zest.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (or about 2 Tablespoons), roll the cookie dough into a ball. Place the granulated sugar into a bowl. Roll the dough into the sugar. Place on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 7 to 8 minutes until the edges are firm. Allow to cool on the pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
- Melt white chocolate according to package directions. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the cooled cookie and return to parchment paper. Allow to set.
Notes
- Store. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, or freeze until desired.
- Use a medium sized cookie scoop. Mine holds 2 tablespoons of dough to ensure evenly sized cookies.
- Roll in sugar. After scooping the cookie dough into balls, give each one a quick roll in granulated sugar.
- Freeze dough. Use our tips to freeze cookie dough if you don’t want to bake all the cookies immediately.
- Let cool completely. Adding warm chocolate to a warm cookie is a recipe for disaster. Wait until the lemon crinkle cookies are fully cooled. Then slowly drizzle the melted white chocolate on top.
Nutrition
Crinkly crackly tops and a soft chewy crumb make Lemon Crinkle Cookies irresistible. Add a gorgeous white chocolate topping and watch how fast they disappear!
I can feel them melting in my mouth already just from looking at the pictures. Yummmm!
My family loves lemon desserts, bet this will be a hit over here!
These turned out awful. They flattened out and ran together. I am putting the second tray in the fridge to see if that helps. I followed the recipe and even double checked it before adding. So sad because they looked so good.
Hmm, something went wrong then, because they definitely would not flatten out (if anything I whack them on the tops with a spatula when they come out). Hope you figure it out 🙁
Yum! I am making these tomorrow. I love anything with lemon.
Just looking at these makes me happy. Thanks for linking to my Cookies!
Around this time of year I need all the food that tastes like sunshine that I can get! These are perfect.