Soft Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies are delicious. They are like a little slice of heaven baked into a soft cookie that can be savored. It’s one of my favorite flavors to experiential with and when you try these cookies, you’ll understand why. If you’re a lemon fan, this cookie recipe is for you. If you love soft and chewy cookies, this recipe is for you and finally, if you enjoy simple recipes, this is the one for you!
Icebox cookies are a must in my household. I can bake cupcakes, pies, dessert bars and cake but nothing compares to the cookies we go through here. For years, my cookies turned out flat, crispy and crunchy but after learning to tweak the recipes, I have finally mastered the art of cookie baking.
Using Cream Cheese in Lemon Cookie Dough
Adding cream cheese to cookies is nothing new. Many bakers much like myself enjoy cookies that use a mixture of cream cheese and butter. Using real butter adds an incredible amount of flavor to cookies and that is something that remains in this soft dough recipe. Using cream cheese helps to thicken the cookie dough. It results in a more intense soft, chewy and pillowy cookie with the same richness and flavor that many crave.
It’s important to thaw the cream cheese and butter to room temperature before continuing to make the dough.
TIP: To quickly soften, cut butter or cream cheese by the tablespoon and place in the microwave for 30 seconds. Be sure that it doesn’t melt, though. Cream together the butter and cream cheese for about a minute or two. This step ensures the dough bakes up thick and soft. Continue mixing on medium speed and slowly add in the sugar, egg and vanilla extract and then return the mixer to beat the dough ingredients.
Cookie dough batter should be light and fluffy. Meanwhile, zest 1-2 lemons and reserve 2-3 tbsp lemon zest then chop the zest. Squeeze fresh lemons and reserve 3 tbsp of lemon juice.
Mixing the Cookie Dough
This recipe is adapted from my Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I posted a few weeks ago. The dessert cookies are super easy to make but do require a chill time in the refrigerator so the cream cheese and butter have a chance to become more solid. It also works by allowing the oil in the lemon zest to relax and leads the dough to have more of that lemon flavor.
After 5-7 minutes of beating batter, add half the flour mixture to the batter. Next, measure and add all of the baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and chopped lemon zest. Pour in lemon juice and continue beating on medium speed. Add the remainder of the flour to the dough and mix.
TIP: The dough should start to form a ball if mixed right. If no ball is forming, add a little more flour until ball forms. If the dough is too dry, add just a little lemon juice. Next, chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
Cookies Baking Tips
- CHILL DOUGH: Once the dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- PERFECT SIZE COOKIES: Use a cookie scoop to scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons dough. Roll dough between hands to form a nice ball and place on a prepared cookie sheet.
- BAKING TIP: Place in the oven and bake for 9-15 minutes. This recipe is incredibly popular and has been made by thousands. While this recipe works for 90 percent of readers, another 10% it appears raw. If the cookies appear raw after baking and undercooked, continue to cook an extra 5-15 minutes. Every oven is different so use your best judgment on this recipe. NOTE that different size cookies will require more or less baking time to cook them.
- COOKIES WILL CONTINUE TO HARDEN AFTER BAKING: Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely before transferring. Cookies will harden within a few hours to overnight.
- MAKING THE GLAZE: To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar and water in a small bowl and whisk until icing is smooth. Dunk cookies in upside down or drizzle icing over cookies. Zest extra lemon for the icing if desired.
For more COOKIE RECIPES, try these Lemon Sugar Cookies. Thousands have made this recipe and just love it! Another classic, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. A must for Christmas cookie baking, everyone loves the soft rich texture of these cookies along with classic Snickerdoodles. For an easy summer flavor, these Strawberry Cookies are quick and delicious. For a twist, try these Strawberry Lemonade Cookies. An all-time favorite, these Mexican Wedding Cookies are to die for delicious!
Soft Cream Cheese Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup cream cheese softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp to 3 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2½ cup to 2¾ cup all-purpose flour if the dough is super soft, add more flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Lemon Icing
- 1½ tbsp lemon juice or water use any extra lemon zest, too
- ¾ cup to 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Combine butter and cream cheese in a bowl fit with a paddle attachment of a mixer. Cream together for about 1 minute.
- Add granulated sugar and continue to mix. Add egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat on medium to high speed until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add half the flour, all the baking soda, salt, cornstarch and lemon zest. Add lemon juice and the remaining flour.
- Mix to combine until the dough starts to form like a ball. Add a little more flour until slight ball starts to form.
- Cover and refrigerate dough at least 2-3 hours or up to a few days.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheet and spray with cooking spray or parchment paper.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop about 1½ tablespoon cookie dough. Roll cookie dough between hands to get a nice round ball and place on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-15 minutes.
- TIP: This recipe is incredibly popular and has been made by thousands. While this recipe works for 90 percent of readers, another 10% it appears raw. If the cookies appear raw after baking and undercooked, continue to cook an extra 5-15 minutes. Every oven is different so use your best judgment on this recipe.
- Removed from oven and while still hot, slightly press down if desired.
- Allow cookies to cool down completely before transferring. Cookies will slightly harden overnight a little more so don't bake them much longer.
- To make the glaze, combine powdered sugar and water together in a small bowl. Whisk fast until ingredients are combined with no lumps.
- Dip cookies upside down into icing or drizzle icing over the top and allow to harden.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it’s accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
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updated 2021
92 Responses
These cookies were a hit but they did not look like the picture or super chewy in the middle.
Excellent recipe! Came out perfectly. We baked ours 10 min, bottoms were just starting to brown and the centers were tender. We glazed using the lemon juice and sugar and topped with zest.
These are the best cookies that I have ever made. Followed your directions exactly and, they came out perfect. Not too sweet and actually, quite refreshing. My family absolutely loved them.
The kids and I made the dough to these scrumptious-lemony-delights yesterday and baked them this morning …. They are delish! I didn’t quite have enough lemon zest to do 3 Tbsp in the dough so I just went with the 2 and then did the lemon juice instead of water in the frosting and they were perfect for our taste. These cookies will definitely go in our recipe stock pile!
This looks delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Yum. I made those and wanted them more lemony so I added lemon juice to the icing. I love lemon!
I also followed the directions and didn’t really like them. I felt like they didn’t really bake and they were not lemony enough. For the icing, I ended up adding lemon zest and using lemon juice instead of water.
Followed directions. Didn’t taste lemon. Very chewy. Felt raw in texture at the 10 min mark at 375. Will tweak
Hi Carme, I will go ahead and publish this comment as suggested because we all make mistakes when it comes to baking. Lemon juice IS acidic and for baking soda to work, it requires an acid, which perhaps you missed. Baking soda reacts to an acid, such as the lemon juice used in this recipe. It creates gas bubbles that enlarge the cookie batter bubbles. The result is more rise to these LEMON cookies. A simple test to display this science is to combine baking soda and lemon juice. It makes a great bubbly scrub in the kitchen to clean pots and pans. Hope that helps!
My mistake! The lemon should activate it
Yum! Pinned, my boyfriend and I are going to love these.
Tastes great, but it’s more like scones… Not chewy at all. Maybe I added too much flour? Or maybe because I cut sugar in half?
Hi Hiromi, it sounds like too much flour and possibly baking it too long. Hope that helps. Sugar amount should not alter it besides taste.
I’m making these cookies but I’m confused on the amount of flour? Thank you!
Hi Kate, use 2 1/2 cups to 2 3/4 cup. Start with 2 + 1/2 cups flour and if it’s too sticky, add another 1/4 cup flour. Hope that helps.
These look delicious! Would you recommend storing them in the refrigerator or is a counter top fine? Thanks! 🙂
While I never had any issues with leaving them on the counter top, I’d suggest the refrigerator.
Jessica,
I followed all your instructions, but they dont come out as pretty as yours. The middle isnt like yours. ):
There is some special trick?
Hi Ana, can you tell me a little more about it? How did the middle turn out? Was it soft or too hard?
The center looks more cooked than yours even with 9 min. cooking tome. I would like to know your technique for them to remain a little raw like yours. : )
All my instructions for how I did it are right in the post. No secrets =D
Hey, your cookies looks incredible!! Gonna try them.. Could you please tell me what temperature to bake them ? 160 or 180 degree Celsius? Thanks !
I believe around 175 degrees C. Let me know how they turn out!
I made these with Grapefruit zest in the dough and i made the glaze with Grapefruit juice instead of water! ❤️
Made these today with my daughter, delicious! Will definitely make again. Thanks!
Delicious! Can I make ahead and freeze either the unbaked dough balls or the baked cookies?
yes to both, just allow to slightly thaw before baking.
yes to both, just allow to slightly thaw before baking.
I love EVERYTHING lemon and I’m excited to make…well EAT…them! But, I don’t have a stand mixer. I REALLY wish that recipies that do use them would give alternate (hand mixer) directions. I can’t imagine holding a hand mixer for 7 min. As in your recipe but I will if necessary!
But I assume the directions might vary from hand to stand. Can u help.. I DESPERATELY want to make these cookies!!!
Hi Stacey, you could try mixing them for less time