Yuzu Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Yuzu lemon crinkle cookies are soft, delicate, and packed with delicious citrus flavor. These beautifully cracked yuzu lemon crinkles were made specifically for those lemon dessert lovers out there.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Asian Fusion

Keyword lemon cake crinkle cookies, lemon crinkle cookie, lemon crinkle cookie recipe, lemon crinkle cookies recipe, lemon crinkle cookies,, lemon crinkles, yuzu cookies

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Chill Time 3

Servings cookies

Calories 168kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (6 g) baking soda
½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
2 tablespoon (30 g) yuzu juice
1 tablespoon (7 g) lemon zest freshly grated
1 teaspoon (6 g) vanilla extract
1 drop yellow food coloring optional

Coating

¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk until combined.
Mix wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, lemon juice, yuzu juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until combined.
Combine. Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture until well combined. If you are adding food coloring, add 1 drop of yellow here. Do not over mix. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Prepare the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C), place the oven rack in the center of the oven and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Assemble. Place a few tablespoons of granulated sugar in one bowl and ½ cup of powdered sugar in another bowl. Using a cookie scoop, scoop about a 1 1/2 tablespoon of dough. Roll the dough between your palm to form a smooth ball. Roll in granulated sugar first, then in powdered sugar, making sure to coat well. Then, place them 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet. Try to do this quickly as the dough can be a little sticky. If the dough is too sticky place it back in the refrigerator to chill a little longer. (Tip! chill your sugar coated cookie dough for 5 minutes before baking. If the cookies have absorbed the powdered sugar, quickly re-coat them before baking.)
Bake. Bake one tray at a time at 350°F (176°C) for 10-12 minutes or until the tops crack and the bottom is slightly golden along the edges. Chill the remaining trays in the refrigerator while they wait to be baked. Let the lemon cake crinkle cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Measure your ingredients with a scale! Using measuring cups and spoons will yield different results depending on the brand you use. By using a scale to measure the ingredients by weight, you will achieve more precise measurements and a more foolproof bake.
Add food coloring for a more citrusy lemon effect. For this yuzu lemon crinkle cookies recipe, I used a touch of food coloring to make it a tiny bit more yellow. You can always omit this step if you don’t want to use any artificial coloring.
Chill the cookie dough. When you mix this lemon crinkle cookie recipe together, you will notice that the dough is overly sticky and impossible to form dough balls. That is where the chilling comes into effect. The refrigerator will firm up the dough making it manageable to work with. After you assemble the balls if the dough is slightly warm and soft, I suggest chilling it in the refrigerator for at least 5 minutes before baking.
Completely coat the cookie dough with powdered sugar for the crinkle effect. If you want your lemon crinkle cookies to look similar to mine, do not shy away from coating the cookie dough balls with both granulated and powdered sugar. Double or triple coat the powder sugar to completely cover the dough ball. The more sugar added will accentuate the cracks and have a more dramatic lemon crinkle effect.
Bake one sheet of yuzu lemon crinkles at a time. Doing so will ensure the top of the cookies will dry from the heat, giving the cookies the “crackle” effect as the cookie bakes and spreads. If you have two sheet pans, the top tray will block the heat from the bottom sheet, and they won’t bake as evenly.
Storage: You can store these lemon crinkles in an airtight container on your counter for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can bake and store them in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Nutrition