These sweet lemon cream cheese cookies are filled with light lemon flavor and topped with creamy lemon icing. The combination of butter and cream cheese in the dough makes these cookies so moist and buttery! Chilling the dough makes it easier to handle and helps these cream cheese cookies bake up thick and soft.
As the only one in my house that eats lemon desserts, here I am again with another delicious lemon cookie recipe! These lemon cream cheese cookies put a bright, citrusy spin on classic cream cheese cookies, with real lemon juice and zest in the cookie dough. They’re buttery and soft like these lemon cooler cookies, with a more subtle lemon flavor than my lemonhead cookies. I think these lemon cream cheese cookies would make a wonderful addition to an Easter dessert platter or spring potluck. Best of all? They’re easy to make with simple ingredients.
- Thick and soft. The combination of half cream cheese, half butter, vanilla, and real lemon makes a perfectly soft, light cookie with just enough sweet, zesty flavor.
- Adaptable. Lemon lovers can amp up the lemon zest in the recipe for a stronger flavor, or swap the heavy cream in the icing with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Easy dough. This is an easy lemon cookie recipe with simple ingredients. The sticky dough does need to chill in the fridge, but you can even prepare the dough the day before and bake it when you’re ready.
Ingredients Needed
These are the ingredients in this lemon cream cheese cookies recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the complete recipe with exact measurements.
- Cream Cheese – Use the cream cheese that comes in bricks, like you’d use to make a cheesecake, and not the spreadable kind that comes in tubs. Bring the cream cheese to room temperature.
- Butter – This should also be at room temperature.
- Sugar – White granulated sugar is best.
- Egg – Bring this to room temperature, too.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract or an equal amount of vanilla paste.
- Lemon – You can get about 1 tablespoon of zest and 2 tablespoons of juice from 1 large lemon.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch is a “secret” ingredient in cookie recipes that makes the cookies soft, thick, and extra tender. It helps to keep the cookies from spreading.
- Baking Soda and Salt – Make sure the baking soda is not old or expired.
- Flour – All-purpose flour yields the most consistent results. I haven’t tested this recipe yet with other baking flours.
Lemon Icing
- Powdered Sugar and Heavy Cream – The base ingredients for a smooth, creamy icing. This icing is thinner than my traditional sugar cookie icing.
- Lemon Zest – You may need a second lemon to zest for the icing.
Here’s how to prepare these cream cheese lemon cookies, step-by-step.
- Make the cookie dough. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Then, add the sugar and beat again until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, along with the lemon juice and zest, baking soda, and salt. Mix, then slowly add the flour. Try not to overmix the dough or your cookies will be dense.
- Chill the dough. Cover the cookie dough and place it into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. You can also do this the day before you plan to bake your cookies, and refrigerate the dough overnight.
- Shape the cookies. When you’re ready to bake, use a medium cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into balls. Roll each ball smooth, and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake these lemon cookies at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes. I recommend checking the cookies after 8 minutes. They should be just barely golden on the bottom. Do NOT overbake.
- Cool. When you take the cookie sheet out of the oven, drop the pan on the counter 3-4 times, to flatten the cookies slightly. The tops will wrinkle a little. Afterward, move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Add the icing. When the cookies have cooled, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and lemon zest to make the icing. Dip the tops of the cookies into the icing. Let the icing set up on top of the cookies, and enjoy!
- Don’t overbake. Cream cheese cookies will harden faster than cookies made with only butter. It’s important to watch closely and take the cookies out of the oven when they’re still underbaked. They can get rather hard if you bake them until they’re golden.
- Knock out any air bubbles. These cookies will spread a bit while they bake. To help the cookies settle, as soon as they come out of the oven, I drop the baking sheet with the cookies against the counter a few times. This releases any air bubbles and prevents the cookies from being too cakey. This is another reason to leave them underbaked. They need to be loose enough to settle.
- Use fresh lemon juice. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a non-negotiable in these lemon cream cheese cookies. The main reason is that you’ll also need fresh lemon zest, which can’t be omitted. Since you’re already zesting fresh lemons, please squeeze them for juice, too!
- Don’t skip the icing. These cookies benefit from the added sweetness and that extra punch of citrus in the icing. You can adjust the amount of lemon zest to taste, but I don’t recommend skipping it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use bottled lemon juice?
I don’t recommend it in this cookie recipe. The flavor of bottled lemon juice just doesn’t compare to fresh.
Can I give these cookies a stronger lemon flavor?
Yes. To amp up the lemon flavor in these cookies, I’d suggest adding an additonal 1 tablespoon of lemon zest to the dough. You can also add ½ teaspoon of lemon extract (or to taste). Or, substitute 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in place of 1 tablespoon of heavy cream in the icing.
Proper Storage
- Refrigerate the glazed cookies. Once you’ve added the icing, these lemon cream cheese cookies are fine to store airtight at room temperature for a few hours. After that, I recommend moving them to the fridge due to the dairy in the glaze. They’ll stay fresh for up to 3 days.
- Freeze. You can freeze these lemon cream cheese cookies, ideally before icing, but also afterward if needed. Store them in a freezer-safe container or resealable bag. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw the cookies in the fridge before bringing them to room temperature for serving.
More Lemon Recipes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
These soft lemon cream cheese cookies are thick and buttery, filled with fresh lemon flavor, and topped with creamy lemon icing.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest and juice of one lemon (about 1 tablespoon zest & 2 tablespoons juice)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer mix together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until combined and smooth. Add in the sugar and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add in the egg, vanilla, zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix for 1 minute until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour, mixing until just combined.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and using a medium (2- tablespoon) cookie scoop, portion out the dough. Roll each portion into a ball and place onto the baking sheet 2- inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the the bottoms just begin to turn golden. Don’t over-bake.
- When you remove the baking sheet form the oven, drop the sheet onto a counter or your stove top a few inches in the air 3-4 times. This will flatten the cookies slightly and make them dense, removing the air from the cookies, while also giving them a nice textured top.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, cream, and zest until smooth. Dip the tops of the cookies into the icing, and place back on the wired rack to set up.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 154
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 135.2 mg
- Fat: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.5 g
- Protein: 1.6 g
- Cholesterol: 20.4 mg
Hi! I was wondering if the icing hardens so that you can stack the cookies or does the icing not fully harden. Thank you in advance!!
It does firm up, yes.
These are incredibly good! I used extra zest and lemon extract to the batter as suggested for stronger lemon flavor, and also added a little lemon juice to the frosting. My husband who loves lemon desserts said they were amazing, and our guests described them as “to die for” ( and wanted the recipe, because they were “obsessed” with how good they were. Definitely a winner I will be making many more times!
Love hearing this!!
These were so easy to make and all five of my kids and husband loved them! Will make a great Easter dessert this year since their Easter baskets may be delayed due to the coronavirus.
So glad you enjoyed! And they aren’t quite the substitute for a chocolate bunny, but hopefully they won’t mind!
Wonderful recipe, turned out great!
I love your recipes but I hate printing on two pages. I wonder why you waste space at the top with a two inch empty space and why the “Prep time, cook time” that to me is nonsense.
Geez.. first world problems?
I copy & paste recipes into Word & then tweek so save space.
Nice lemon cookies. Loved the recipe.
I made these cookies twice & they were FANTASTIC!!!!
My family loves lemon so I enhanced the lemon flavor with 1 tsp Boyajian Lemon Oil to the cookie recipe and added 2 tsp lemon extract to the frosting.
The lemon flavor was perfect and very refreshing!!!
The second time I made these, I put an indentation in the center of the cookies and filled them with Lemon pie filling. I mixed approx. 1 C Lemon Pie Filling (canned) with 2 heaping Tbs Cornstarch. I used a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off, to pipe the filling in the indentation. I baked them the same & drizzled the frosting over the cookies when they were cooled. My family LOVED this version the most!!!
We liked BOTh versions cold, so I stored them in the refrigerator.
Thanks for sharing another fabulous recipe!!!!!
LOVE these adaptations so much! I am totally going to try adding the filling!
Hi, made these cookies just today. but the balls flattened out completely and didn’t have any cookie shape at the end. And some of them were still runny. Any idea what could have resulted this? It tasted great though.
That’s very strange! If you ended up with runny cookies, the only thing I can think is that the dough wasn’t mixed well enough, and you had pockets of butter. Was the dough chilled?
Is anyone else drooling right now?
These look yuuuummmmy! Can’t wait to make some.