Soft, puffy, melt-in-your-mouth Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies! These could not be easier and are made with common pantry ingredients! These Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies get their fantastic lemon flavor from fresh lemon zest and a fresh lemon icing!
To easily view all the blog recipes, follow along on Pinterest!
Last week I shared these Amish Sugar Cookies, and then an adaptation of those, these Iced Almond Cookies. Both recipes are going bananas on Pinterest this week! I totally get why – those cookies became a fast favorite of mine too. A very fast favorite, and they moved up to the top of a very long list of recipes to get there. They’re that good. I love them.
These Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies are just like their original counterpart. They’re soft and puffy, but still dense and substantial. They’re really buttery, rich, and flaky. They melt in your mouth. Really. They remind me a lot of a cut-out cookie, but without any rolling! They’re a fraction of the work – a drop sugar cookie basically. The lazy person’s cut-out cookies, if you will.
Anyway, the original Amish Sugar Cookies are a perfect, simple sugar cookie, and they need nothing else, but they’re soooo adaptable. They are such a lovely canvas for other variations. Those Iced Almond Cookies were my first adaptation, and these Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies are my next.
There is almost nothing I love more in the world than a really, really good frosted lemon cookie. I can recount for you the BEST lemon cookies I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ll never forget them. One was at a small coffee shop in San Francisco, and sadly that establishment is now closed, but I dream about their lemon cookies! I used to get them almost every day!
The other is at an outdoor marketplace in Washington D.C. My friend took me when I was visiting, and I had to try their massive frosted lemon cookie. It was amazing. I love lemon cookies, and I test them whenever they’re an option at a bakery.
So I know a good lemon cookie because I’m such a diehard enthusiast! These Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies are those perfect Amish Sugar Cookies, but with lemon zest in the dough, and a fresh lemon icing on top. They’re incredible! If you’re a lemon cookies enthusiast too, you’ve got to try these.
Updated March 2019: I’ve now made A LOT of these 😉
- Eggnog Amish Sugar Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Vanilla Amish Sugar Cookies
- Cherry Almond Amish Sugar Cookies
- Pecan Praline Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Maple Amish Sugar Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Chai-Spiced Amish Sugar Cookies
- Thin Crispy Amish Sugar Cookies
- Iced Almond Sugar Cookies
- Toasted Coconut Amish Sugar Cookies
- Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies
- Peppermint Amish Sugar Cookies
For other awesome sugar cookies, I love these Classic Sugar Cookies. They’re one of the most rich and luxurious cookies I’ve ever tasted! I made these Orange-Glazed Sugar Cookies with the same cookie recipe.
And some other Christmas cookie options for you: White Chocolate Cherry Almond Shortbread, Cracked Top Ginger Cookies, and Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies. Some of my very faves, as well as most popular!
You’re all set for Christmas cookie-baking. 🙂
Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For cookies:
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- zest of 1 lemon
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
For icing:
- zest of 2 lemons
- juice of 2 lemons or about 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 4 tbsp. butter melted
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For cookies:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, oil, and sugars until combined.
- Beat in eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
- Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating until combined. Do not overmix.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Drop dough by small teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets.
- Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes, or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned.
- Remove to wire racks to cool.
For icing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all icing ingredients until smooth.
- Spread over cookies, and allow to set.
Notes
These really are delicious. We had the variation with the Almond frosting and I couldn’t get enough of it! Can’t wait to try these and other variations for Christmas!
Thanks, Mom! We will! What other flavors? Orange cookies maybe.
I made these cookies today to great disappointment. The cookies themselves lack much in the way of lemon flavor and they don’t have a nice rich buttery flavor either. I mean they just taste like run of the mill sugar cookies. However the real bummer is the icing which is twice as much as anyone could need in a lifetime and thick like frosting. It has far too much sugar. I like that the cookies are made from basic cupboard ingredients but I will not make these again. I mean they aren’t terrible but they definitely aren’t anything special.
Sorry you feel that way. I guess they’re not for everybody, but for most people, these are an excellent cookie. I’ve made them to rave reviews, and my Amish Sugar Cookies recipe has excellent ratings on the blog and on Pinterest. Thanks,
Why are these cookies the best? I had some lemons I needed to use up and went searching for a quick recipe I could use with basic baking ingredients on hand and guess what? This did the trick and was SO easy!
The best part(s):
-you can half the recipe for smaller amounts
-adjust the lemon and sugar to your liking (not a fan of changing recipes but if you want sweeter or more tart it can be done easily!) and they are still fab
-the cookie itself is fine without frosting so is a good basic one to use again and again
-they came out perfect the first try when following directions
-everyone who tried them, loved the cookies and asked for more when seeing lemons later!
-you can freeze them and they defrost perfect (even in microwave if needed!)
-they can be put in fridge to bake later just fine
-they are not expensive to make for cost conscious bakers wanting to have something nice for less
-they present well and look appealing
-a good balance of sweet cookie and tangy frosting
-endless possibilities with modifications (just citrus alone can be lime, lemon, orange, tangerine, etc….) why
-less than a dozen ingredients for both cookie and frosting
The combination of all of this is why these cookies are AWESOME! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper for sure.
Omg, this is the BEST comment! Thank you so much for your kind feedback, but thank you so much for also making it helpful to readers!!! This is why I love these cookies too – for all the many reasons you listed – versatile, adaptable, simple, basic ingredients, crowd-pleasing, pretty to look at, etc. This was such great feedback to hear. Thank you again, and I hope you had Happy Happy Holidays!! 🙂
Thank you for your input I am a lemon-aholic lol. Ian so excited to make these. Also going to make the Cherry ones my dad will love them. THANK YOU
Do you have a better recipe?
I made these a couple of weeks ago. I actually added a little more sugar to half the topping as I wanted the icing to be more of a frosting but the original was better. My husband and I loved them. I froze half already baked and topped in freezer bags and pulled them out for a treat. Great recipe! Thanks again. I’m making them again today.
I’m more of a frosting girl usually too, but I’ve just really liked glaze on these cookies! It’s been super fun to create different variations since it’s such a versatile cookie base, and I have about half a dozen coming for fall/holidays. I’m so happy you liked them! I’ve also frozen quite a lot of these, and they thaw out really well. Thanks so much for your comment, Maralee!!! Enjoy! 🙂
Good cookies! I made the lemon version. I thought they were a touch too sweet. For me, the glaze was way too sweet and there was too much. I think I’ll cut the powdered sugar back to 2 1/2 or 3 cups of powdered sugar. Definitely something to include in my baking rotation! Thanks! (Next time, i’m thinking a bit of peppermint oil, and some crushed candy canes in the glaze.)
Yes!! I have a Peppermint version, and they are GREAT. And I’m not even a big peppermint person, but they turn out really well. Perfect for Christmas! I’m sorry the lemon ones were too sweet – I totally understand. I like them as-is, but believe it or not, my family likes MORE icing on those cookies!!! I appreciate your feedback, and I’m glad you like the basic sugar cookie recipe! Happy Holidays. 🙂
I discovered that I made a mistake! I cut the recipe in half, just to try it. I cut everything except for the lemon zest in half. Great lemon flavor without being overpowering. I do like this recipe (and so do our neighbors!)
Oh really?? How funny! Thanks so much for circling back to let me know! I’m so glad you liked them. Amish Sugar Cookies have become a family favorite for us, and there are so many ways to adapt them. Happy Holidays to you and yours! 🙂
I made these and used lemon extract for 1/2 the vanilla, and used the zest of 2 lemons… OMG…. AMAZING !!
Woohoo!! That makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks for letting me know your feedback. 🙂
Made a batch and love the flavor. I did however roll the batter instead of dropping spoonfuls. Also, I had to cool them on an open brown paper bag to absorb the oil.
You rolled the batter? Did you make cut-outs??? I haven’t tried cut-outs with this dough yet, but I’ve had a lot of people ask if it can be done. I want to try it soon, but I just haven’t yet. Let me know if that’s what you did, and if it worked out well for you!! And thank you for your comment and feedback. 🙂
Made the dough yesterday and made a small batch to try, yet my batter is just sitting in a pool of oil/butter. I tried draining some of it. It just pools on the parchment paper as soon as I plop to dough into the tray. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I don’t want to add more four, I’m afraid they will become to dense. Any suggestions? I’m making them tomorrow for a party.
Hmmm… I’m sorry for the delay with responding! I have been traveling for a family emergency. The dough is light and fluffy, not oily. There definitely must’ve been some kind of mismeasurement, or maybe an ingredient was not fresh or something? I’m so sorry you had trouble with the recipe. That’s definitely not how the dough should be, it’s consistently fluffy and light when I make these cookies. It shouldn’t run or pool. I’m sorry it didn’t work out!
I tried out the recipe yesterday. It was a success! I made 5 dozen from this recipe. The dough is light not dense. The first tray I made too big of cookies. I had to put the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. After each tray, I kept dough in fridge. I put on food handlers gloves and lightly rolled each cookie into a ball, lightly placing them on parchment-covered tray. All the rest of the cookies were beautiful and consistent in size. Icing was delicious. I did like a previous baker and added a little fresh lemon juice with vanilla to dough and I used almost double the zest in dough and icing. Our lemons are from a neighbors old tree and they are different from the market, super juicy, little seeds and a kind of sweeter flavor. Hard to describe. Overall, a hit with the family, my son took some to his office, and sharing your wonderful recipe with the owner of tree. Thank you very much!
Hi there! Thank you so much for sharing your tips and experience with the recipe. I love to hear feedback, and it’s also super helpful to other reads, of course, so I really appreciate your comments. 🙂 I’m so glad the cookies were a hit. You’re so lucky to have a neighbor with an abundant lemon tree — I wish I was so lucky!!
Sarah you have such AMAZING recipes! ***** I have made quit a few and they have been a HUGH hit with myself and others. Can’t wait to keep trying more . Going for the Cherry Almond Amish cookies. They remind me of an Italian cookie my Grandma used to make. She just turned 101! She and my dad will LOVE them.Then your Pistachio Pudding cakes next next. Please keep coming up with more. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!
I made these just before Thanksgiving and they turned out amazing. A little crispy, buttery and light lemon flavor. Today I’m doing orange ones! Super happy with this recipe!!!
Yay! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback! They are a favorite around here, for sure. Glad you liked them too. 🙂
These cookies are delicious!!!! I used less lemon zest in the icing as I wanted a more subtle lemon flavor. They are crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. A winner for sure! Thank you for sharing.
Yay!! I’m so glad you like them! Any of the Amish Sugar Cookie variations are faves around here, for sure. I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday season!
Mine did not turn out puffy; flat; but oh so delicious! I halved the recipe for just my husband & I. I am a lemon LOVER!
These are delicious! I would like to try to make a Key Lime version. Do you think I should sub the lime zest and juice in the same amounts as the lemon? Thank you.
Yes! I do! And Key Lime version is an AMAZING idea!!
These cookies are delicious! They are a huge hit anywhere I take them.
Loved these cookies. I make these and freeze them. Pull out a few to thaw out for something sweet to eat.