Have you ever made a lemon cookie recipe that turned out to be soft and cakey? So have I. And whilst there is nothing wrong with soft lemon crinkle cookies, we all love a good chewy cookie that's bursting with fresh lemons (plus a little lemon extract!). Here, we will talk you through the method for making these Chewy Lemon Cookies that have great texture and lots of vibrant flavour!
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Why You Will Love These Chewy Lemon Cookies?
- Chewy, Not Cakey: Sweet, chewy, easy lemon cookies similar to chocolate chip cookies but with lemon instead.
- Effortless Prep: Quick to make (but need chilling), perfect for any busy schedule.
- Best cookies for freezing!
- Tangy Sweetness: A burst of lemony goodness in every bite: lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract used!
Take a peek below for more delicious biscuit and cookie recipes:
If you keep a sourdough starter, why not try our Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies or Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies next?
Fancy a buttery soft melt-in-the-mouth cookies? Try our Lemon Thumbprint Cookies with Lemon Curd!
Ingredients and Substitutes
You are a few simple ingredients away from chewy soft lemon cookies full of fresh lemon flavor. Here's what you'll need:
- caster sugar: also known as superfine sugar, or you may use white granulated sugar.
- fresh lemon zest + fresh lemon juice: even though we add lemon extract, don't skip the real lemons. You need plenty of lemon zest and some juice to overpower the molasses from brown sugar in this recipe.
- light brown sugar: the not-so-secret ingredient for chewy cookies.
- unsalted butter: you may use salted butter, but significantly reduce the amount of extra salt used.
- eggs: use large eggs at room temperature. You will need 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk.
- lemon essence/ lemon extract: unfortunately, the natural lemon flavour is not quite enough here. For bold lemon flavour we add some extract too!
- plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour.
- baking soda: a.k.a. bicarbonate of soda.
- salt.
- a drop of yellow food colouring: optional.
Additional Mix-Ins
Here are a few things we tried and loved:
- Add a drop of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Mix in up to 200g of white chocolate chips - your cookies will be extra sweet!
- Add some chopped pecan nuts to the soft cookie dough.
What Is The Secret To Chewy Cookies?
The secret to achieving the best chewy cookies lies in the careful balance of ingredients! Using a higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar helps retain moisture, creating that perfect cookie texture.
Additionally, slightly underbaking the cookies and allowing them to cool on the baking sheet helps maintain their chewiness, resulting in the ultimate indulgence...
Looking for cookies to enjoy over Easter? Try our Easter Cookies With Mini Eggs!
Equipment Used
- Kenwood handheld electric mixer
- Lemon zester
- Rubber spatula
- Large cookie sheet
- Cooling rack.
Step-By-Step Method
1. Place the butter in a small saucepan and leave it to melt. Keep on heating it until it just starts to brown. Then take it off the heat and leave to cool down.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the caster sugar and lemon zest. With your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar to release the lemon oil.
3. Add the brown sugar and pour in the melted butter. Using an electric handheld mixer, beat the mixture until the sugar starts to dissolve, about 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
4. Add an egg and an egg yolk, alongside lemon juice and lemon essence and beat again until light and fluffy with a hand mixer. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure all the sugar is incorporated into the wet ingredients.
5. In a separate large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt and baking soda.
6. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and, using a rubber spatula fold until well combined.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (cling film) and place the mixture in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.
8. Preheat the oven to 170 C Fan. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
9. Divide the chilled cookie dough into 16 portions and shape tight balls (you can use 1 oz (30 ml) cookie scoop for this). Place them on the prepared baking sheet, spread out with plenty of space in between (we fit 8 per sheet pan).
TIP: if you are working in a warm kitchen and your cookie balls warm up too quickly, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. This will prevent them from spreading too much in the oven.
10. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. They should still be very soft in the middle but should have golden brown crisp edges.
11. Leave the baked cookies to cool down and firm up on the baking sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips For Best Results
- The amount of flour needed may differ, depending on how much you've browned your butter. If lots of your butter evaporates into thin air, don't be tempted to add too much flour.
- You can mix wet ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, but make sure to mix in the dry ingredients by hand.
- Do not skip the part where you rub the sugar and lemon zest with your fingertips - releasing the oils from the lemon zest will add heaps of fresh flavour.
- Let the cookies cool down completely before enjoying them - warm cookies will taste far too sweet!
Storage
The good thing is, that these Chewy Lemon Cookies stay fresh for 3-4 days, so go ahead and make a large batch! Store them in an airtight container, with a sheet of baking parchment between layers.
You can also freeze these cookies, and thaw them as and when you're craving one!
More Lemon Desserts To Try Next Time
Calling all lemon lovers! We have more lemon treats for you to try! From 5-ingredient lemon bars, 3-ingredient lemon posset brulee to Italian Lemon Ricotta Pie, have a look at all things lemon below:
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies (Not Cakey)
Equipment
- Lemon Zester
Ingredients
- 50 g (⅖ cups) caster sugar or white granulated sugar
- 1 lemon all zest + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 200 g (¾ cups + 2 tbsp) light brown sugar
- 170 g (6 oz) unsalted butter
- 1 egg large
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon lemon essence
- 230 g (1½ cups + 2 tbsp) plain flour all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- a drop of yellow food colouring optional
Instructions
- Place the butter in a small saucepan and leave it to melt. Keep on heating it until it just starts to brown. Then take it off the heat and leave to cool down.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the caster sugar and lemon zest. With your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils from the lemon zest.
- Add the brown sugar and pour in the melted butter. Using an electric handheld mixer, beat the mixture until the sugar starts to dissolve, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add an egg and an egg yolk, alongside lemon juice and lemon essence and beat again until light and fluffy.
- In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and, using a rubber spatula fold until well combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (cling film) and place the mixture in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- Preheat the oven to 170 C Fan. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the chilled cookie dough into 16 portions and shape tight balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, spread out with plenty of space in between.
- TIP: if you are working in a warm kitchen and your cookie balls warm up too quickly, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. This will prevent them from spreading too much in the oven.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. They should still be very soft in the middle, but should have browned crispy edges.
- Leave the chewy lemon cookies to cool down and firm up on the baking sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Shirley says
I just made these for the second time and they look nothing like your photo. This time I weighed the flour. They are puffy and cakey. Something must be wrong with the measurements. I see other people had this problem too.
Ieva Greber says
Thank you for taking the time to comment — I’m really sorry to hear these didn’t turn out as expected for you.
I’ve made this recipe a number of times over the years and, using weighed ingredients, I haven’t personally found them to be puffy or cakey. That said, I completely understand how frustrating it is when a bake doesn’t match what you were hoping for, especially after giving it a second go.
I really appreciate you flagging this. I’ll make it a priority to retest the recipe over Christmas and will update it with any new observations or corrections if needed. Feedback like this genuinely helps improve the recipes and make them more reliable for everyone.
Thank you again for letting me know — it’s very much appreciated.