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.
So I made this recipe and doubled it because I did one Strawberry and one Lemon cake mix together to make Strawberry Lemonade cookies… SO GOOD!!
Can I freeze these cookies once they are baked?
what if the cake mix is only 15.25 oz?
I printed this recipe sometime ago, and just now decided to make these lemon cookies. The problem is that it calls for a mix that’s 18.25 oz., and all of my cake mixes are now only 15.25 oz. Wouldn’t the lower volume change the ingredients? Help!
Hello. I always buy 2 boxes of the cake mix. I add 6 tablespoons from the 2nd box and it comes out perfect every time.
Tried it today and they came out perfect! I used Pillsbury Sugar Free Classic Yellow Cake Mix and rolled the dough in Stevia! They came out chewy just as the recipes stated! Thank you for the recipe hack! VERY VERY REALLY REALLY GOOD! ???
Have not made yet. But Im looking forward to I love lemon
One time I forgot the cake mix was not cookies, so I followed the box and it was so creamy! That was when my mom realized it was cake. So today I will follow this recipe and it will be cookies not cake. :)
Ok, I may not be the best baker, but all of my friends and family totally adored these. Now whenever they stop by, they always check to see if I made anymore. THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING! THEY TURN OUT PERFECT! But also it includes how to get back on track if you accidentally mess up. Sure was correct about it being easy. :)
My husband and I tried making these cookies a couple weeks ago for a holiday party and went ahead and made them a second time for Christmas day because they are just so good! We had family members arguing over who would get the last few cookies to take home (we also doubled the second batch). Great recipe!
Lemon cake mixes are now 15.25 ounces so you have to add extra flour to get a dough consistency that works for cookies!