»When life gives you lemons…« – you probably know what comes next. When life gives you lemons, you make Lemon Crinkle Cookies. The only correct answer to that question ;P Simple and easy cookies packed with lemon flavor… and a great look, right? They are a great snack all year round, a great gift for friends and family – well, and a great sweet treat for yourself. We make these cookies at least once a month ;)
I love easy recipes that can be done quickly. I think it’s safe to say that we all are a bit lazy from time to time. This is the moment those simple and easy recipes come in handy ;) I really love baking cakes with several layers, different fillings, and fancy decorations… but that only happens once in a blue moon, to be honest. Delicious cookies that don’t need a lot of time and effort to be ready to eat on the table – I probably make those once a week. Everything you can do on a weekday night after work without messing up the space-time continuum is perfect ;P
If you never heard of crinkle cookies yet – these are mostly super simple cookies that all have one thing in common: the torn surface with loads of visible cracks aka. crinkles. D’oh! ;P
In order to get the crinkly surface you simply have to shape the (not yet baked) cookie dough into small balls and coat them with confectioners’ sugar. The dough will expand during baking which creates a lot of cracks in the sugar-coating. Easy, right?!
Well, almost. Unfortunately, it is not always that simple, or better said – you will not always get the results you might have expected. Not every simple cookie recipe will work, not every cookie can be a crinkle cookie. Some cookies are not made to be crinkly ;P
How do you get the crinkles into (on top of) the crinkle cookies?
First, you need cookie dough that is not too wet. If your cookie dough is very sticky it will release a lot of moisture during baking. This means, if you coated your cookie dough ball with confectioners’ sugar this layer will primarily absorb the moisture. You will see some cracks on top of the cookies, but most of the confectioners’ sugar will be gone and the crinkle effect fizzles out.
A slightly drier cookie dough will give you much better results. However, it should not be too dry either, because otherwise, it may not rise enough. If the dough does not expand, no cracks will appear ;)
If you have problems getting the crinkle situation to work with your cookies you might want to try adding a layer of regular sugar first (like I did here in the recipe). This layer will absorb some of the moisture and the confectioners’ sugar on top can do what he should do: crack and crinkle ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 25 cookies)
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
zest of 2 organic lemons
2.5 oz. (70g) butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
about 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
about 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
(etwa 25 Cookies)
150g Zucker
Abrieb von 2 Bio-Zitronen
70g Butter, geschmolzen
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
2 Eier (M)
2 EL Zitronensaft
260g Mehl (Type 405)
1 TL Backpulver
1/4 TL Salz
etwa 50g Zucker
etwa 60g Puderzucker
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl and rub the zest with your fingers into the sugar to release some of the oils from the zest. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Next, add the eggs and lemon juice and mix until everything looks light and fluffy. Mix the flour with baking powder, and salt. Add to the bowl and fold in. You will get a quite wet and sticky dough that looks more like a cake batter – but that’s what we want. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Use a cookie scoop* to get dough portions out of the bowl – you want a bit more than a tablespoon of dough per cookie. Shape into balls and then roll in the regular sugar first, then roll the balls in the confectioners’ sugar. Make sure you got a good amount of confectioners’ sugar on each dough ball. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving enough space in between – the cookies will spread quite a bit. I normally do not place more than 12 dough balls at a time on the baking sheet. Place the rest of the dough back in the fridge for the next round.
3. Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake the cookies for about 9-11 minutes or until they have expanded nicely with loads of cracks on top. Take out of the oven and let cool down on the baking sheet for some time then transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining dough until everything has been used. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
1. Zucker und Zitronenabrieb in einer großen Schüssel mit den Fingern verreiben, um noch mehr Aroma aus der Zitronenschale herauszuholen. Geschmolzene Butter und Vanille Extrakt dazugeben und alles gut verrühren. Eier und Zitronensaft ebenfalls dazugeben und alles so lange verrühren, bis die Mischung hell und luftig aussieht. Mehl mit Backpulver und Salz mischen, zur Schüssel dazugeben und unterheben. Der Teig wird recht feucht bzw. klebrig sein, aber das ist ok. Die Schüssel mit dem Teig abdecken und für mindestens 2 Stunden (oder über Nacht) in den Kühlschrank stellen.
2. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Mit einem Cookie Scoop* Teigportionen aus der Schüssel holen – pro Cookie sollten es etwas mehr als 1 Esslöffel sein. Die Teigportionen zu Kugeln formen und zuerst im normalen Zucker wenden, dann im Puderzucker. Die Teigkugeln sollten wirklich rundum mit Puderzucker bedeckt sein. Achtet darauf, die Kugeln mit genügend Abstand zueinander auf das vorbereitete Blech zu setzen – ich packe normalerweise nicht mehr als 12 Stück auf das Blech, da die Kekse ordentlich zerlaufen. Den restlichen Teig wieder in den Kühlschrank stellen.
3. Das Backblech in die Mitte des Ofens schieben und die Cookies für etwa 9-11 Minuten backen – sie sollten schön aufgepufft und auseinandergelaufen sein und die Oberfläche mit Rissen übersät sein. Cookies aus dem Ofen nehmen und kurz auf dem Blech abkühlen lassen, dann auf ein Kuchengitter setzen und komplett auskühlen lassen. Prozedur wiederholen, bis der Teig komplett aufgebraucht ist. Die Cookies sollten in einer luftdichten Dose etwa 1 Woche durchhalten.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Easy Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:11
- Total Time: 01:00
- Yield: 25 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: United States
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Simple and easy to prepare – these Lemon Crinkle Cookies are the perfect sweet treat for all out there that love lemon and citrus flavors! So good!
Ingredients
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
zest of 2 organic lemons
2.5 oz. (70g) butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
about 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
about 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
1. Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl and rub the zest with your fingers into the sugar to release some of the oils from the zest. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Next, add the eggs and lemon juice and mix until everything looks light and fluffy. Mix the flour with baking powder, and salt. Add to the bowl and fold in. You will get a quite wet and sticky dough that looks more like a cake batter – but that’s what we want. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Use a cookie scoop* to get dough portions out of the bowl – you want a bit more than a tablespoon of dough per cookie. Shape into balls and then roll in the regular sugar first, then roll the balls in the confectioners’ sugar. Make sure you got a good amount of confectioners’ sugar on each dough ball. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving enough space in between – the cookies will spread quite a bit. I normally do not place more than 12 dough balls at a time on the baking sheet. Place the rest of the dough back in the fridge for the next round.
3. Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake the cookies for about 9-11 minutes or until they have expanded nicely with loads of cracks on top. Take out of the oven and let cool down on the baking sheet for some time then transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining dough until everything has been used. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
Happy Baking!
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