These yummy lemon cookies have delicious chewy middles, crisp edges, and a sweet citrus flavor. I love them with tea for an afternoon treat!
These lemon cookies are my new favorite treat! They have that bakery-perfect chewy middle with a lightly crisp edge and a lovely balance of light and bright citrus flavor. I’ll be making them on repeat throughout the holiday season, but honestly, these lemon cookies are so delicious that I would happily take one any day of the year.
This lemon cookie recipe comes from my friend Melissa Coleman’s book The Minimalist Kitchen. You may know of her blog, The Faux Martha. If you don’t, go check it out – you’ll absolutely love her. She has wonderfully approachable mealtime recipes, highly do-able organizational tips (check out her pretty pantry), and, man, can that girl bake.
Lemon Cookies Ingredients
Trust me, you’re going to want to try this lemon cookie recipe ASAP. Here’s what you need:
- All-purpose flour makes the base of the dough.
- Cornmeal and poppyseeds give these cookies substance and contribute to their delectable crisp/chewy texture.
- Baking soda helps them rise.
- Sea salt highlights the lemon flavor.
- Sugar sweetens them up.
- Butter and olive oil combine to add richness and accent the citrus essence.
- Lemon juice and orange and lemon zest make them bright, fresh, and citrusy.
- And an egg puffs them up and perfects their moist, chewy middles.
That’s it! Let’s bake.
These photos actually make these lemon cookies look kind of small, but made with a 1/4-cup cookie scoop, they’re a perfect 1-cookie afternoon indulgence with a cup of coffee or tea.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these lemon cookies, try one of these favorite cookie recipes next:
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Orange Zest Shortbread Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Or any of these 17 Easy Cookie Recipes!
Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups-all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
- 1 cup sugar, more for sprinkling
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, poppy seeds, baking soda, and salt.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and zests on medium speed until well combined. Add the oil, egg, and lemon juice. Continue mixing until pale and evenly combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. The dough will be somewhat dense.
- Using a 1/4-cup sized cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet (note: these cookies will spread, so leave some room in between each one), and sprinkle the tops with sugar. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes. The cookies will seem like they need a minute longer, but take them out anyways. Let cool on the pan for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Have never been inspired to leave a comment on a recipe site. However! These are the perfect lemon cookies! Added a bit more zest. And. Just because! I swapped out the poppy seeds for minced preserved lemons. Amazing combo of sweet and salty.
Hi Claire, I’m so glad you loved them!
These look delicious I will have to try them out.
Very tasty, very easy to make, which is just what I need, being brand new to baking. Only criticism I have is that I wish I had used regular salt instead of sea salt. Thank you for a great recipe!
I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before but these were really great! I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, reduced the sugar a bit, added 1.5 tsp extra zest and the juice of 1.5 lemons per other comments around flavor and they were perfect. Thank you for this recipe – I never would have thought to use cornmeal in a cookie and it was great!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Hi Jeanine,
I would love to try this recipe. Is there anything I could substitute fir the cornmeal? My son is allergic to corn.
Hi Cheryl, I haven’t tried so I’m not sure.
Hmm, that’s a tough one. I think semolina would have a similar texture (I realize it might not be at most stores). Additional flour might work, but I’m not sure how much.
Just baked these cookies and they taste great! I put in a little more lemon juice and zest as I like the kick, but I was very puzzled why the cookie didn’t flatten out at all in the oven (I used an ice cream scoop to portion them out) – they looked like scones that tasted like cookies. For the second batch, I flattened out the dough with a spatula, looks much better.
Hi June, did you change anything about the recipe? It sounds like maybe there was too much flour – the amount that gets packed into a measuring cup can vary. Here’s our method: https://www.loveandlemons.com/how-to-measure-flour/
I used the metric grams conversion instead of cup. But the next time I make it, I’ll try cup measurement! Thanks for the reply!