Lemon cookies are such fun to make. The bright, citrus flavor always puts a smile on my face. And, they’re perfect to have with tea. Most people make crinkle cookies around the holidays, particularly the chocolate variety. But, the lemon take on these cookies is every bit as delicious and they taste as good as they look.

What gives them their signature crinkled appearance is how they’re made. You roll the dough into balls and then coat them in powdered sugar. Then as they bake and expand in the oven the white parts coated in sugar contrast with the color underneath.

You can leave these with their pale yellow color from the egg yolk and lemon zest, but to really make those crinkles show up add a few drops of yellow food coloring to the dough. The sugar on the outside also means there’s no frosting involved. They’re so easy to make.

Because these cookies do expand in the oven you’ll want to leave at least 2 inches between each cookie so that they don’t run together. They can spread a lot in the oven so you want make sure the dough is nice and chilled before you roll it into balls. This dough needs at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before baking.

When these are all baked and ready you have very lemony cookies with a crispy-chewy texture. The flavor in these cookies comes from lemon juice, lemon zest, and then some additional lemon extract as well. Use fresh lemon for the best flavor since heat can change how citrus flavors come through.

This is the perfect lemon cookie and they look so beautiful. Next time you want a cheery treat look no further than these zesty lemon crinkle cookies.