Lemon Crinkle Cookies From Scratch are wonderfully tart and sweet. You will be delighted by a refreshing lemony flavor in each bite. These are slightly chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. No food coloring in these cookies! Their bright yellow color is completely natural thanks to a secret healthy ingredient. Read on if you get curious.
On my first try, I was impressed with the taste of these lemon crinkle cookies but disappointed with their pale color. They should have come out with a bright yellow color to give a fresh feeling. But without a food coloring. I knew how to succeed this: With a little turmeric. It’s been my favorite ingredient to give a natural yellow color to what I make. You don’t taste it in baked goods at all. Not to mention its health benefits.
Although lemon is one of my favorite summer foods in the form of Homemade Lemon Ice Cream, I wanted to use it in our cookie baking this time.
Ingredients
This is a recipe from scratch, but don’t worry. These lemon cookies are really easy to make. As almost all yummy cookie recipes, this one calls for butter at room temperature too. Besides butter, we need
- Lemon zest
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Lemon juice
- All purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Turmeric powder
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Powdered sugar
I haven’t tried one yet but there are recipes for lemon crinkle cookies with cake mix around the web. Most of them have 3 or 4 more ingredients, so things get even easier and quicker. Cake mixes are always great shortcuts. For example, I baked Peach Cobbler Made With Cake Mix last summer and it was a big hit with no effort for preparing the dough. So maybe it’s time for me to try recipes for cookies with a basic cake mix, especially when I am short on time.
So if you need a quicker recipe and decide to use a cake mix in your recipe, use
- 1 package lemon cake mix (18.25 ounce)
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup oil
- lemon juice
Leave out all the other ingredients.
On the other hand, you don't need to worry about making these cookies from scratch. This recipe is as easy and straightforward as lemon crinkle cookies using cake mix.
How To Make
This lemon crinkle cookies recipe is no different from any chewy cookie recipe.
First, prepare the wet mixture, starting with creaming butter, sugar and lemon zest. Continue with adding lemon juice and eggs.
Second, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, turmeric powder, salt and baking powder. Gradually pour this into the wet mixture and combine well.
Third, as most of the chewy cookie recipes, this one requires chilling too. Chill the dough at least 1 hour. It is easier to roll the dough into balls when chilled. Otherwise, it will be sticky.
Fourth, scoop the dough out of the bowl, roll into a ball, roll the ball in the powdered sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining dough.
Finally, bake the cookie balls at preheated oven for 13-14 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer on a wire rack to cool completely.
Can You Freeze These?
Yes! You can freeze these cookies in an airtight container up to 2 months. Cookie dough freeze well too. Roll the cookie dough in balls and then freeze. When you want to bake, you can roll them in powdered sugar and then bake frozen for 16 minutes.
How To Enrich
If you want a richer taste, make your lemon crinkle cookies with cream cheese. You can add one 8-ounce package cream cheese in the cookie dough. The amounts of the flour and sugar will be different then. You need to increase the measurement of sugar to 1 cup (or even a little more if you like it really sweet) and the flour to 2 and ¼ cups.
Another way to enrich these lemon cookies is to make a sprinkles cream cheese frosting recipe and spread it on the cookies.
Other Lemon Recipes
Other Edible Gift Ideas
As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
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PrintLemon Crinkle Cookies From Scratch
Lemon crinkle cookies from scratch. Slightly chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. Naturally colored with turmeric, but you don't taste it at all.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 29 minutes
- Yield: 25 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 and ½ teaspoons turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest with a hand mixer until pale. Beat in lemon juice and eggs, one at a time.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, turmeric powder, salt and baking powder.
- Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix either with a spatula or hand mixer with low speed until combined.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough at least 1 hour. It is easier to roll the dough into balls when chilled.
- Preheat the oven to 350F, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough out of the bowl, roll into a ball, roll the ball in the powdered sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining dough.
- Bake for 13-14 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer on a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 93
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 30.2 mg
- Fat: 4.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.4 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
- Cholesterol: 24.6 mg
Keywords: lemon crinkle cookies, lemon cookies
Linda says
I so enjoy your recipes, but I was trying to print the recipe for your Lemon Cookies and their were adds that kept coming up in front of the recipe which made it difficult to read and to print. I was finally able to copy and past, but this may be something to look at. Thank you.