These Lemon Meltaway Cookies truly melt in your mouth! A soft, delicate cookie with the most amazing subtle lemon flavor. Don’t miss my 50 Best Cookie Recipes if you want more ideas!
What is a Meltaway Cookie?
Traditionally meltaway cookies are velvety, tender cookies that do not use eggs. It is quite soft and the flavor is produced through the extract added, whether it be vanilla, almond, or lemon in this case.
This a gentle reminder that a recipe is only as good as your ingredients. So always make sure you are buying quality products when you bake.
Tips for Meltaway Cookies
- This recipe is written for a stand mixer, but you can easily use a hand-held mixer.
- Make sure your ingredients are room temperature.
- A 1-tablespoon cookie scoop works best to achieve uniform cookies.
- Be sure to press the cookies flat right out of the oven, when the cookies are still pliable.
- Make sure cookies are cooled completely before adding glaze. The glaze will harden enough to stack cookies in about 12 hours, 24 hours is best.
Real Lemon Juice vs. Lemon Extract
If you don’t have lemon extract, you can use fresh lemon juice. Here is a simple equivalency:
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice = 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest = 1 teaspoon lemon extract
I have not tested these cookies with fresh lemon juice and zest.
How To Store Lemon Meltaway Cookies
Store Lemon Meltaway Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last up to 5 days. Or, freeze the cookies for up to 3 months. For more tips, check out my Guide to Freezing, Baking, and Storing Cookies!
Lemon Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (96 g) cornstarch
- ¾ cup (96 g) confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 cup (128 g) all-purpose flour
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3 -4 teaspoons whole milk,
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- yellow food color, optional
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand-held mixer, mix the butter and cornstarch until well combined and lighter in color.
- With the mixer off, add confectioners' sugar.
- With the mixer on low, and the lemon extract and mix until ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Turn mixer off and add flour. With the mixer on low to medium-low, mix until the dough comes together (pulls away from sides of the bowl).
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, (you can also use a tablespoon measuring spoon) remove about a tablespoon of dough. Place onto the lined cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. (For a standard cookie sheet you can fit at least 8 cookies, a larger cookie sheet can hold about 14.)
- Once the cookie sheet is full, gently roll each between your hands until it is a smooth ball.
- Bake 8-10 minutes.
- Right out of the oven take a glass with a flat bottom and gently press it into the cookie.
- Allow cookies to cool for about 5 minutes and then move to a cooling rack. Make sure cookies are completely cool before adding glaze.
Glaze
- In a medium bowl add 1 cup of confectioners' sugar, 3-4 teaspoons of milk, and 1 teaspoon of lemon extract. It's best to start with ½ teaspoon of the extract and sample as you go. (Some prefer less and some folks prefer a more intense flavor.) Stir until smooth.
- Place in a piping bag and seal with a rubber band, or spoon onto the cookies.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I love lemon anything, but I prefer to use lemon juice and zest, as I cannot have food additives/preservatives/colors. How would I make that substitute, if at all, for these delicious-sounding cookies?
Lemon Meltaway Cookies – do you do two glazes?
I want to make the Lemon Meltaways, what is the purpose of the 2 different glazes? Do you fill in the center with one, then drizzle the 2nd one? The recipe doesn’t say. Thank you.
One is yellow, one is white. That’s the only difference. If you want your cookies to LOOK lemony you can use the yellow glaze, if you like the white glaze, you can use that. You do not need to make both. 🙂
Can I use lemon juice instead of extract?
can we use real lemon juice?? Extract sometimes tastes so artificial.Thanks!
Each of these questions was addressed in the article: lemon juice and lemon zest, do you do two glazes?, what is the purpose of two glazes?, lemon juice vs lemon extract – all in the article.
(Not trying to be rude, but, read, people, read.)
Can these cookies be put in the freezer? If so, with or without the glaze?
You can freeze them with or without the glaze, but I much prefer to have fresh glaze.
Does the glaze harden, allowing cookies to be “stacked” on a assorted cookie tray?
Yes, it does harden enough to stack on a serving platter.
I have been making a similar recipie for years..came from Land of Lakes Butter….would ONLY use fresh lemon squeezed juice and peel. Delicious.
Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not much of a lemon fan. Is there anyway I can use chocolate instead? I assume for the cookie part, I replace the lemon extract with vanilla. But what to do about the glaze? Just simply use melt chocolate or could I follow the glaze recipe as well?