These SOFT, CHEWY gluten-free lemon cookies call for two whole lemons, including fresh lemon juice and lemon zest!
These are basically simple drop sugar cookies that are BURSTING with lemon flavor and so easy to make.
I love a classic chocolate chip cookie, but every now and then, citrusy lemon desserts really hit the spot. And when I’m in the mood for citrus, I want it to REALLY pop with citrus flavor!
Luckily, these gluten-free lemon cookies really fit the bill. The recipe calls for TWO whole lemons, including lemon zest and juice.
They’re really bursting with a bright, lemony flavor that perfectly complements the sweetness of the cookies! I also love rolling the cookie dough balls in lemon sugar for even MORE sweetness and lemon flavour.
If you love gluten-free lemon cake, gluten-free lemon bars, and other lemon desserts this is the gluten free treat for you!
I love making these cookies in the summertime, but they’re also great for winter months when citrus is in season! They’d also be perfect for baby showers, bridal showers, brunch with friends, etc.
No matter when you make these sweet treats, they’re sure to disappear quickly!
For more gluten-free lemon desserts, check out these recipes for gluten-free lemon bars, gluten-free lemon cream pie, lemon posset and gluten-free lemon cake.
You also might like these gluten-free funfetti sugar cookies or these gluten-free white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft and chewy
- Bursting with bright lemon flavor
- Easy to make
- Perfect for citrus lovers
- Simple ingredients
For more gluten-free recipes check out these gluten-free sugar cookies, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, gluten-free brownies and gluten-free peanut butter cookies.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Dry Ingredients
Here are all of the dry ingredients needed for these delicious gluten free lemon cookies:
- Gluten-free 1:1 baking flour: I recommend using a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour that contains xanthan gum. This will give your cookies a nice chewy texture! I like King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour.
- Baking soda and baking powder: I like to use both baking soda and baking powder to give these cookies the perfect rise and chewiness!
- Salt: Fine sea salt works great for this lemon cookie batter.
Wet Ingredients
Here are the wet ingredients you’ll need for these lemon sugar cookies:
- Butter: I like to use salted butter for all of my baking. It has great depth of flavor and enhances almost any baked good!
- Sugar: Domino granulated fine sugar is my favorite for gluten-free cookies!
- Lemon juice: This is a seriously lemony cookie with lemon zest and real lemon juice! Remember to zest the lemon before juicing. I don’t recommend using bottled lemon juice for these gluten free lemon crinkle cookies.
- Vanilla: Real vanilla extract gives these cookies the best flavor!
- Lemon zest: I love adding lemon zest to these cookies for added lemony flavor. You’ll also use zest to make lemon sugar for rolling the dough balls in before baking.
- Egg: One room temperature large egg adds moisture and binds the dough together.
How to Make Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies
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 large mixing 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 parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for a cooking time of 9-11 minutes. Let the baked cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to continue cooling. Enjoy these delicious lemon cookies!
Storage Instructions
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
FAQs
To ensure your gluten-free cookies are moist, it’s important to chill and rest the dough before baking. This allows the gluten-free flour mixture to soak up the liquids and gives you perfectly moist, chewy cookies. You can also try adding extra egg or egg yolk for moisture!
Gluten-free cookies require xanthan gum to hold the batter together and create a chewy texture. Not all gluten-free flour is made with xanthan gum, so make sure you’re mix includes it to get the best results from your gluten-free cookies. King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour is a good option!
Yes, lots of cookies can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free flour blend, almond flour, or another gluten-free flour alternative. For best results, follow a recipe that specifically calls for gluten-free flour. You can also buy boxed gluten-free cookies from brands like Tate’s Bake Shop, Simple Mills, Glutino, and Enjoy Life.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- When I make lemon cookies, I mean business! Keep in mind you’ll need TWO large lemons to make this recipe. It’s bursting with REAL bright flavor of lemons. No lemon extract or lemon glaze required!
- I recommend using a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour that contains xanthan gum. This will give your cookies a nice chewy texture! I like King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour.
- Rubbing the zest into the sugar allows it to release more oils. The result is super flavorful cookies that have lots of lemon flavor!
MORE GLUTEN-FREE LEMON RECIPES
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you try these gluten-free lemon cookies be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies (Soft & Chewy!)
Ingredients
Lemon Sugar:
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest from 1 large lemon
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 ⅔ cups (400 g) gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Other:
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest from 1 large lemon
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 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
Expert Tips & Tricks
- When I make lemon cookies, I mean business! Keep in mind you’ll need TWO large lemons to make this recipe. It’s bursting with REAL bright flavor of lemons. No lemon extract or lemon glaze required!
- I recommend using a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour that contains xanthan gum. This will give your cookies a nice chewy texture! I like King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour.
- Rubbing the zest into the sugar allows it to release more oils. The result is super flavorful cookies that have lots of lemon flavor!
My dough will hardly stiffen after refrigerating for an hour and now almost an hour in the freezer. The dough is sticky and hard to shape. What did I do wrong?!
Hi Robin, we’re sorry you had this experience! It sounds the dry/wet ratio is off (either not enough flour or too much liquid). What brand of flour did you use? With gf flour, different blends absorb moisture differently too. We really like King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure flour in this recipe. We hope these ideas help and next time goes much better!
These cookies look so good! Do you think almond flour would work for them?
Hi Debra, thank you for your question! Almond flour doesn’t typically work as a 1:1 swap for a gf flour blend (it has different properties and would require additional ingredients to be added/adjusted in this recipe). We recommend King Arthur GF Measure-for-Measure Flour for these cookies! Happy baking!
These sound delicious. Would you know if they can hold up for ice cream sandwiches if they are frozen before filling?
Hi Maryanne, that sounds fun! These are more of a soft and chewy cookie, but if frozen first that should allow you to assemble ice cream sandwiches without them breaking. We’d love to hear how it goes!
These turned out great for ice cream sandwiches. As suggested, I froze them before filling them with ice cream. They are delicious.
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear they worked well for the ice cream sandwiches and that you enjoyed the cookie recipe! Thank you for the kind feedback, Maryanne!
I made these for Easter dinner and they were a big hit! Everyone loved them and kept saying they couldn’t believe they were gluten free. My family is very helpful making gluten free items for me so they eat gluten free at nearly every family gathering.
Hi Janet, we’re so happy to hear these cookies were a hit with the whole family! It’s wonderful to have family supporting your gluten-free journey. Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us!
So easy and ssoooo good.
Super lite and very lemony
We’re so pleased to hear how much you loved the cookies, Anne! Thank you for your positive feedback!
These are fantastic and so easy to make! I made them for a Wedding Cookie table and also for a GF friend. I personally am not GF but you can’t even tell the difference! I followed the recipe, exactly, except I used unsalted butter instead of the salted, which was recommended. Thank you for such a terrific recipe! I will be sharing your website with my GF friend.
Hi Cathy, we’re so pleased to hear how much you love this recipe! Thank you for sharing such kind feedback with us. Happy baking!
I made this recipe and after the first batch, leaving them in the oven for 9-11 min and them being too soft, I decided to leave the next batch in the oven for 13 min. My cookies didn’t fully flatten out, can you give me so guidance on why this might be?
Hi Sophia, good question! A variety of factors can cause cookies to not spread. Too much of the dry ingredients, too little liquid, too hot oven, even the material of the baking sheet can impact how much the cookies spread or not. You might want to experiment with a lower oven temperature or a different baking sheet first. Another easy option you can try is letting the dough sit out at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before baking in case it’s just a matter of the butter being too cold. We hope this helps!
These are amazing cookies! I will definitely be making these again! I had to cook them for 8 more minutes, I don’t know if it was just my oven or the recipe but there where even more crispier and me and my family LOVE crispy cookies so it was a plus. They were so good!
We’re so glad this recipe was such a hit, Janelle! Thank you for your thoughtful feedback!
These cookies are delicious, honestly the best lemon cookies I have ever had. Very easy to make and look so pretty. I chilled the dough overnight, dough stayed soft so it was easy to roll. I will be baking these cookies again and again!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved the recipe, Patty! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience. Happy baking!
I haven’t made these yet, but I’ve made several of your recipes. I wonder how much lemon extract I should use instead of lemon zest and lemon juice to give them a little more flavor. They may be just fine as written, but I want to try out my extract.
Hi Hayley, we typically go the real lemon route with this one so we can’t totally say how the cookies with lemon extract will differ, but typically lemon extract can be used as a substitute for those two ingredients in baked goods. The general rule for replacing lemon zest with extract is: 1 teaspoon of lemon zest = 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract. For lemon juice, it is a 1/2:1 ratio with the remaining amount replaced with water to get the right liquid quantity. Keep in mind lemon extract can be strong so it may be beneficial to start with a small amount and adjust according to preference. We hope this helps!
I love the flavor of these cookies, but after allowing them to cool on the pan for the 5 minutes as I tried to move them they fell apart. I followed the recipe exactly. Any help would be appreciated!
Oh that’s a bummer! We’re sorry the cookies fell apart for you, Kianna. This usually happens if the dough is too dry. If chilling the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour didn’t provide the moist cookie texture we’re looking for, you can try adding an extra egg or egg yolk to the mixture for added moisture. If you have a kitchen scale, weighing the ingredients listed with gram measurements will produce a more accurate dough mixture. We hope this helps!
Replaced the butter with refined coconut oil and they turned out amazing! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Thank you for the positive feedback and tip, Lauren! We’re happy you enjoyed the lemon cookies!
Absolutely Love Lemon! From a healthier standpoint, I’ve cut down the butter amount in baking by using 1/2 butter + 1/2 applesauce; mostly in desert breads. Wonder IF this would work for these lemon cookies? May change the consistency of the dough to much.
Hi Mary Ann, we’re not sure how that substitution would do in this recipe, but it’s worth a try! We’d love to hear how it goes, if you decide to try it out.
I am going to make these this morning and use lime instead of lemon, since I have a lime tree and a lot of limes! The reviews convinced me to try these for my gluten-free friend.
Sounds like a fun plan, Lisa! We’d love to hear how it goes using limes instead of lemon.
Wow!!! These cookies are truly delicious and amazing!! I was shocked at how good they are. I followed the recipe exactly and used King Arthur’s Gluten Free flour. I did have to bake mine an extra couple minutes and they didn’t fully flatten out. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with the world!!
Hi Kristie, we’re so happy you loved the lemon cookies! Thank you for coming back and letting us know how they turned out!
We LOVE these cookies! The first time we made them they were chewy and a bit crisp around the edges- perfection! Last time however they’d were a bit “cakey” without that nice chewy texture. Any thoughts? I reviewed everything and can’t figure out why they were different.
Hi Cari, we’re so happy to hear you all love the recipe! Thank you! The change in texture from one batch to the next can be caused by such things as: too warm butter, the flour measurement being off or using a different brand of gf flour, the oven being too cool, or even environmental factors like a change in humidity in the kitchen. We hope your next batch turns out amazing!