Soft Chewy Lemon Cookies (Printable)
Bright, zesty soft lemon cookies bursting with citrus flavor. Ready in 25 minutes.
# What You'll Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
02 - 1 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 large egg
04 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
05 - 2 teaspoons lemon zest
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
07 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
09 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
→ Finishing
10 - 1/4 cup powdered sugar (for coating, optional)
# How To Make:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together using an electric mixer until the mixture is pale, light, and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
03 - Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat until fully combined and smooth.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until the flour is incorporated. Stop mixing as soon as no dry streaks remain to keep the cookies tender.
06 - Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. If desired, roll each ball in powdered sugar for a sweet, crackled finish.
07 - Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
08 - Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges are just set and the centers still look slightly soft and underbaked. This ensures a chewy texture.
09 - Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The texture walks the line between a sugar cookie and a cloud, and that slight underbaked center is pure magic.
- You probably have every ingredient sitting in your kitchen right now, which means zero excuses and maximum cookie.
02 -
- Underbaking is the entire secret to a soft chewy cookie, so resist the urge to leave them in until they look fully done because that means you went too far.
- The lemon flavor deepens after a few hours, so do not judge the taste when the dough is raw or straight from the oven.
03 -
- Use a microplane for zesting because it captures the fragrant oils without digging into the bitter white pith underneath.
- Measure your flour by weight if you can, because even a small excess turns chewy cookies into dry ones and no amount of lemon can save that.