Firm outside, soft inside.
My two daughters are involved in Girl Guides. They are actually following my footsteps as I was in Girl Guides in my youth. The camps and activities we did were some of the best memories I have to this day. This Sunday is Father’s Day and the Girl Guide unit my girls go to are having a bake sale tomorrow. That means that parents need to get busy in the kitchen with some baking. While most parents will do the usual items – cupcakes and brownies – I wanted to make something different. That’s where these lemon crinkle cookies come in.
I first saw this recipe online. It caught my attention as I’ve made chocolate crinkle cookies before, but not lemon. Given citrus is in season here in Australia, shops and markets are brimming with citrus fruits. So I decided to give these lemon crinkle cookies a go.
What makes a good crinkle cookie?
There are some key tips to ensure your crinkle cookie is crinkle perfection.
- First, don’t chill your dough. You want them to spread and chilling the dough will prevent the spread from happening as much as they should.
- Second, you need to roll the dough in two sugars. The first is the granulated sugar then the powdered sugar. Make sure the coating of powdered sugar is pretty thick. The granulated sugar helps the powdered sugar from staying on.
- Lasty, don’t over bake your cookies. You want to take them out of the oven about a minute earlier than you normally would and transfer the baking paper or baking sheet onto a cooling rack. This way they retain their soft texture.
Want another delicious recipe?
If you like this recipe, you’ll also love others available here. From pastas to risottos, cookies to desserts, and bliss balls to gluten-free options with everything in between. There is truly something here for everyone. I have developed this website to provide family-friendly recipes where I maximise both fresh produce while minimising cost.
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 1/4 cup sugar, granulated
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 large egg, (white and yolk)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 5 drops yellow food colouring
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Crinkle Coating
- 1/3 cup sugar, granulated
- 1/3 cup icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with non-stick paper or baking mat.
- In a large bowl, add sugar and lemon zest. Rub this together with your finger tips to intensify the lemon flavour.
- Add butter in the bowl and using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until pale in colour, light and fluffy.
- Add egg, egg yolk, lemon juice, vanilla essence, and food colouring into the butter mixture. Beat together until smooth and completely combined.
- Scrape down the bowl with a spatula then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together on low speed until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Do not over mix.
- Fill one small bowl with granulated sugar and one bowl with powdered sugar. Using a tablespoon, scoop the cookie dough into equal sized balls. Roll the balls first in the granulated sugar and then in the powdered sugar to completely coat the cookie balls.
- Place the cookies 5cm (2 inches) apart on your cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set and the centers have puffed up, but are still gooey. TIP: The cookies will continue to cook as they cool so you want them to be a little under baked when you take them out.
- Cool on tray until firm to transfer to a cooling rack.