If you are looking for the ultimate citrus treat that comes together in under 25 minutes, these easy chewy lemon crinkle cookies are about to become your new favourite go-to! The secret to their deliciously soft, lemony centres? A simple box of lemon cake mix! I recently tested this recipe out at my niece’s 4th birthday party, (she picked yellow and pink as her theme), and they were an absolute hit! By the end of the party there was nothing left – just an empty plate and some crumbs!
Why You’ll Love These Easy Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Quick Prep Time: This recipe takes less than 15 minutes before they’re ready to bake.
- Foolproof Results: Using a lemon cake mix as the base ensures a foolproof way to achieve soft and chewy crinkle cookies every time!
- Extremely Versatile: These cookies are soft and lemony enough for any occasion! Whether you’re planning a birthday party, a summer get together, or a baby shower, these cookies are a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Ingredients Needed
Lemon Cake mix: One 375g Box of Lemon Cake Mix works perfectly with this recipe. I typically will go for the Betty Crocker Super Moist Lemon Cake Mix because it’s already got a yellowy tone and it contains citric acid which boosts the brightness of the lemon flavours.
Butter: 1 stick, or a 1/2 cup of room temperature butter.
Eggs: 2 Large eggs, room temperature.
Lemon Zest: The lemon zest of 1 lemon, or about 1.5 tablespoons of fresh lemon zest helps boost the lemon flavours and adds a wonderful aroma. A good quality zester definitely makes this a breeze.
Yellow Food Colouring: Because the cake mix already has a yellow tint, you only need to add a few drops to make the yellow pop!
Vanilla Extract: 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract to boost the flavours.
Icing Sugar & Cornstarch: 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch create the perfect crinkle effect.
How to Make Chewy Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 375℉ and move your oven rack to the middle position. Using an electric hand mixer, combine the cake mix with the room temperature butter and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure everything is combined, then mix in the lemon zest, yellow food dye, and vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the icing sugar with the cornstarch, doing your best to get rid of any clumps.
- Using two spoons, scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough and shape it into a ball. Drop it into the icing sugar mix, and coat it with the powder mixture. Once coated, use your hands to smooth out the cookie ball. Note: This dough is very sticky, so I find it’s easiest to work the un-powdered dough with your spoons, and then toss it in the powdered sugar with your fingers until fully coated before picking it up and rolling it out in your hands.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the cookie balls about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375℉ for 8-10 minutes until the cookies have lost most of their moisture, or until the bottoms begin to brown (shown below).
- Using an offset spatula, check the bottom of 1 cookie to make sure they’re done before completely removing from the oven to cool before serving. Note: These cookies cook quickly so I tend to check on them with a few minutes left so they don’t over cook. I have accidentally overcooked them when I was using my sisters oven. The tops were a bit over done and had slightly browned, but the cookies still tasted soft and delicious – you just risk losing some of the vibrant yellow crinkle effect.
How to Store Your Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Once fully cooled, transfer the cookies to an air tight container or large ziplock bag. They will keep fresh for up to 5 days in the fridge, or 3 days at room temperature.
Can you freeze Lemon Crinkle Cookies?
Yes! These crinkle cookies freeze very well and also thaw incredibly fast – making them the perfect sweet treat when you get that craving! The baked cookies can be stored in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. I’ve also frozen them in large ziplock bags, especially if you’re baking them as gifts or want to freeze them in smaller batches. I would just recommend handling them with care when using a ziplock bag as they don’t have as much support.
Bakers Note on Freezing Unbaked Dough:
You can also freeze any unbaked cookie dough, however there is a bit of a trick. When testing this recipe, I tried freezing the cookie balls with and without the icing sugar coating. Always freeze before coating the cookie balls in the icing sugar coating – the coating will just melt away with the moisture during the thaw, so you’d have to re-coat them again anyways.
The cookie dough is super sticky, even when frozen. I spread out the uncoated cookie balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and let them freeze for 1-2 hours before transferring them to a freezer safe container. I also lined the container with parchment paper, spaced out the balls so they weren’t touching, and placed parchment paper between any layers to make sure they didn’t stick. Fully thaw the cookie dough balls for about an hour on the counter before rolling in the sugar mix and baking.
More Easy Treats to Try Next:
Share the love: Made a batch? Drop a 5-star review in the recipe card below or share a picture with me on social media—I’d love to see how your crinkles turned out!
Easy Chewy Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Pre-Heat Oven to 375℉ and move oven rack to middle position. With an electric hand mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, and butter in a large mixing bowl.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then add the lemon zest, food colouring, and vanilla extract. Mix until fully combined.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the icing sugar and cornstarch until fully combined.
- Using 2 spoons (or a cookie scoop) create aprox. 1.5 tablespoon sized cookie dough balls, then roll them in the powdered sugar mix until fully coated. Roll the cookie ball in our hands until smooth, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are slightly browned. Cool completely before serving.
