Our Lemon Crinkle Cookies are light and fluffy on the inside, sweet and crunchy on the outside, bursting with lemon flavor and all dressed up in pretty pastel colors. And did we mention that they are not made with a cake mix?!

Closeup on a white plate full of Lemon Crinkle Cookies.

We love this Lemon Crinkle Cookie recipe … chock full of lemon flavor, dusted with powdered sugar, and tinted in the pretty pastel colors.  This is the perfect cookie for an Easter Brunch, Spring Bake Sale, Summer Barbecue or any other day of the year.  And don’t worry, this recipe is completely from scratch.  No cake mix cookies for us! Light and fluffy on the inside, sweet and crunchy on the outside – we hope you love these cookies as much as we do. This is a great Crinkle Cookies recipe – and so pretty in these spring colors.  And the lemon flavor is so light and refreshing. Your family will ask for these cookies again and again!

How to Prepare the Lemons

Collage image showing how to juice and zest lemons for the Lemon Crinkle Cookies.

Step 1: Our Lemon Crinkle Cookies are flavored with the bright and fresh taste of lemons – you will need 2-3 medium-sized lemons.
Step 2: Use a Microplane or Zester to get 4 tablespoons of lemon zest. 
Step 3: Squeeze enough lemons to get 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Set aside the zest and the lemon juice to add to the cookie dough.

Collage image showing how to cream the butter, sugar and eggs for the Lemon Crinkle Cookies.

Step 4: Add the sugar and the softened butter to the mixer. Cream until completely combined.
Step 5: Add the eggs.
Step 6: Mix until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.  

Collage image showing how to add the lemon juice, lemon zest and flour to the Lemon Crinkle Cookie dough.

Step 7:  Add in the lemon juice and the lemon zest, mix until thoroughly combined.
Step 8: Add in the Baking Powder and mix.  Finally, mix in the flour, a third at a time. 
Step 9: If you are not going to tint the cookies, refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.

Collage image showing how to tint the Lemon Crinkle Cookie dough pink, purple, yellow and blue.

Step 10: If you are going to color the cookies, separate the cookie dough into four equal portions.
Step 11: Color each of the portions of cookie dough and then refrigerate the dough for two hours.  

We used Wilton Color Right food coloring to color the cookie dough.  Here are the combinations that we used:

Pink – 3 drops of Pink
Blue – 3 drops of Blue
Yellow – 3 drops of Yellow
Purple – 3 drops of Pink and 1 drop of Blue

Baking Instructions

Collage image showing how to roll the Lemon Crinkle Cookie dough in the powdered sugar before you bake them.

Step 12: Roll the dough into balls.
Step 13: Place the cookie dough ball in a bowl or plate of powdered sugar.  Roll the cookie dough ball in the powdered sugar until it is covered. Keep the dough in the refrigerator between batches.  The Powdered Sugar on the outside of the Lemon Crinkle Cookies will bake up nicer if it is applied to refrigerated dough. 

Collage image showing two angles of a Pink Lemon Crinkle Cookie - one showing the top of the cookie and the other showing the inside of the cookie.

Step 14:  Bake the cookies in an oven preheated to 350 degrees oven for 9-10 minutes. You don’t want the cookies to get too brown around the edges so keep an eye on them the last few minutes in the oven.
Step 15:  These Lemon Crinkle Cookies will be crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside! Yum!!!

Two stacks of Lemon Crinkle Cookies sitting on a white table linen.

Step 16: These cookies should be stored in an airtight container.  They will stay fresh longer if they are completely cool before you pack them up.  We usually add a layer of parchment paper between each row of cookies in our plastic container.  They should stay fresh for 3-4 days. You can freeze them for up to 3 months.

Expert Tips and FAQs

Can you use a Lemon Extract instead of fresh lemon?

We have not tried this but it should work. Since extracts are sometimes very strong we would recommend to start with 1/2 teaspoon or 1 teaspoon to start and then taste the dough to see if you need to add more lemon flavor.

Can I skip the lemon zest?

You can, but you shouldn’t. Quite a bit of the lemony flavor comes from the zest. If you don’t have a microplane, you can use a grater.

Closeup of a tall stack of Lemon Crinkle Cookies colored in pink, blue, yellow and purple.

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Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Yield 36 cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Our Lemon Crinkle Cookies are light and fluffy on the inside, sweet and crunchy on the outside, bursting with lemon flavor and all dressed up in pretty pastel colors. And did we mention that they are not made with a cake mix?!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter (softened) (Salted Sweet Cream)
  • 2 cups Granulated Sugar
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 4 tablespoons Lemon Juice
  • 4 tablespoons Lemon Zest
  • 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 4 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
  • Wilton Color Right Food Coloring - Pink, Blue, Yellow
  • 1/2-1 cup Powdered Sugar (to roll the cookie dough in)

Instructions

  1. Cream the softened butter and sugar until completely combined.
  2. Add in eggs and mix until the dough is fluffy.
  3. Add in Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest and mix until fully incorporated.
  4. Add in the Baking Powder.
  5. Mix in the flour, a third at a time.
  6. Split into four portions and use food coloring to tint the cookie dough pink, yellow, blue, and purple.
  7. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
  8. Roll dough into balls and roll in powdered sugar.
  9. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

Notes

Food Coloring Formulas
Pink – 3 drops of Pink
Blue – 3 drops of Blue
Yellow - 3 drops of Yellow
Purple - 3 drops of Pink and 1 drop of Blue

Storage Instructions
These cookies should be stored in an airtight container.  They will stay fresh longer if they are completely cool before you pack them up.  We usually add a layer of parchment paper between each row of cookies in our plastic container.  They should stay fresh for 3-4 days. You can freeze them for up to 3 months.

Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!