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Easy Lemon Cookies

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I have to confess…

As much as I love making homemade cookies entirely from scratch (which is what I do about 95% of the time), on occasion I still seriously enjoy a good cake-mix cookie. I know…judge away… :)  But hey – they’re simple, wonderfully fluffy, and can be mixed up in just three minutes. Definitely a nice back-up dessert, especially when you’re short on time!

One of my favorites, that is also most requested from friends, are these simple lemon cookies. They’re made with a basic cake mix recipe, but kicked up a notch with some fresh lemon juice and peel – yum. Feel free to roll them in sugar, glaze them (as explained in the tip below), or just cook and eat them plain. I guarantee they won’t last long. :)

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Easy Lemon Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 23 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 9 minutes
  • Total Time: 19 minutes
  • Yield: 20 -30 cookies 1x

Description

Love the sweet tartness of lemon cookies? You will love this Easy Lemon Cookies recipe! Quick and easy to prepare and delicious to enjoy!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (18.25 oz) package lemon cake mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • juice of half a lemon (about 1 Tbsp.)
  • zest of half a lemon (about 1 tsp.)
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar for decor (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon juice and zest until well blended. Form dough into small balls (about 1 Tbsp.), and drop into a bowl of confectioners’ sugar. Roll them around until they’re lightly covered. Once sugared, place on a lightly-greased cookie sheet.
  3. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.
  4. **To get a rounder, fluffier cookie, let the dough refrigerate at least 30 minutes. (You can also prepare the sugared balls of dough on the cookie sheet, and just refrigerate the sheet for about ten minutes for a similar effect.)

Notes

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

Ali’s Tip:

For a fun variation, I’ve also drizzled these with a lemon glaze (instead of rolling in the powdered sugar). Just whisk together about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or water) with 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and then drizzle it over the cookies after they have come out of the oven. Let sit for an hour or so for the glaze to firm up.

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89 comments on “Easy Lemon Cookies”

  1. Lemon cake mixes are now 15.25 ounces so you have to add extra flour to get a dough consistency that works for cookies!






  2. My husband and I tried making these cookies a couple weeks ago for a holiday party and went ahead and made them a second time for Christmas day because they are just so good! We had family members arguing over who would get the last few cookies to take home (we also doubled the second batch). Great recipe!






  3. Ok, I may not be the best baker, but all of my friends and family totally adored these. Now whenever they stop by, they always check to see if I made anymore. THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING! THEY TURN OUT PERFECT! But also it includes how to get back on track if you accidentally mess up. Sure was correct about it being easy. :)






  4. One time I forgot the cake mix was not cookies, so I followed the box and it was so creamy! That was when my mom realized it was cake. So today I will follow this recipe and it will be cookies not cake. :)

  5. Have not made yet. But Im looking forward to I love lemon

  6. Tried it today and they came out perfect! I used Pillsbury Sugar Free Classic Yellow Cake Mix and rolled the dough in Stevia! They came out chewy just as the recipes stated! Thank you for the recipe hack! VERY VERY REALLY REALLY GOOD! ???






  7. I printed this recipe sometime ago, and just now decided to make these lemon cookies. The problem is that it calls for a mix that’s 18.25 oz., and all of my cake mixes are now only 15.25 oz. Wouldn’t the lower volume change the ingredients? Help!

    • Hello. I always buy 2 boxes of the cake mix. I add 6 tablespoons from the 2nd box and it comes out perfect every time.

  8. what if the cake mix is only 15.25 oz?

  9. Can I freeze these cookies once they are baked?

  10. So I made this recipe and doubled it because I did one Strawberry and one Lemon cake mix together to make Strawberry Lemonade cookies… SO GOOD!!

  11. Awesome easy recipe !! Delicious cookie !
    A win win !!!!






  12. For milder flavor just use 1 Tbs lemon zest.






  13. My daughter made these for me. I ate most of the batch. Ummmm, they’re absolutely delish. Will make these many times I’m sure.






  14. I used ½ the sugar on the recipe and still found them extremely sweet.






  15. I simply wanted to write down a remark to be able to appreciate you for all of the nice instructions you are writing at this site. My time-consuming internet search has now been paid with brilliant facts and techniques to share with my contacts. I ‘d express that many of us website visitors are really lucky to dwell in a very good site with very many wonderful people with helpful methods. I feel extremely blessed to have seen your entire webpages and look forward to so many more exciting times reading here. Thanks once more for everything.

  16. They are very good. Thank you for the recipe






  17. Amazing! I double the recipe but use a lemon and a strawberry cake mix to do strawberry lemonade. It makes a lot so I usually ball them all and roll in powdered sugar then freeze what I don’t make. I’ve had no issues baking them from frozen. Great recipe! Lots of ways to make it your own! Thanks for this!

  18. Can I freeze these before baking instead of refrigerate? Just defrost a bit before baking?

  19. As with any cake mix cookie, these are only as good as the mix itself. We used Betty Crocker and really didn’t care for the fake lemon flavor. Do you have any preferred brands? Texture was great, and I can see how this would be a nice recipe with the right cake mix.

  20. We realized after we’d already made the dough that we didn’t have any powdered sugar BUT we did have sanding sugar. These turned into a perfect dupe for the Great American Cookie Co. sugar cookies. I didn’t get a ton of lemon, just a hint but they were absolutely 🤌