Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Name: Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 143 min
Ingredients: 60 ml neutral-tasting oil (coconut, vegetable or sunflower oil); 160 g caster sugar (or granulated); 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste; 2 whole unwaxed lemons ( zested ); 2 medium eggs; 250 g plain flour (all-purpose) (BL55); 80 g shredded coconut; 0.5 tsp ground turmeric (optional for natural yellow colouring ); 1 pinch fine sea salt; 1 tsp baking powder; 60 g icing sugar (US powdered sugar)

30 April 2021

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These lemon crinkle cookies are the perfect treat, beautiful and delicious and great for gift giving. They are also dairy-free and a good way to get the kids baking.

If you’ve never had crinkle cookies before, these are going to be an exceptional experience. They have a lovely lemony taste, a soft creamy centre and a crinkly sugar layer on the outside. As the cookies bake in the oven and spread, they create this crinkle effect on the top that not only looks impressive but tastes amazing too.

If you like the sound of these cookies, you might like my lemon moreish biscuits or my orange and lemon curd biscuits.

If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and the other readers. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram. I love seeing what you come up with! 🙂

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INGREDIENTS

For this yummy lemon crinkle cookie recipe all you need are these ingredients:

Neutral-tasting oil (vegetable or sunflower)
Caster or granulated white sugar
Pure vanilla extract or paste
Lemons
Medium eggs
Plain or all-purpose flour (BL55)
Grated coconut
Turmeric (optional)
Baking powder
Icing sugar

Flour: replace the gluten flour with a 1:1 alternative gluten free flour, such as Doves Farm Free plain gluten free flour. If possible, choose a flour which contains xanthan gum or alternatively, add 1 tsp to your batter for stability. You can also try Doves Farm gluten free self-raising flour.

TIP: I highly recommend adding a good pinch of fine salt to your biscuit doughs. In a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory way, salt intensifies the mouths’ ability to taste sweetness. It is the sodium that sends signals to move glucose into the sweet taste receptor cells, thus triggering the cells to register sweetness. The result is that salt not only alerts our ‘salt sensitivity’, but also triggers our ‘sweet sensitive’ taste buds.

WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

This lemon crinkle cookie recipe is very versatile and you can have fun trying different flavour twists!

Here are a few suggestions:

Saffron and cardamom cookies: Add a few saffron threads to the oil and 1/2 tsp of ground cardamom with the flour. Remove the lemon juice, zest and turmeric.

Amaretto cookies: Add 1/2-1 tsp almond extract with the oil. Removing the lemon juice, zest and turmeric.

Orange cookies: Replace the lemon juice and zest with the zest of 2 oranges or a little oil extract.

If you experiment, I would love to know how you get on and share it with the other readers.

EQUIPMENT SUGGESTIONS

TIP: I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital kitchen scale, rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes on this blog are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.

NUTRITION

Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.

I strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but make no warranties regarding its accuracy.

I encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

STORAGE AND FREEZING

These lemon crinkle cookies are best served on the day of baking, warm and crispy from the oven. Store them in an airtight container for up to a week, they will soften as time goes by.

Freezing the cookie dough – freeze the dough balls on the baking tray or a plate that fits in your freezer (lined with baking paper). Once they have frozen solid, approx. 30 minutes, transfer them to a freezer-safe, airtight container. They will last up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to serve, bake from frozen, adding an additional 1-2 minutes to the instructions above.

Freezing the baked cookies – cool the biscuits completely after baking and place them in a freezer bag or airtight container. They will last up to 1 month. When you are ready to serve, allow the cookies to reach room temperature before serving.

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Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Preparation:15 minutes

Baking:8 minutes

Resting time:2 hours

Total:2 hours 23 minutes

Servings: 24

These lemon crinkle cookies are the perfect treat, beautiful and delicious and great for gift giving. They are also dairy-free and a good way to get the kids baking.

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INGREDIENTS LIST

60 ml neutral-tasting oil (coconut, vegetable or sunflower oil)
160 g caster sugar (or granulated)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste
2 whole unwaxed lemons ( zested )
2 medium eggs
250 g plain flour (all-purpose) (BL55)
80 g shredded coconut
0.5 tsp ground turmeric (optional for natural yellow colouring )
1 pinch fine sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
60 g icing sugar (US powdered sugar)

Preparation

Cookie dough: To a large bowl or a food mixer, add the oil, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Mix until well combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in-between each addition until smooth and shiny.
Add the sieved flour, grated coconut, baking powder, turmeric if using and salt and stir until combined.
Resting the dough: Chill the dough for 2 hours or longer, even overnight if possible. (see notes)
Preheat the oven 170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5
Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set it aside.
Shaping: Place the icing sugar in a bowl. Divide the cookie dough into 16 balls. If you find the dough is a little sticky, I usually wet my hands with a little water, which makes it easier to roll. and then gently roll in the bowl of icing sugar to coat.
Place the coated cookie balls on the prepared baking tray. (You may not be able to bake all the cookies at once as they need space around them as they bake to spread. I use a silicone mat (30 x 40cm) on my baking tray and this allows me to bake a maximum of 20 cookies at one time). I tend to bake in 2 batches.
Baking: Bake for 7-8 minutes or until the edges are set. (See notes)
Allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking tray to continue setting, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes & Tips

Resting: If you want to get the best results, chilling the dough will help develop the flavour, texture and most importantly it will stop the icing sugar from being absorbed into the cookies as they cook and fading their appearance. If you really can’t wait with the resting, you can bake them straight away they just won’t look or taste as good.

Baking: Just like baking brownies you need to have good control over the baking time. Try to take them out of the oven just before they look fully baked, the residual heat left will set the centres and you will get the soft, brownie-like texture you’re looking for. If they overcook, they will be very dry. For me, the cookies took around 8 minutes in my oven, for the best result, I recommend trying with one cookie and adjusting the time for the rest based on the result.

Turmeric: If you want your cookie to be nice bright yellow you can use food colouring. Personally, I don’t like to use artificial colours and opt for natural colouring such as turmeric. In the final cookie, you cannot really detect this taste.