Lemon Cooler Cookies

Lemon cooler cookies are incredibly easy to make and all you need are a few basic cookie dough ingredients, lemon extract, True Lemon, and a fresh lemon. You can make them in less than 30 minutes and choose whether you want a soft or crunchy cookie.

Personally, I prefer a crunchy cookie, but if you prefer softer cookies, all you have to do is change the temperature of the oven and the cooking time. 

These cookies are bursting with lemon flavor, the perfect balance between tart and sweet. If you have made lemony desserts before, you know the balance is key and can sometimes be hard to get right. These lemon coolers took over 2 years and about 50 batches to get the perfect ratio of ingredients and, let me say, they are the BEST lemon cooler cookies you will ever try! 

If you liked the Sunshine lemon cooler cookies or the Girl Scout version of Savannah Smiles, you are going to LOVE these cookies! 

To make these lemon cookies, you will need either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, a cookie sheet, and a scoop that measures about 1 Tablespoon. I like to use my small Pampered Chef Scoop which you can find here: Small Pampered Chef Scoop.

They take about 30 minutes from start to finish and are easy enough to have the kids help make them!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Lemon Cookie Dough Ingredients

Flour

I used all-purpose flour in this recipe and it worked perfectly, but you can also use cake flour if you want a more cake-like softer texture. If all you have on hand is bread flour, you can also use that but your cookies will be chewier.

I have not tested the recipe using gluten-free flour, but I recommend using a gluten-free flour that is specific for baking and is a 1:1 substitution for all-purpose flour. 

Baking Soda

I use baking soda in this recipe instead of baking powder to achieve the texture I wanted in this cookie. The baking soda is neutralized by the acid in the lemon juice and gives these cookies the perfect rise and the ability to choose between a soft cookie or a crunchy cookie.

If you use baking powder instead of baking soda, you will need to substitute with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and the texture of the cookie will be softer and more cake-like. 

Salt

Although optional, a little salt in sweet foods brings out the sweetness in a rounded way. Salt boosts flavors, so it also will boost the lemon flavor. In this recipe, I use sea salt, but kosher salt is fine and can be substituted 1:1. If you are using table salt, which is much finer, only use ⅛ teaspoon. 

​Granulated Sugar

In the cookie dough, I recommend using white granulated sugar as brown sugar contains molasses and will change the flavor and texture of the cookie.

Butter

Real Butter is a key ingredient in this recipe and I do not recommend substituting it with another type of fat or a butter substitute. You can use salted or unsalted butter and that will not affect the texture of the cookie, but if you are using unsalted butter you may want to add an extra pinch of salt. I have not tested the recipe with vegan butter or any other oils or fats so I cannot say how they will work, but please let me know if you try any! 

​Egg

One large egg is needed for this recipe. I have not tested the recipe using egg alternatives, but please let me know if you try any! 

Lemon

As with any type of lemon dessert, what you use for lemon flavoring is crucial to the end result.

There are 4 different kinds of lemon flavor in this recipe; lemon extract, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and crystallized lemon. The combination of all four is what gives these lemon cookies an intense lemon flavor without being bitter. I have made this recipe over 50 times trying to get the perfect balance of lemon flavor and found this combination to make the best lemony cookies. 

There are a few substitutions you can try based on what you have on hand. You can use lemon oil instead of lemon extract and I would suggest using 1 drop of the lemon oil. Make sure the lemon oil is food-grade.

While I do not recommend using more lemon extract as a substitute for the lemon zest or lemon juice, you can try lemon oil. Too much lemon extract results in an off taste to the cookies where they taste artificial and a bit like alcohol. So, if you don't have a fresh lemon, you can use all lemon oil instead. I would not use more than ¼ teaspoon of lemon oil when using it as a substitute for the extract and fresh lemon. If using all lemon oil, you will also want to substitute for the liquid of the lemon juice and I recommend using ½ teaspoon of water and 1 teaspoon vinegar (white or apple cider preferred) to make up for the acid in the lemon juice. 

If you have lemon extract and bottled lemon juice, you can try increasing the extract a bit to compensate for the lack of lemon zest, but in my experience, the cookies taste different. So, when at all possible, buy the lemon and use the fresh lemon zest and juice. 

The fourth type of lemon flavor is used in the powdered sugar mixture that coats the cookies and I go over that below.

Powdered Sugar Coating Ingredients

Powdered Sugar

Powdered sugar is also known as icing sugar or confectioner's sugar. If your powdered sugar is clumpy, try sifting it through a fine mesh sieve before using.

If you don't have powdered sugar and have a high-speed blender, or food processor you can make powdered sugar from granulated sugar. The yield when making powdered sugar from granulated sugar is usually 1½ times the amount of granulated sugar. So, in this recipe, you would use ¾ cup of granulated sugar which will give you a little over 1 cup of powdered sugar.

When making the powdered sugar to use immediately you do not need anything but granulated sugar, but if you want to store it for use later add in 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch for every cup of granulated sugar.

The time it takes to process the granulated sugar into powdered sugar depends on your blender or food processor and can take 30-60 seconds or 5 minutes. I also recommend sifting the sugar after processing to make sure it isn't clumpy. Make sure your food processor or blender is completely dry before adding the granulated sugar. 

True Lemon Lemonade Powder

The second ingredient in the sugar coating is lemon or sour flavoring. This combination is key for the ultimate lemon cookie so please don't skip it!

I experimented with using Citric Acid to impart that sour flavor but had difficulty getting the concentration correct -- a little bit goes a long way. If you have citric acid (often used in canning) on hand, you can certainly use it, but start out with a very small amount, like ⅛-¼ teaspoon and mix it with the powdered sugar. Taste it and add more until you achieve the sour flavor you like. 

I found that the crystalized lemon worked so much better and the flavor was outstanding. You can use either True Lemon or True Lemon Lemonade in this recipe. If they come in packets, you will use 2 packets of either since the crystallized lemon is the same in both. The difference between the True Lemon Lemonade and the True Lemon is that the Lemonade also contains some sweeteners. 

In case you have purchased True Lemon or True Lemonaid in bulk, here are the measurements to use.

2 packets of True Lemon = ½ teaspoon

2 packets of True Lemon Lemonade = ¾ teaspoon

Of course, you can add more or less to taste.

How to Make Crispy Lemon Cooler Cookies

The Prep or Mise En Place

Gather all of the ingredients and have them measured out. Make sure your butter is at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 300℉/150℃ for crispy cookies and 325℉/165℃ for softer cookies.

Making the Lemon Cookie Dough

Either in a large bowl using a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, combine the ½ cup butter and ⅓ cup granulated sugar. Start on low speed and increase to medium or high speed until the butter and sugar are well combined. This only takes about a minute or so.

Add in the large egg and, starting on low speed with either your stand mixer or hand-held mixer, beat until the egg is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes or until the butter mixture turns a pale yellow and is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Once the mixture is pale in color and light and airy, add in the lemon extract. Zest the lemon over the bowl with the butter mixture so all of the oils from the lemon peel get into the cookie dough.

Cut the lemon in half and juice ½ of the lemon into a small bowl. Measure out ½ Tablespoon of the freshly squeezed lemon juice and add to the wet ingredients. I use my Pampered Chef Citrus Press, but you can also squeeze the lemon with your hand over a fine mesh strainer to make sure no seeds are in the juice.

In a medium bowl combine the flour with the salt and baking soda and stir to mix together.

Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Add another ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Baking the Lemon Cookies

These instructions are for a crisp lemon cookie, see the section below for a softer version.

Scoop out about 1 Tablespoon of cookie dough and place on a baking sheet. You want about 1-inch balls of cookie dough. Do not press them down.

I like using my Pampered Chef small scoop, but if you don't have a cookie scoop just use a Tablespoon measuring spoon and gently roll in the palm of your hand to form a ball.

Space the cookie dough balls about 2-3" apart. Do not use parchment paper or a silicone liner when making crispy cookies. You can fit 12 cookies on a 18X13 sheet pan.

Bake in a 300℉/150℃ preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown and the tops are just slightly tan.

You can bake 2 trays of cookies at the same time on different levels in the oven, but I would rotate them halfway through for even doneness.

Once the cookies are done baking, remove them from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet pan for 2 minutes. Then toss them in the powdered sugar mixture to coat them before they cool completely.

The cookies need to be warm for the powdered sugar mixture to stick.

Powdered Sugar Coating

While the cookies are baking, combine the powdered sugar and True Lemon Lemonade or plain True Lemon in a shallow container or plastic bag.

I used my blue Pampered Chef 8" baking pan and then also store the cookies in the same pan with any leftover powdered sugar mixture.

After the lemon cookies are out of the oven and have cooled on the cookie baking sheet for about 2 minutes, place them into the powdered sugar mixture and coat both sides of the cookie.

Remove the coated cookies and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once they have cooled completely, coat them again in the powdered sugar and either serve them or place them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature until serving.

How to Make Soft Lemon Cookies

The only difference between making crunchy lemon cooler cookies and softer ones is the temperature and time you bake them in the oven.

So, follow the same steps for making the cookie dough as stated in the previous section except preheat your oven to 325℉/163℃.

You can use parchment paper to line your cookie sheet if you want and you will bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.

You will notice that these cookies spread a little more due to the higher heat of the oven, but they also puff up a little more which keeps the cookie tender, soft, and more cake-like.

After they are done baking, let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then coat them in the powdered sugar mixture. Let them cool on a wire rack or cooling rack and when they are completely cool, toss them in the powdered sugar mixture again.

Frequently Asked Questions

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