Glazed Lemon Cookies

These light and fluffy Glazed Lemon Cookies are lemony, soft, and topped with a delicious lemon glaze.  They’re made with fresh lemon juice and zest and have the perfect balance of sweet and sour.

If you love lemons, it will be impossible to resist these buttery, sweet, and perfectly tart Glazed Lemon Cookies.  The dough itself is made with a hefty dose of fresh lemon zest. But, as if that weren’t enough, we top it all off with a light, bright lemon glaze. 

Jump to:

• Lemon Glazed Cookies
• Ingredients in Glazed Iced Cookies
• Tips & Tricks
• How to Store Glazed Cookies
• More Lemon Recipes
• Glazed Lemon Cookies Recipe

Lemon Glazed Cookies

Between the bold lemon flavor and the insanely soft texture, thanks to the cornstarch, these cookies may just become your new favorites.  They’re equally perfect to make during the hot summer, or any time you're craving a burst of lemon goodness. 

If you're on the hunt for more irresistible lemon recipes, be sure to try my Lemon Blueberry Muffins, Lemon Raspberry Parfait, Lemon Bars, and of course a classic, Lemon Curd. 

Ingredients in Glazed Iced Cookies

• Butter - you want your butter to be at room temperature so that it will cream properly with the sugar.  We prefer to use unsalted butter in this recipe.
• Sugar - use plain white granulated sugar.
• Eggs - it’s helpful if your eggs and yolks are at room temperature so that they will mix smoothly into the butter and sugar.
• Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract tastes best.
• Lemon Zest - use fresh lemon zest.
• Flour - all-purpose flour works great.
• Cornstarch - this helps to make the cookies nice and soft.  Any type will work.
• Baking Soda - this helps the cookies to rise a bit in the oven.
• Salt - we like to use sea salt.
• Powdered Sugar - we recommend sifting to remove any lumps.
• Lemon Juice and Zest - use fresh lemons for both the juice and zest as they have a much better flavor than the bottled juice.  If you can find them, you could also try using Meyer lemons for a slightly different flavor.

Have you ever done a recipe swap? I'm doing it with a few friends. If lemon desserts are your favorite, you're in luck! You can try out my friend Michaela's original Chewy Glazed Lemon Cookies on her site,  An Affair from the Heart. I have been following her for a while and it's been so fun to get to know her.  Her recipes are always spot on and she has an incredible collection of lemon recipes, yes, please!  You can find the 25+ Lemon Recipes here. 

Her baked Glazed Lemon Donuts are delish and I can't wait to try her Lemon Sweet Rolls. They're my new favorites. 

Lemon Glaze Recipe for Cookies

1. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.  Well until completely smooth, adding a little extra lemon juice or water to thin down as necessary.
2. Use a spoon to drizzle the cooled cookies with the glaze, then let the glaze set at room temperature before storing.  Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• Glaze the cooled cookies. Make sure your cookies have cooled completely before glazing them. Otherwise, the glaze will run off the edges and become very thin.
• Room temperature ingredients. Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature so that you can make a cohesive dough. It will also help to prevent you from overmixing.
• Fresh lemons only. For best results, always use fresh lemons. It doesn’t take much more effort, will taste much better and the lemon zest from the lemons adds so much tart flavor.

How to Store Glazed Cookies

• Storing at room temperature.  Store Glazed Lemon Cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature.  Make sure the icing has been set completely before transferring them.
• Storing in the freezer.  You can freeze completely cooled cookies before glazing them for the best results.  Store in freezer bags either in a single layer or in 2 layers separately by parchment paper.  Once you are ready to eat them, thaw them at room temperature and glaze them.
• Freezing the dough.  You can freeze the unbaked dough to be baked at a later time.  Just make and scoop the dough as directed, then place it on a baking sheet to chill for about 1 hour.  Once they have firmed up slightly, transfer them to freezer bags and store them frozen for up to 2 months.  You can bake them from frozen whenever you get the urge!  Just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.

More Lemon Recipes

• Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Bread
• Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
• Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
• Lemon Syrup Recipe

Take a look at all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Spring Edition Recipes:

1. A Dish of Daily Life - Smoky Chicken Street Tacos
2. An Affair from the Heart - Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas with Cilantro Lime Butter
3. An Affair from the Heart - Blueberry Mojitos
4. Aunt Bee's Recipes - Easy Chile Relleno Casserole
5. The Carefree Kitchen - Glazed Lemon Cookies
6. The Culinary Compass - Easy Candied Pecan Recipe
7. Devour Dinner - Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf
8. The Foodie Affair - Keto Broccoli Salad
9. The Fresh Cooky - Bowtie Pasta Recipe
10. Hostess at Heart - No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake 
11. House of Nash Eats - Roast Beef Sliders
12. Lemon Blossoms - Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars
13. Lemoine Family Kitchen - Lemon Blueberry Bread
14. Life, Love & Good Food - Sandwich Cubano
15. Off the Eaten Path - Grilled Vegan Guacamole
16. Or Whatever You Do - Blackstone Mexican Style Street Corn
17. The Speckled Palate - Lemon Bars
18. Take Two Tapas - Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest,  feel free to leave a comment and photo there too.  Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!

Between the bold lemon flavor and the insanely soft texture, these Glazed Lemon Cookies may just become your new favorites.  They're made with fresh lemon juice and zest and have the perfect balance of sweet and sour.

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