I have to confess…
As much as I love making homemade cookies entirely from scratch (which is what I do about 95% of the time), on occasion I still seriously enjoy a good cake-mix cookie. I know…judge away… :) But hey – they’re simple, wonderfully fluffy, and can be mixed up in just three minutes. Definitely a nice back-up dessert, especially when you’re short on time!
One of my favorites, that is also most requested from friends, are these simple lemon cookies. They’re made with a basic cake mix recipe, but kicked up a notch with some fresh lemon juice and peel – yum. Feel free to roll them in sugar, glaze them (as explained in the tip below), or just cook and eat them plain. I guarantee they won’t last long. :)
Easy Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 (18.25 oz) package lemon cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- juice of half a lemon (about 1 Tbsp.)
- zest of half a lemon (about 1 tsp.)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar for decor (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon juice and zest until well blended. Form dough into small balls (about 1 Tbsp.), and drop into a bowl of confectioners’ sugar. Roll them around until they’re lightly covered. Once sugared, place on a lightly-greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.
- **To get a rounder, fluffier cookie, let the dough refrigerate at least 30 minutes. (You can also prepare the sugared balls of dough on the cookie sheet, and just refrigerate the sheet for about ten minutes for a similar effect.)
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ali’s Tip:
For a fun variation, I’ve also drizzled these with a lemon glaze (instead of rolling in the powdered sugar). Just whisk together about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or water) with 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and then drizzle it over the cookies after they have come out of the oven. Let sit for an hour or so for the glaze to firm up.
I made these with cannabis-infused oil and they were so good. All the neighbors loved them!
I just finished making these cookies, and I cant believe how easy and delicious they are! I added a little more lemon zest and juice,( I used a whole lemon instead of half of one )because my family loves lemon, the batter came out a little loose, so I added some flour to make it stiff. I will definitely be putting this recipe in my collection, Thank you so much for an easy and tasty treat!!
Rant reviews – EVERYONE loved them!! Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!!!!
I’ve made this recipe several times and oh! It is so good! Then blueberry season comes along and I can’t resist the temptation! Make the recipe as directed, but refrigerate it for an hour in the bowl. Coat about 1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried, with powdered sugar. Next, use a cookie scoop for the cookie better, put the dough on your finger tips and place 3-5 blueberries and wrap them in the dough and roll In powered sugar. I put the cookie sheet with parchment paper back into the refrigerator for another hour. Bake as directed. I used blueberries that I got at the local blueberry farm and they are so much better than anything you buy in the store ,
My husband loves these! I add powdered lemon to the 10X sugar. So nice and tart. My church scarfs them at out Linger-Longers i.e potlucks.
I made these a couple months ago and gave them out to friends and everybody loved them! They are asking when I’m going to make them again!
I roll them in sprinkles , then bake them.. The grandchildren love them and request them !!
I made these and found the dough to be very sticky I added some flour and found it easier to work with. After scooping the dough out, I sprinkled some confectioners sugar over it and found it was easier to roll then refilled it again. They came out perfect. I got 42 cookies
THESE ARE SO GOOD!!! I baked them and they turned out AWESOME! I 100% recommend this recipe. It was also super easy to make and the cake batter made it very convenient!
Couldn’t help but throw in my 2cents. I bake only gluten free and lemon cake mixes are very rare. I bake these cookies every christmas and start with a 15.25 oz gf cake mix and add sm box lemon instant pudding mix, gluten free of cource, this brings weight up to 18.25 oz size and procede with recipe. Have done similar with other baking recipes I want to convert. Just thought it might help some struggling with smaller boxes of cake mixes. I just love your site by the way, many yummy things to choose from, Linda