This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
These lemon cream cheese cookies are soft with a creamy inside and crisp bottom. This is likely to become your go-to cookie recipe.
What can I say? I absolutely love cream cheese and lemon. The idea for these cookies came from these lemon cream cheese bars. But these lemon cream cheese cookies seriously have all the elements of the perfect cookie. Other favorites include Italian lemon ricotta cookies and cream cheese Nutella cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They’re fluffy, cake-like, and require everyday basic ingredients.
- Bakes in 10 minutes.
- You can really taste the cream cheese and fresh lemon. No lemon extract is required!
- You’ll win any cookie competition with this recipe.
Ingredient Notes
Cream Cheese – softened at room temperature. I recommend the brand Philadelphia.
Powdered Sugar – optional but I highly recommend sprinkling a generous amount on top of the cookies the second they come out of the oven.
Lemon – I only used half and it was plenty.
Top Tips
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour otherwise, the dough will be too sticky.
- Use a cookie scoop to get evenly-sized cookies.
- Enjoy these warm.
- Make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened at room temperature.
- Use 1/2 of a ripe juicy lemon.
Leftovers
The baked cookies can be stored in an air-tight container for 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3-6 months.
Can I Make These Without Lemon?
Yes, feel free to omit the lemon juice and lemon zest. You’ll still get the most delicious pillowy soft cream cheese cookies!
How Many Cookies Does This Recipe Make?
This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.
More Cookies Recipes You’ll Love
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. And consider following me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 lemon juiced , about 1 tbsp
- 1/8 tsp lemon zest
- powdered sugar, for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Set it aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon extract, and egg. Mix until fluffy.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Portion out about 2 tbsp pieces and roll into a ball. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Once the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them with powdered sugar and enjoy warm!
Notes
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour otherwise, the dough will be too sticky.
- Use a cookie scoop to get evenly-sized cookies.
- Enjoy these warm.
- Make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened at room temperature.
- Use 1/2 of a ripe juicy lemon.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
