Ooey Gooey Lemon Cookies are going to be THE cookie of summer! These from-scratch Ooey Gooey Lemon Cookies were inspired by my Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies. They are sweet and satisfying and super fun to make! Don’t miss my 50 Best Cookie Recipes if you want more great cookie options! If you love lemon desserts, try my easy Lemon Mousse!
Oh, and here is the super popular Orange Creamsicle version!
Ooey Gooey Lemon Cookies
If you are looking for a delicious cookie that has the most wonderful hint of lemon, these are the cookies for you. I am a huge fan of my Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies and thought that if I made a few simple changes to the recipe it would convert well to a lemon cookie. Well, (oddly) I was right! These cookies are soft, sweet, a little tart from the lemon zest, and easy to make! Once you try them I can’t help but think you will agree! Along the same lines, I also went for an Orange Creamsicle Cookie following the same butter cookies recipe!
What Are Ooey Gooey Lemon Cookies?
Basically one of the sweetest cookies known to man! When my husband tried one his response was, “Now that’s a good cookie.” The kids were just as pleased, asking if they could do chores to earn another sweet cookie! They are addicting, which is tough because they are so sweet you know you shouldn’t eat two!
Extract vs. Real Lemon Juice
I use lemon extract in these cookies. 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
There is lemon zest and lemon extract in this dough, so swapping out for fresh lemon juice should be ok. (I have not tested it, we thought this cookie was amazing as-is.) For this recipe specifically, you would use 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice instead of lemon extract, which is about 1 medium lemon.
Should You Refrigerate Cookie Dough?
Now, you may have noticed that I did not refrigerate the dough. Most recipes call for this so I, of course, tested that. What exactly does refrigerating do for cookies? Well, when you chill cookie dough, it solidifies the fat. Then, when you are ready to bake the cookies, the chilled dough takes longer to melt and remains solid longer, meaning the cookies spread less. For this recipe specifically, that meant the cookies were much more puffed up and tall, which also meant I had to bake them a bit longer to make sure they were actually baked through. The edges browned and didn’t look as pretty as I would like.
Those cookies actually tasted less ooey gooey when the dough was chilled, so I opted to delete that instruction and use the dough immediately after preparing. The cookies are a bit flatter, but they are still just as ooey gooey and delicious!
How to Freeze Lemon Cookies
The very best way to freeze these cookies is to freeze the dough. I like to scoop out my individual cookies, place them on a baking sheet, and then place in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once they are chilled through, I place them in an airtight bag and then label it with the cookie name and date.
How to Store Ooey Gooey Lemon Cookies
If you want to store baked cookies, grab a large flat plastic container and place a layer of parchment or wax paper on the bottom. Set cookies down, place another layer of wax or parchment, then another layer of cookies. Set a slice of bread (it will get very dry but the cookies will remain moist) in the container and close. Be eaten within 3 days.
Ooey Gooey Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Cookie Recipe
- ½ cup (113g) salted butter, softened
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 ¼ cups (282g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (63g) confectioners sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
Topping
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, for rolling cookie dough in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat butter, cream cheese, lemon zest, and granulated sugar until blended.
- Add in egg, vanilla, and lemon extract.
- Add in flour, baking powder, and ½ cup confectioners sugar. With the mixer on low, gradually beat into creamed mixture.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough and then roll in the remaining ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar. Place approximately 6 dough balls on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. (Cookies will spread.)
- Bake until they no longer appear wet on top, 8-11 minutes. After about 5 minutes cooling on the pan (they will be soft!), place on cooling racks to cool completely.
Video
Notes
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Chocolate Chip Cookies (rated 500+ times!)
These are so good. Mine did not flatten, but they are still rich and gooey, a mix between cheese cake and raw dough – yum. We added citric acid to the powdered sugar to give it a bit of zing. And I will use lemon juice next time, to hopefully get it even a bit tarter.
This is the best cookie recipe. My family love it . I make it all the time. Now I baking them for some Christmas gifts. Thank you
Do you defrost the frozen dough before baking it?
I just made these for the first time. I only had a 1 tablespoon scoop so I doubled one pan and made the second pan only using 1 tablespoon. They are both great but I opted to make them all smaller so I get more from the recipe. Thank you for sharing. This is going in my cookie collection for the future
Your recipe says to use a hand held mixer for mixing the dough. I have a stand up mixer, can I use that instead if I use low speeds? I’m older and it’s easier for me. Thanks.
karen
Mine did not spread at all. Not even a little.
First time making crinkle type cookies and these were PERFECTION. Few notes:
– lemon juice isn’t a perfect sub for lemon extract because it carries that sourness that lemon extract doesn’t have. Lemon extract is made from the skin and rind of lemons, not the actual juice. The best sub for lemon extract (which is what i did) is more lemon zest!
– the dough is STICKY, so a cookie scoop is really a must. Put 1/4 cup powdered sugar at a time on a flat plate and drop the cookie dough from the scoop to the plate and just use your fingers to push the dough around then place the ball on the baking pan
– you can likely fit more than 6 per 9×12 baking pan to speed the process up (i was able to do 8 per pan or 16 for 22×16 pan!)
I made them with low calories sugar and they were delicious! Regards from Mexico.
How do I bake the cookies once I’ve frozen the cookie dough into individual cookies? Do I need to let them totally thaw before baking?
Hi, Debbie! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. I would recommend letting the cookie dough come to room temperature before baking. Have a wonderful day!
They taste great but did not spread and look more like a biscuit…I mixed in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon and wonder if I overworked the dough and kept cookies from spreading.