Are you ready for Girl Scout cookie season? This Girl Scout Cookies Lemon Cookies recipe lets you have those delicious lemony treats any time of year!
Do you have a favorite Girl Scout cookie? It’s hard for me to choose but my favorites are the Samoas (also called Caramel DeLights some places, I hear) and the classic Thin Mints.
The Girl Scouts Lemon Cookies are also a top choice for me. They are the cookie I want most when I’m in the mood for a lemon treat. That buttery texture couples with the tart lemon flavor? Swoon.
Lemon Up Cookies
For years, I’ve been buying a box of Lemon Cookies every time one of those green vested girls comes knocking. I just can’t resist. The new Lemon-Ups Cookies the girl scouts are selling this year are supposedly just like the old lemon cookies (Lemonades) but contain a motivational message imprinted on each one. Pretty cool, right?
But, sadly, girl scout cookies aren’t available all year long. Yes, I could buy dozens of boxes to hoard throughout the year (you can even order online) but my freezer only has so much room.
So what’s a girl to do when a lemon cookie craving strikes out of season?
Make your own, of course! This Lemon Up Cookies copycat recipe makes it easy.
And don’t skip the lemon glaze. That sweet icing gives puts these cookies over the top into a category I’m comfortable describing as “heavenly.” The butter cookie itself isn’t too sugary so the lemon glaze adds just the right amount of extra sweetness to make these cookies irresistible.
Girl Scout Lemon Cookie Recipe
This homemade girl scout cookies recipe turned out better than I could have expected. Everything comes together in one bowl (except the glaze) making preparation and clean up a breeze.
The hardest part is going to be having the patience to wait for the dough to chill. After mixing the cookie dough together it needs about 1 hour in the fridge to chill. The finished lemon cookies are more than worth it!
Ingredients At A Glance
Full printable recipe below
- Flour
- Butter
- Salt
- Sugar
- Egg
- Lemon Peel and Juice
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar
Directions At A Glance
Full printable recipe below
-
Mix flour and salt, set aside. Beat butter and sugar, then add in egg, lemon peel, lemon extract and food coloring and mix well. Combine wet and dry ingredients.
-
Roll into a log shape. Wrap and chill for one hour.
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Slice, place on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.
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Combine ingredients to make glaze, dip cookies into glaze, then allow to dry.
- Enjoy!
Tips for Making Lemon Glaze
You can choose how thick you like your glaze for these lemon cookies. If you like a thinner coating of glaze on your cookie, add more lemon juice a teaspoon full at a time. Likewise, if you like a thick glaze that’s more like a frosting, add a bit more powdered sugar.
I tried the glaze both ways for the cookies and loved them both. Girl Scouts Lemon Cookies bring a little bit of sunshine to your taste buds. Every member of my family liked them, some even more than the other delicious Lemon Cookies I make.
More Lemon Recipes
If you like these copycat Lemon Up Cookies, you will also enjoy my other lemon cookies. Lemon Rolls are always a popular recipe around here, especially for Easter and Mother’s Day. Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf is one of my all time favorites. A slice of that lemony loaf with a nice cup of tea is a divine mid-day break if you ask me. And this easy Lemon Bundt Cake is one of my all time most popular recipes, it’s definitely a reader favorite!
Lemon desserts make me so happy and I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I did.
Girl Scout Cookies Lemon Cookies
Just like the ones you buy from your local scout, this is a buttery cookie with a pop of lemon citrus flavor and topped with lemon glaze.
Homemade Girl Scout Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 standard size sticks
- yellow food coloring
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeeze lemon juice
Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Cookies:
- Mix flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and granulated sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk, lemon peel, lemon juice and food coloring, if using. Mix well.
- Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Form each half into a log about 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
- Preheat oven 350°F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place on ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until very lightly browned around edges. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
- Dip bottom of each cookie into glaze, then gently set cookie with the dipped bottom side up, onto a wire cooling rack to allow glaze to set up.
Lemon Glaze:
- Mix 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, and lemon juice. Stir until well combined and smooth. If a thinner glaze is desired, add more lemon juice, a teaspon at a time. If a thicker glaze is desired, add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Mix utnil smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Carol says
Used this recipe and they turned out absolutely perfect. It’s definitely going to be a regular at my house. Thank you so much for posting this recipe 🤗
jay says
i really wanted to try this recipe because i was no longer live in the usa and miss girl scouts cookies SOO much! i followed all the instructions and increments, but my dough came out super soft and it ended up spreading too thin in the oven. i’ll definitely make it again and try to add more flour this time! the taste is really close to the original girl scout cookies (i put in some extra lemon zest for a stronger flavour) and i hope when i make it again, it’ll be better! thank you for the recipe!
Angela says
Would this recipe work with gluten free flour?
Christi Johnstone says
Not sure, I don’t use gluten free flour so I’m really not familiar with how it works in any recipe.
Allison says
Nice recipe and good texture! Love the fresh lemon. My only complaint is that the recipe does not call for enough icing. Obviously, I could prepare more myself, but I am just slightly annoyed that what the recipe called for was not enough.
Dana says
Cookies come out the PERFECT texture. I do, however, run out of Icing and am unable to ice all the cookies and I do not use a lot so maybe 1.5 cups of sugar would be better
Tatiana says
Do you use unsalted butter?
Christi Johnstone says
I personally notice absolutely no taste difference between salted and unsalted butter in anything, so I almost always leave it up to people to use what they prefer or have on hand.