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These homemade Lemon Cooler cookies are better than boxed! A secret lemon icing layer adds a slight cooling feel, making these soft, melt in your mouth cookies totally refreshing. Perfect for lemon lovers!
If you've had the boxed version of lemon coolers before, you know how addictive these cookies are! I'm not sure if they even still make them - I know I haven't seen them in the store in a long time.
A lemon cooler cookie is a crisp lemon cookie that is coated in powdered sugar. What makes them unique is, when you put it in your mouth there is an intense blast of a cooling lemon feeling. It's so, so refreshing and SO tasty!
I'm not sure how store-bought brands do it, but I did a little research on these cookies and I see that a few copycat recipes use powdered lemon juice in the coating to create that tart, cool sensation. Some even used lemonade mix.
I ended up not using these for my recipe because I didn't want to have to add any specialty ingredients, but I promise these sweet and bright cookies will be just as tasty and pack a lemony punch!
Instead, I created somewhat of an icing/glaze layer in between the cookie and powdered sugar. But, it's neat because you don't have to necessarily 'ice' these cookies; it's kind of happens automatically. I know that probably doesn't make sense - I'll explain!
How To Make Lemon Cooler Cookies
These are simple cookies. You'll need...
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- An egg yolk
- All purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- Lemons (zest & juice!)
The dough is a pretty standard cookie dough and comes together easy.
Once all of the ingredients are mixed, the dough will actually be rather crumbly. Don't worry, it's supposed to be that way!
It's still soft and should be easy to roll into 1 tablespoon sized balls.
These cookies do not spread once baked. They stay nice and round!
Now, to that secret icing layer part! Once the cookies are cooled, you'll dip the tops into lemon juice and then immediately into powdered sugar.
As the powdered sugar and lemon juice sets and dries on the cookie, they mix together and actually form a thin layer of glaze on top. If you've ever made a glaze from lemon juice and powdered sugar before, you know that it does have that cool/melty feeling on your tongue.
It really works! 
After the juice/sugar sets, you might have some bare spots where the lemon juice soaked in. Feel free to give them another roll into the powdered sugar to recoat completely.
Why These Are The Best Lemon Cookies
Whenever I make a lemon dessert, it's gotta have a lot of lemon. These sweet little cookies are no exception.
In the cookie dough, I added the zest of 2 whole lemons. Lemon zest is great here because the rich oils from the lemon peel infuse the cookie dough completely.
As mentioned before, the cookies are then dunked into fresh lemon juice for a tart and tangy bite.
I love serving these cookies in the spring and summertime. They're great paired with a cold, sweet tea in the afternoon and delightful on the side with a glass of dessert wine.
| Are you a fellow lemon lover? Try my Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies & Lemon Ricotta Cake! |
Lemon Cooler Cookies
These homemade Lemon Cooler cookies are better than boxed! A secret lemon icing layer adds a slight cooling feel, making these soft, melt in your mouth cookies totally refreshing. Perfect for lemon lovers!
- Total Time: 25
- Yield: 26 Cookies 1x
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
- ¾ c granulated sugar
- Zest of two lemons
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 c all purpose flour
For the Coating
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 1 c powdered sugar
- More powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add the softened butter and sugar.
- Using a hand mixer (or if you have this in a stand mixer) beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the lemon zest and mix well.
- Next, add the egg yolk and beat until combined.
- Lastly, add the flour and mix on low speed until large crumbles form. Stop mixing once all the flour is absorbed. Do not over mix.
- Using a 1 tablespoon sized cookie scoop, scoop the dough into the palm of your hand and squeeze together to form a ball. It's okay if the dough is crumbly, but you should be able to form a nice, smooth ball after squeezing the dough together tightly. If the dough is too dry, try adding a couple teaspoons of lemon juice.
- Place the dough balls on the prepared cookie sheet, spaced 1½ inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom is light golden brown.
- Allow to rest of the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled, place the lemon juice in a bowl and add the 1 cup of powdered sugar. Stir to make a thin icing glaze. Then, place additional powdered sugar (for rolling) in the other bowl).
- Dip the entire cookie into the thin lemon juice icing, allowing the excess to drip off. Then, immediately roll the cookie into the other bowl with the sugar, rolling the cookie around to coat.
- Place back on the cooling rack for at least 30 minutes to dry. Re-roll in the powdered sugar if needed (sometimes the lemon juice absorbs some of the sugar!)
- Store in an airtight container for 4-6 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
- Looking for a more intense 'cooling' feeling? Try adding crystallized lemon juice to the powdered sugar before rolling the cookies.
- To make lime coolers, simply use lime zest and lime juice. See my post on key lime cookies!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 118
- Sugar: 4.6g
Keywords: Lemon cooler cookies, lemon desserts, summer desserts, lemon cookies, drop cookies, cookies with lemon
LB
Absolutely easy to make and absolutely DELICIOUS!! Thank you. 🍋😊
David
These lemon cooler cookies are the perfect balance of sweet & tart! They're so addictive they'll be gone in an instant.