19 October 2025

Lemon Vanilla Cookies

Name: Lemon Vanilla Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 135 grams unsalted butter (at room temperature); 1 cup caster sugar; 1 egg (at room temperature); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tbsp lemon zest (finely grated); 1 1/2 cups flour (plain, all purpose); 1/4 cup vanilla custard powder; 1 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 tsp bicarb soda (baking soda); 1/4 tsp salt

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Last Updated on 20 September, 2026 by Elby | The Tasteful Pantry

Lemon vanilla cookies have a proper little snap at the edges, a delicate buttery middle and enough fresh lemon to make you go back for another. Then vanilla arrives making the whole biscuit taste a bit more special than what I ever intended.

These are thin, crisp biscuits, rather than chunky, chewy chocolate chip cookies. The lemon comes from fresh zest, so the flavour is fragrant without adding liquid to a dough that likes to spread. If citrus baking is your thing, my lemon Portuguese tarts are one to try.

Ingredients For The Lemon Vanilla Cookies Recipe

Butter and caster sugar: Softened butter creams more easily; it should yield when pressed, not look shiny or partly melted. Caster sugar mixes through quickly. Regular white sugar can be used, though the texture may be a little coarser.

Egg and vanilla extract: Bring the egg out with the butter. If the mixture looks a little split after you add it, carry on; the dry ingredients will bring it together. Vanilla extract gives a fuller flavour than essence.

Fresh lemon zest: This is where the lemon flavour comes from. Wash and dry the lemon, then grate only the yellow skin. Stop before you reach the white pith. Zest the lemon before cutting it; trying to grate a squeezed half is slippery and much harder.

Plain flour and custard powder: The flour gives the cookies structure; the custard powder makes their bite finer and brings a gentle vanilla note. Use regular vanilla custard powder for the flavour described here.

Baking powder, bicarb soda and salt: Use the amounts in the recipe card. The raising agents affect the spread and texture, so I wouldn’t casually add an extra spoonful and hope the biscuits keep their composure.

A bowl of vanilla extract to flavour lemon cookies

How to Make Lemon Vanilla Cookies

Step one: Cream the butter and sugar. Heat the oven to 170°C conventional or 150°C fan-forced and line two trays. Beat the softened butter and caster sugar on medium speed for about two minutes, until the mixture looks lighter and creamy. Scrape down the bowl so there isn’t a stubborn strip of butter hiding at the bottom.

Step two: Add the lemon and vanilla. Beat in the egg, vanilla and finely grated lemon zest until combined.

Step three: Bring the dough together. Sift in the flour, custard powder, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt. Fold with a spatula just until you can’t see dry flour. Once the dough has come together, stop. Extra mixing can make the lemon vanilla biscuits tougher.

Step four: Portion and chill. Roll roughly 1½ tablespoons of dough per cookie and leave about 5 cm between them on the trays. They spread, and they will absolutely take advantage of cramped conditions. Refrigerate the portioned dough for 30 minutes. If you can’t fit both trays in the fridge, chill the balls on plates or in a covered container, then move them to the lined trays for baking.

Step five: Bake and let them settle. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden. The centres should still be pale; wait for the biscuits to cool before judging their final crispness. Leave the lemon cookies on their trays for five minutes, then transfer carefully to a rack to cool completely. Moving a warm, thin cookie straight from the oven is a good way to end up with a pile of broken bits on the tray.

Getting The Crisp Delicate Texture Right

Keep the size consistent. Portioning the dough evenly gives every cookie a fair shot at being done at the same time. A scoop is handy, but a spoon works perfectly well.

Chill after shaping. The recipe calls for 30 minutes in the fridge. Warm dough spreads faster, so if the kitchen is hot or the second tray has been sitting out, put it back in the fridge while the first bakes.

Watch the edges, not only the clock. Start checking at 12 minutes. Take the cookies out when the edges begin to turn golden; the lemon cookies firm as they cool. If your oven browns unevenly, bake one tray at a time on the middle shelf or rotate the trays towards the end of baking.

Let them cool before storing. Trapping steam in the container takes the crispness away.

Small Changes And Using The Rest Of The Lemon

If you’re out of custard powder, try the same volume of cornflour with a little extra vanilla. The texture may be similar, but you’ll lose the custard powder’s flavour, so I prefer the original. Orange or mandarin zest can stand in for lemon if that’s what’s in the fruit bowl; the biscuits will taste different, of course, but still lovely.

This dough uses zest rather than juice. Squeeze the zested lemon for another recipe, freeze its juice in small portions, or put it to work in lemon meringue pie. Before storing the cookies, make sure they are completely cool; keep them airtight at room temperature for up to a week. If they lose a little snap, they’re still very good dunked in tea (I take no responsibility for how quickly the tin empties).

More Baking For The Biscuit Tin

These luxury lemon biscuits have their place but for another citrus biscuit with a richer, chunkier bite, try my macadamia, white chocolate and orange cookies. If you’re in a full baking mood, the Bakery Favourites collection has plenty more ideas.

Lemon Vanilla Cookies FAQs

Why did my lemon and vanilla cookies spread too much?

First check that the butter was softened rather than melted, then chill the shaped dough for the full 30 minutes. Give each ball about 5 cm of space and bake on a cool tray; a hot tray can start melting the dough before the oven has a chance to set it.

Can I use lemon juice instead of zest?

I wouldn’t swap them. Zest provides the lemon fragrance without adding moisture; juice will change the dough and won’t give the same flavour. Use the juice elsewhere and keep the zest in these lemon vanilla biscuits.

Why are my lemon cookies soft when they come out of the oven?

That is normal. The recipe makes thin cookies that firm and become crisper as they cool. Look for lightly golden edges, let them sit on the tray for five minutes, then cool them fully on a rack.

Can I make the dough ahead?

Yes. Cover the shaped dough and refrigerate it overnight, then bake as directed, checking the edges for doneness rather than relying only on the clock. For longer storage, freeze the shaped dough in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer container; bake from frozen and allow a little extra time, checking for golden edges.

How long will the vanilla lemon cookies keep?

Up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature once completely cooled. If the air is humid, they may soften sooner.

Feedback and More: Have you given the lemon vanilla cookies recipe a go? I’d love to know how it was. Select a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or leave a comment below to let me know. Cheers, Elby!

Also, if you enjoyed this recipe, you might like some of my other bakery favourites. Also check out my muffins for alternative lunchbox treats.

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