lemon crinkle cookies and lemon coconut cookies

I’ve been posting a lot of lime treats lately (like the key lime coconut cake and the cornmeal lime cookies), but the truth is, my love of tart desserts began with lemon and not lime, so I figured it was about time I posted something lemony. These cookies have been making their way around pinterest and when I first saw them, I knew I had to make them.

One of the reviews on Tasty Kitchen said that they used coconut instead of powdered sugar and I was intrigued by the idea. I was having dinner at a friends’ house and it seemed like the perfect time to test it out. I made the dough and coated half in powdered sugar as the recipe calls for, and the rest in sweetened flaked coconut. We had an amazing dinner with a ton of food, but I insisted that everyone to at least try both variations.

The general consensus was that the original lemon crinkle was the winner. The lemon shone through more purely, while some people didn’t even realize that the coconut cookies were also lemon. I liked both cookies and think they both have their place. The coconut adds a nice and complimentary flavor while also adding some nice chewy texture. If you’re as big of a lemon fan as I am (and apparently my friends), you might want to add more lemon so that the lemon can shine through the coconut. Or, just stick with the plain unadulterated lemon cookie!

Although, I have to be honest, I didn’t think the recipe had enough lemon in it, so I upped the ante. Personally, I’m not interested in a cookie that has a hint of lemon, I want it to scream lemon. I increased the amount of zest and lemon juice, with the changes reflected below. If you’re less inclined towards the super lemon, dial it down a bit, or just coat them in coconut.

Print Recipe

Lemon Crinkle and Lemon Coconut Cookies #

Adapted from Lauren’s Latest via Tasty Kitchen

1/2 cup butter, room temp
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (depending on how lemony you want them to be)
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup powdered sugar (for lemon crinkle cookies)
or 1/2 cup sweetened coconut (for lemon coconut cookies)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease baking sheets with non stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined.

For lemon crinkles, pour the powdered sugar onto a large plate or shallow bowl. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. For the coconut cookies, do the same as above except use coconut instead of powdered sugar.

Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes or until bottom of cookies begin to barely brown and cookies have a matte finish (they shouldn’t look like like they’re melting). Remove from oven and cool cookies about 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.