If you want a zesty cookie with fresh, bold flavor, you have to make your Lemon Snowflake Cookies without cake mix and with real lemon juice and zest instead!
Also known as crinkle cookies, these delicious cookies from scratch are coated in a layer of powdered sugar that separates as they bake to leave you with a snowflake effect on top.
I love the fresh, tangy hit of sour lemon in recipes that are otherwise sweet (see also: Fluffy Lemon Pancakes), and these cookies deliver that perfect balance!
This light and airy cookie dough makes for the softest cookies that literally melt in your mouth for a flavor explosion that is truly unmatched.
In this recipe, you’ll learn how to get the most flavor out of your fresh lemon by utilizing both the juice and the zest, and how to make a snowflake effect with powdered sugar.
As a busy mom and sustainability conscious cook, I can’t get enough One-Bowl baking! Using fewer dishes means less cleanup and of course less wasting water!
Green tip: Speaking of water usage and clean up, if you have a dishwasher, use it! Comparing dishwashing to handwashing, using an efficient dishwasher uses up to 1/6th the amount of water to get your dishes equally as clean.
Lemon Snowflake Cookies Ingredients
Here’s everything you need:
- Lemon. Juice and zest. Typically, I get enough from just one lemon, but it doesn’t hurt to have a second lemon on hand in case you need a little extra juice!
- Unsalted butter. Make sure it is softened.
- Granulated sugar.
- Vanilla Extract.
- Egg.
- All-purpose flour.
- Cornstarch.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Powdered sugar. Coating your cookie dough in powdered sugar is what give you that snowflake effect!
How to Make Soft Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Extract Your Juice and Zest
For this recipe, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and ¼ cup of lemon juice, which is typically what you get from one large, juicy lemon.
Start by washing your lemon and using a cheese grater to collect all of the zest in a bowl. Then, squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. A citrus squeezer helps a lot here!
Make sure to remove any seeds that fall into the juice. Set the juice and zest aside for later.
Make the Lemon Cookie Dough
Start by creaming the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until its light and airy. This is only successful if your butter is softened.
If you don’t have time to allow your butter to come up to room temperature naturally, check out this article on how to quickly soften butter.
Once your butter and sugar is creamed together, add the lemon juice, egg, and vanilla extract. Use the hand mixer again to combine. At this point, the lemon juice will likely separate, but that’s okay! It will come together in the next step.
Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Beat again. Now you should have an airy, sticky dough.
Lastly, use a rubber spatula to fold in the lemon zest.
Coat the Cookie Dough in Powdered Sugar
To get that snowflake cookie (or maybe you prefer to call them crinkle cookies!), you have to coat the dough in powdered sugar.
This cookie dough is fluffy, airy, and sticky. Though it makes it a little harder to shape, it’s so worth it for the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture you get when you bake them.
The best way to be successful with this dough is to use a cookie scoop. If you don’t have one, just use 2 heaping tablespoons of dough.
Add your powdered sugar to a shallow bowl and drop the cookie dough in. Use your hands to cover the cookie dough completely with the powdered sugar.
How to Perfectly Bake Snowflake Cookies
Once your cookies are coated in powdered sugar, place them on a lined baking sheet and sprinkle a little extra powdered sugar on top. Leave enough room for the cookies to spread.
I usually bake just 6 at a time on a large baking sheet.
Bake them on the top rack of your 350°F preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. As they bake, the cookies will spread, pulling apart the powdered sugar to make that snowflake effect.
Allow them to cool completely before digging in!
How to Properly Store Lemon Crinkle Cookies
When stored in an airtight container, these cookies will last for 5-7 days at room temperature or up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Quick tip: Storing your cookies with a piece of bread will keep them softer and chewier. Moisture from the bread prevents them from drying out—the perfect use for that end piece!
You can also freeze them for up to a year once they’re baked. However, I highly recommend freezing the unbaked cookie dough instead (more on that below).
Green tip: Of the billions of tons of food wasted annually, 50% of food waste happens at home. Reduce your contribution to food waste by properly storing baked goods!
Freezing Cookie Dough for Later
It’s best to only bake as many cookies as you want to eat and freezing the rest of the cookie dough so you can bake them fresh later.
Shape all of the dough and coat it all in powdered sugar. Store it in a freezer safe storage bag (consider reusable storage bags for a more sustainable option!) for up to a year.
Before baking, coat them in another layer of powdered sugar.
You can bake them straight out of the freezer but watch them closely—you’ll likely need to add a couple extra minutes to the baking time.
Lemon Snowflake Cookies without Cake Mix
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEEquipment
- Citrus Zester or cheese grater
- Citrus Squeezer (optional)
- Large Cookie Scoop (optional)
- Reusable Baking Mat (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 large lemon (you will need 1 tablespoon zest and ¼ cup juice, which you can usually get from 1 lemon*)
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter (½ cup usually = 1 stick)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or reusable baking mats.
- Wash the lemon and use a citrus zester (or cheese grater) to grate the peel of the lemon until you're left with 1 tablespoon of zest. Then, squeeze the lemon juice into a measuring cup to extract ¼ cup of juice. Set both aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and sugar and use a hand mixer to combine until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract, egg, and lemon juice. Use the hand mixer again to combine. The lemon juice will likely separate, that's okay. It will all come together in the next step.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Beat one last time to get a fluffy and sticky cookie dough.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the lemon zest.
- Add the powdered sugar to a shallow bowl. Use a large cookie scoop or grab 2 heaping tablespoons of the dough and drop it in the powdered sugar. Completely coat the cookie dough with the powdered sugar and place it on the prepped baking sheet. Sprinkle a little extra powdered sugar on top. Make sure to leave some space between each cookie to allow them to spread.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow them to cool completely before enjoying.
Pro Tips
- *While I typically get enough juice and zest for these cookies from just one lemon, it doesn’t hurt to grab an extra lemon to have on hand to make sure you have enough. You’ll want to measure the amount of juice and zest that is added to your cookie dough, and you may need to tap into that second lemon to get the perfect amount!
- This cookie dough is airy and sticky, so a cookie scoop helps a lot here to shape your cookies!
2 thoughts on “Lemon Snowflake Cookies without Cake Mix”
10/10 recipe!
I wasn’t sure how well these would come out solely based off of the fact I’m not the best baker out there but………. they turned out PHENOMENAL!
This recipe is 100% idiot proof and so quick and easy my whole family loves it!!!
Melt in your mouth goodness!!
YAYYYY KRISTIN!!! I’m sooooo glad you loved these!!! Idiot-proof is always the goal Thank you SO MUCH for making them and for taking the time to leave your feedback ❣️