These luscious Lemon Cookies are like little bites of sunshine! Tender and satisfying, infused with vibrant lemon zest and warming vanilla—an easy one-bowl recipe!
These lemon cookies are sure to brighten your day! The unique addition of semolina flour lends an irresistible texture, while lemon zest and vanilla extract add warmth and vibrancy—the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Once baked, the cookies are dipped in a lemon glaze, enhancing the flavor while maintaining their texture for several days.
While candied lemons add an elegant touch, these treats are equally scrumptious without them. For an aromatic twist, fresh rosemary pairs beautifully, and if you’re lucky enough to come across rosemary flowers, they’ll make your cookies absolutely heavenly.
Why You’ll Love This!
- Rustic, comforting texture. Made with a simple, rustic batter using semolina.
- Bright lemon flavor! These uplifting cookies are made with lemon zest and topped with a tart and light lemon glaze.
- Beautiful and impressive! Delightful on their own, but when garnished with candied lemon, rosemary, and rosemary flowers, they’re perfect for parties!
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour; Spooned and leveled
- Semolina: a coarse flour made from durum wheat, or substitute fine cornmeal
- Salt– sea salt or Himalayan salt
- Unsalted butter: at room temperature
- Granulated sugar: we used organic cane sugar
- Large egg
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon zest: plus fresh lemon juice for the glaze
- Powdered sugar (optional, for the glaze)
*See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Lemon Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F.
Step 1: With a hand mixer or stand mixer (with paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, scrape the bowl as needed. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer: flour, semolina, and salt to the mixture of wet ingredients. Stir in until just incorporated. Over-mixing can make the cookies tough, so keep a low speed.
Step 2: Shape. For a fast, no-fuss cookie dough with a rustic shape, Roll into 2″ x 12″ logs, cover with parchment paper, or seal in an airtight container. Chill the cookie dough for 2 hours or overnight. Slice into 1/3″ slices.
For perfect-edged cookies: Roll out until 1/3″ thick. Cut out with a 2″ round cookie cutter.
Step 3: Bake! Place cookies one inch apart on a silicone baking mat or parchment-covered baking sheets. Bake 12 minutes until edges just start to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 4: Make the glaze: Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice until completely smooth.
Step 5: Glaze the cookies: Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and set on a rack over parchment letting the excess drip off. If you want the cookie sweeter, dip a second time after the first coat has dried.
Optional: If desired garnish with candied lemons. *See recipe notes.
Chef’s Tips
- Zest first. It is much easier to zest your lemons before juicing them!
- Don’t over-mix. Be careful not to over-mix the batter, it may toughen the cookies.
- Speed up the process. Create rustic, “no-fuss” shapes by rolling the dough in parchment paper and slicing it across versus using a cookie cutter method.
- Try these with lime! You can substitute lime for these cookies, but taste the zest to make sure it isn’t too bitter.
Storage
Store lemon cookies at room temperature in an air-tight container for 4 days. Freeze in a sealed container for 3 months.
FAQs
Semolina flour gives these cookies a slightly crunchy, rustic texture while maintaining softness and a chewy bite.
Both are preferred, but if you have a nonstick pan that works fine too. Avoid spraying your baking sheet or greasing it, or else the cookies will brown on the bottom.
Yes! Fresh tastes much better, plus you’ll need the lemons for the zest.
Not here! There is plenty of lemon flavor from the zest in the batter and from the lemon glaze. No need for a teaspoon lemon extract.
More Cookie Recipes You May Like!
More Favorite Lemon Desserts
- Rhubarb Tart with Lemon, Cardamom & Vanilla
- Lemon Pistachio Cake
- Lemon Cloud Pie
- Berry Trifle with Lemon Cake & Coconut Whipped Cream
- Vegan Lemon Bundt Cake
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Lemon Cookie Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: approx 35 small cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This luscious Lemon Cookie recipe will brighten your day! Semolina flour gives them the BEST texture, topped with a zesty lemon glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup semolina (or substitute fine cornmeal)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (less if you want a thicker glaze) *see notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer (with paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, scrape the bowl as needed. Add the egg and vanilla mix until combined. Add dry ingredients: flour, semolina, and salt to the mixture of wet ingredients. Stir in until just incorporated. Over-mixing can make the cookies tough.
- For fast “no-fuss” with rustic shape: Roll into 2″ x 12″ logs cover in parchment or seal in an airtight container and chill the cookie dough for 2 hours or overnight. Slice in 1/3″ slices. For perfect edged cookies: Roll out until 1/3″ thick. Cut out with a 2″ round cookie cutter.
- Place cookies an inch apart on a silicone baking mat or parchment-covered baking sheets. Bake 12 minutes until edges just start to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the glaze: Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice until completely smooth.
- Glaze the cookies: Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and set on a rack over parchment letting the excess drip off. If you want the cookie sweeter, dip a second time after the first coat has dried.
- If desired garnish with candied lemons. *See recipe notes.
- Store cookies at room temperature in an air-tight container for 4 days. Freeze in a sealed container for 3 months.
Notes
This glaze is meant to be a thin and very lemony coating on the cookies. You can cut down on the lemon juice if you prefer a thicker coating, the citrus brightness will be subdued.
Optional: Make candied lemon slices- Slice a lemon into 1/8 inch slices with a sharp knife (or mandolin). Remove seeds. Bring one cup of water and one cup sugar to a boil, reduce the heat to low, add lemon slices and simmer 30 minutes. Remove the slices to a rack or parchment paper. Allow to cool before using. Cut into halves or quarters and place pieces on the cookies just after glazing. Unused lemon wheels can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 1 month. The leftover syrup can be used in cocktails and mocktails.
Other citrus options: Lime can substitute lemon in the cookies but be cautious as lime zest may be bitter, it’s vital to taste first for bitterness. Orange is not advised as the recipe benefits from the tartness of lemon or lime for the perfect sweet tart balance.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cookies
- Calories: 151
- Sugar: 10.1 g
- Sodium: 25.1 mg
- Fat: 6.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.7 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2.1 g
- Cholesterol: 26.9 mg
I loved this idea of Sicilian lemon with rosemary, but I need to make an adjustment to the flour and sugar, I would like to know the proportion of each ingredient by weight, and if possible, if there is a possibility of the ingredients mentioned above 🙏🏻being replaced, which would be semolina and sugar.
The next time I make these I will update the recipe with weight measurements.:) You can use fine cornmeal rather then semolina. I have not experiment with replacing the sugar but I am sure one could try monk fruit or other dry sugar replacement.
So yummy
These little gems are good! And then on the second day they are amazing!! I can’t stop eating them. Not too sweet and they have such an appealing texture and the lemon really shines. Made as written.
Yay, so happy you like them!