Featured Comment
From Jen: “Unbelievably soft, lemony, and easy to make! The lemon isn’t overpowering, it’s the (chef’s kiss) perfect amount! These will be added to my LONG list of repeat ME recipes!”
From JP: “These lemon cookies are fantastic especially from the freezer! I make a batch, place them in the freezer and eat them directly from the freezer! They are still soft and chewy and the lemon flavor is enhanced by the cold! Even family and friends who are not gluten free enjoy these!”
From Jessica: “So delicious! Followed the recipe as written and they turned out perfect. Great lemon flavor. Not dry or dense like other GF recipes I have tried. Thank you!”
Recipe Overview
⏱️ Time to Taste: About 1 hour 30 minutes (includes chilling)
✨ Texture: Soft centers with lightly crisp edges and a chewy bite
🥣 Ease: Easy (No rolling pin or decorating required!)
🌾 Flour Used: King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour
🍋 Key Ingredient: Two whole fresh lemons for maximum citrus flavor
🎉 Best For: Spring, summer, baby showers, Easter, brunches, afternoon tea, cookie exchanges
❤️ Why You’ll Love It: Fresh lemon zest is rubbed into the sugar before mixing, creating incredibly fragrant cookies packed with real lemon flavor.
I love a classic gluten-free chocolate chip cookie, but when I’m in the mood for lemon cookies, I mean business! Keep in mind you’ll need TWO large lemons to make this recipe. It’s bursting with REAL lemon flavor. No lemon extract required!
I also love rolling the cookie dough balls in lemon sugar for even MORE sweet lemon flavor.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free lemon cookies. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: I recommend using a high-quality gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum. This will give your cookies a nice chewy texture! I like King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour.
- Butter: I use salted butter in all of my baking recipes. Letting it come to room temperature before using helps the butter cream more easily with the sugar for a lighter cookie!
- Lemon juice/zest: Just like with this lemon posset, I use real lemon juice and zest in this recipe for the brightest lemon flavor. Remember to zest the lemon before juicing. You’ll use the zest in both the dough and the sugar coating.
How to Make Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Prep the Lemon Sugar Coating: I rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release its natural oils, creating an even stronger lemon flavor.
Combine the Dry Ingredients: Whisking the dry ingredients together first helps distribute the leavening agents evenly for consistent cookies.
Cream the Butter: I mix the room-temperature butter with the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Properly creaming the butter helps create a lighter texture and soft, chewy centers.
Add Eggs, Vanilla, and Lemon Juice: I add these ingredients to the creamed butter and mix just until everything is fully combined and smooth (about 1 minute).
Combine & Chill: I slowly add the dry mixture in three additions, mixing just until combined. I highly recommend chilling the dough so the gluten-free flour can hydrate and the cookies don’t spread too much.
Coat & Bake: After chilling, roll the dough into balls, coat in lemon sugar, and bake for about 10 minutes until just set. I love the crisp, sweet lemon finish the sugar coating creates on the outside of the cookies.
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated covered for 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months. I recommend rolling the dough into balls before freezing, then baking from frozen. Just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
To Store: Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: Freeze baked cookies in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
What Do Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies Taste Like?
These gluten-free lemon cookies are soft and chewy with crisp edges and an irresistible fresh lemon flavor. They’re more citrusy than my gluten-free sugar cookies but sweeter and less tart than my gluten-free lemon bars, making them the perfect balance of bright and sweet.
How Do I Know When They’re Done Baking?
I pull these cookies from the oven when the edges look set, but the centers still appear slightly soft. They will continue to firm up as they cool on the baking sheet.
Can I Use Bottled Lemon Juice?
Fresh lemon juice is best for these cookies. I don’t recommend using bottled lemon juice. It doesn’t have the same bright, fresh flavor and may make the cookies taste flat.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies (Soft & Chewy!)
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar:
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest, about the zest of 1 large lemon
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 ⅔ cups (400g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Other:
- 1 cup (226g) butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest, about the zest of 1 large lemon
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice, about the juiceof 2-3 lemons
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Lemon Sugar
- Add the sugar and lemon zest to a bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar. This helps to release more essential oils from the zest. Set aside for rolling the dough balls before baking.
Make the Dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or use an electric hand mixer), add the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Mix until very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
- Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla and mix again for 1-2 minutes until the batter lightens in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again until everything is evenly combined.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients in 3 additions. Mixing well between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 15 seconds.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (or up to 2 days).
Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.
- Scoop the cookie dough into 2 tablespoon-sized balls and roll until smooth. (A #40 cookie scoop works well here.)
- Stir the lemon sugar to break up any clumps, then roll each dough ball in the sugar.
- Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in April 2023. It was updated with new photos and instructions in July 2026.
These cookies are insanely amazing!!! I made them for our church potluck and everyone wanted the recipe…I was also asked to make them again at the next potluck!! 😉
We love this so much! Thank you for sharing such amazing feedback with us, Jasmine. We’re so happy to hear the cookies were such a hit!
Unbelievably soft, lemony, and easy to make! The lemon isn’t overpowering, it’s the (chef’s kiss) perfect amount! These will be added to my LONG list of repeat ME recipes!
Aww thank you for such wonderful feedback, Jen! We’re so pleased you loved the lemon cookies this much. Thank you for sharing!
Such amazing, light cookies. You really have to have them cool completely to ensure they don’t crumble when picking them up. But it is tasty either way!
I made these for my friend who has celiac’s disease, but these are a hit no matter what. Celiacs or no celiacs. Will be making again!
We love to hear such amazing feedback! Thank you, Alexandra! We’re so pleased you loved the lemon cookies enough to want to make them again. We hope your next batch is just as delicious!
Scratch my previous comment. I figured out what I did wrong. I doubled the recipe and did too little flour. Oops.
Hi Janet! We’re so glad you got it all worked out. We hope your next bake goes much better!
Hi there
This recipe sounds amazing and smells fabulous! I am making these as I write. Wanted to confirm the gram measurements for the King Arthur 1-1 flour. My batter is a bit loose although I did use dairy free butter (earth balance soy free sticks). My measurements per bag of bag for 2 2/3 cups in grams came to 330.6.
Hi Michelle! The measurements in the recipe are correct despite King Arthur’s label. We find that 1 cup of KAF weighs much closer to 150 grams. At the end of the day a cup measurement is subjective – and we think the manufacturer doesn’t realize gluten-free flour is denser than traditional wheat flour (traditional wheat flour is 120 grams/cup) so they provide that generalized measurement that really isn’t accurate for gluten-free flour. DF butter can make dough a little looser so that may have changed the consistency a little too. We hope this helps!