Lemon Crinkle Cookies
If you love thick, cakey cookies, then you’ll love these lemon crinkle cookies! Made with just a few simple ingredients - including boxed cake mix - this is an easy cookie recipe to make for any occasion that everyone is sure to love.
The Easiest Cookies You’ll Ever Make
If you like lemon, then you will love these cookies. Moreover, if you love quick recipes that you mix together in one bowl with one spoon and can enjoy fresh from the oven in less than 20 minutes, then definitely keep reading!
This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever encountered. You may have seen a version of this recipe before consisting of a cookie recipe based on a box cake mix. Often called crinkle cookies, there have been variations floating around the Internet for nearly 20 years now.
While I love baking from scratch, I also love to have a quick shortcut in my back pocket for those days when I need to throw something delicious together in a hurry. Safe to say these lemon crinkle cookies fit the bill!
Why I Love These Cookies
Taking a bite into these lemon cookies and you truly get a “burst” of lemon. The lemon cake mix is augmented with lemon zest, lemon juice, AND lemon extract. If you wanted to spice things up a bit, you could also substitute limoncello for the lemon juice in the recipe. (My kind of cookie!)
These lemon crinkle cookies, not surprisingly, have a soft and cakey texture. Rolling them in powdered sugar provides a perfect balance to the tartness of the lemon. They would be a wonderful addition to a brunch spread, wedding, baby shower, or afternoon tea.
Key Ingredients
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You only need seven ingredients to make these delicious and easy lemon cookies. (And I’d bet you have most of them in your kitchen right now!)
- One box of store-bought lemon cake mix (your preferred brand)
- Two eggs (at room temperature)
- Vegetable oil
- Zest of two lemons
- Fresh lemon juice
- Lemon extract
- Confectioner's sugar
How To Make These Crinkle Cookies
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Make the Dough: Pour the lemon cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract until well blended. (It’s OK to see some small lumps or streaks of flour.)
- Prepare the Cookies: Place confectioner's sugar in a bowl. Then, roll a heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into a ball in your hands, drop in the bow of confectioner’s sugar, and gently roll it around until it’s lightly coated. Place on baking sheet, and repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake: Once all of the dough is coated in the powdered sugar, bake them for 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve: I love serving these lemon cookies with hot tea or cold milk. They’re best fresh from the oven. Enjoy!
Prepare the lemon crinkle cookie dough by combining dry and wet ingredients. 
Roll balls of the cookie dough in powdered sugar before baking.
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze baked and cooled lemon cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag for up to 1 month. You can also freeze the raw dough already rolled into balls and coated in powdered sugar for up to 3 months.
- Reheat baked cookies from frozen by simply allowing them to come to room temperature, or bake the frozen dough for the same cooking temperature and time as before, but with the ability to cook longer if needed (potentially 5-7 extra minutes). Or let the dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Tips for Success
- Do not over-mix your batter. Just like with traditional cake recipes, you don’t want to beat the eggs too much and risk making these cakey cookies too dense. We want them to be light and fluffy.
- If you want more lemon flavor, add some extra lemon zest to the powdered sugar before baking or garnish the cooked cookies with some zest before serving.
- Change up the citrus! You can make these cookies with any citrus juice and zest. Oranges, limes, or Meyer lemons would be great. But stick with the lemon extract.
- Garnish with a lemon glaze to take these lemon cookies up a notch! Simply mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice until it’s a thick, but spreadable, consistency, and drizzle over the cookies once they’ve cooled.
More Cookie Recipes To Try
- Black and White Cookies
- Copycat Lofthouse Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Cowboy Cookies
- Super Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
- Nutella Cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box (517.38 g) lemon cake mix
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup (72.67 ml) vegetable oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons (2 Tablespoons) lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) lemon extract
- ⅓ cup (40 g) confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract until well blended.
- Place confectioner's sugar in a bowl.
- Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in confectioner's sugar until lightly coated and place on baking sheet.
- Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freeze baked and cooled lemon cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container or plastic bag for up to 1 month. You can also freeze the raw dough already rolled into balls and coated in powdered sugar for up to 3 months.
- Reheat baked cookies from frozen by simply allowing them to come to room temperature, or bake the frozen dough for the same cooking temperature and time as before, but with the ability to cook longer if needed (potentially 5-7 extra minutes). Or let the dough thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Dee Frances.
Way to wet to roll into balls. Had to add 2+ tablespoons of flour AND put in freezer for 45 mins to come close to being able to roll into balls. Work quickly as it gets mushy. Very tasty..nice lemon flavor. More like little cakes than cookies.
Looking forward to making these
Cookies
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes
would like to know if a bit of food coloring (red) added be ok
make them xmas cookies
I’m not sure about these measurements. This came out like a cake batter instead of dough. I had to add flour just to get it to not be soupy. I used a normal sized lemon cake mix too.
To add to my previous comment – I used 1/3 cup of melted butter rather than vegetable oil which I do not use. I see someone has posted a recipe with ingredients rather than cake mix – I will use that next time. Great idea.
I balked a little at the cake mix – I’ve tried some before using mixes and did not like them at all. No worries here – these are delicious. Great recipe with the holidays stretching before us. Many thanks.
My cake box is only 15.2 oz! Should I add some flour?
Hi Maryann, Unfortunately I think manufacturers have shrunk their cake mix sizes since I originally posted this recipe! I haven’t played around with modifying yet, so I couldn’t say for sure.
Someone suggested to me to add an extra 3/4 cup to 1 cup cake mix to make up for the difference in older recipes that call for an 18.25 oz box of cake mix. I freeze the leftover dry cake mix to have on hand for next time I make the recipe.
I have made this very easy recipe many times. They are easy to make and very good.
These were easy and delicious! Great lemon flavor and so crunchy on the outside but chewy inside.
Tried to buy an 18.25 oz. cake mix, but the box sizes are now smaller. Do I need to adjust the quantities of the other ingredients? Thanks!
Hi Sheryl, Yes, if the box size is smaller, you’ll want to adjust the other ingredients by the same ratio.
Wow! These have a really intense lemon flower ( which is fine by me!) Super easy to make. I had to put the dough in the fridge for a bit to be able to roll the balls, but no big deal.
I just saw this recipe and it sounds great – has anyone tried making these with the addition of poppy seeds?
I would like to make these cookies, but I dont have lemon extract. Can I use more lemon juice or zest instead?
Hi Helen, Lemon zest has a bit more of a punch, so I would go that route. Enjoy!
I made these cookies today. Got lots of compliments from everybody. Great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
I have made these as per recipe given. Baked them at 7 mins and they are truly wonderful. Did not ice them as they are already very sweet.
Now I want to know how to store them for a long time (6 months).
I would appreciate reply asap. Have to bake now for my friends in another country so they have their Christmas cookies in about 6 months. I also will be using these for this Christmas here at home.
Many thanks for sharing this recipe and I certainly will be baking allot of these in the future as my family loves lemon and i have access to many lemon trees.
Thanks again.
Janis
Hi Janis, I usually recommend freezing cookies for only 2 months, at the longest. I have never frozen them for 6 months, and not sure how fresh they would be. You definitely need to freeze them, but I can’t guarantee how they will be after that long in the freezer.
The lemon burst cookie was great. So I decided to experiment . Used dark chocolate cake mix and instead of lemon, I used 2 tablespoon Kailua . After mixing, I put in frig for 10 mins and then added 1/3 cup walnuts. Have the best brownie cookie ever. Hubby loved them. Yummy. I am going to try red velvet cake mix next.
These are super pretty！ I loooove the lemon burst cookies!! I get the allusion that they are healthy:-) These look really delicious! I had featured U in tne post of Top 7 Charming Cookies with Pretty Appearance and Palatable Flavor on AllFreshRecipes. Except ur more fantastic Eats!
Made these for the first time yesterday and took them to a Christmas brunch and they received RAVE reviews! They are such a refreshing break from the overwhelming amount of chocolate this time of year – although I do enjoy my fair share of chocolate ;-) Thank you so much for such an easy and oh-so-tasty recipe!
These are my boyfriend’s favorite!
I cannot wait to make these cookies
I just made these and they came out great. I halved the recipe and didn’t need to chill the dough (I live in Atlanta). It was a bit sticky but not too terrible once the dough was in the powdered sugar. Oh and I added half a $.25 box of lemon heads that I crushed up. I also used a Meyer lemon but will use a reg one next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi, I was wondering if you could substitute applesauce for the oil to make this a bit healthier? If so, how much applesauce? Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Ann, I have seen success with that substitution and think it would be okay. You would substitute a 1:1 ratio (so, a 1/3 cup of applesauce).
I just happened on your site. Lovely lemon cookie photos. I’m going to try them out for Easter. Question: Can you substitute lemon extract for Limoncello in baking recipes? Or, vice versa? If so, what amounts so you substitute? I’m making a lemon meringue pie for Easter which calls for 1 1/2 T Lemincello, along with lemon juice and zest. Could I use lemon extract for the Lemincello? I could not locate any lemincello today to use.
Hi Jan, Lemon extract is much more potent than Limoncello, which has a pretty mild and subtle flavor. You can use the extract as a substitute, but use way less. I would probably do 1/2 teaspoon extract.
Thanks Michelle. Which one would give the best lemon burst for a lemon pie? Any preference??
You’ll get more flavor from the lemon extract; it just depends on how strong you want the flavor to be.
I just made these for dinner! I love how quick they were. I did not have the lemon extract so I just added a bit more juice and zest. We are going to have to make these for Easter- I love the flavor and they remind me of chocolate krinkles :)
I did not chill the batter, but they were easier to roll the second batch as the batter set up some.
Definitely cute, please add to recipe a note that chilling the dough is necessary… makes it much easier….
Hi,
Just discovered your web site ! So glad I did. I made the lemon cookies yesterday and they were awesome ! Looked just like your picture. I think I will make them for our potluck at Church, they will be perfect for that. Otherwise I would sit and eat them all myself !! So far I am loving your site !
So love the lemon best, but a yummy different extras..Pillsbury came out with pink lemonade cake mix, so I used that instead for cake mix and it was so yummy and just an extra kick of flavor!
Just what I was looking for. I can’t wait to try these lemon burst cookies. A zillion thank yous for this recipe.
I was wondering if anyone knows if it makes any difference whether I use Eureka lemons or Meyer lemons or Lisbon lemons? Any opinions on that? Where I live we don’t have easy access to fresh lemons but I can get them if I go online and just google ‘buy lemons online’ and am amazed at what I can order directly from growers. The nice thing about that is that if you order direct from the orchards, the growers pick them right off the trees and ship them direct — a tip I learned from my cousin in North Dakota. This way I get fresh lemons picked from the tree without all the time sitting in cartons, trucks and warehouses.
Candace
Eureka lemons are the ones you most commonly find in grocery stores. Libson lemons are also commonly found in supermarkets but have a higher acidic level then Eureka lemons and are a bit more bitter, but juicy. Meyer lemons are not as common and have the least acidic level and are generally more sweet. When I made this recipe I used Eureka lemons and I thought the recipe turned out great, but I’m sure that Libson lemons would be good as well considering all of the sugar to help ease any bitterness, and Meyer lemons would probably also be good as well if you’re looking for a very sweet lemon cookie :)
We can get Meyer lemons in our local Costco store here.
Looks really beautiful. However… cake mix???? Seriously?!
I want to see what I’m putting into my food, not just have box of that and this mixed up.
Hi Marketa,
I didn’t want to use a cake mix either so this is what I did and they turned out great so I thought I’d share. Just mix all of the dry ingredients (except the powdered sugar) first and then continue her original recipe. Use the following ingredients instead of the ones listed in her recipe.
Ingredients:
1/2 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon softened butter
Zest of 3 lemons
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
Thanks for this Amber! I decided to look in comments to see if anyone had done this also, as I don’t have boxed cake mix on hand either!
I’m making these for a cookie exchange; how many cookies come out of one batch? Thank you!
Hi Jordynn, This recipe makes about 30 cookies. Enjoy!
I only had strawberry cake mix on hand when I tried this recipe and it was incredible, Just like strawberry lemonade. Thank you for introducing me to one of my favorite cookie recipes!!