These lemon ginger cookies are made with crystallized ginger, a little ground ginger and allspice, plus plenty of lemon zest. Citrus and spice make a balanced and refreshing duo, especially if you’re craving a lemon cookie with more depth of flavor. Each cookie is soft and chewy in the centers with irresistibly crisp edges. Lemon glaze adds a finishing touch.
I didn’t think I’d love a lemon cookie quite as much as I loved these. Ginger’s spicy heat and lemon’s bright flavor complement each other so well. It’s like the perfect marriage that fits so many seasons of the year, but if you ask me, the sparkly crystallized ginger and lemon glaze on top seems especially fitting on a holiday cookie platter.
One reader, Charisse, commented: “I made these for my lunch club as I was looking for a cookie that was just a bit above the average cookie. These were a huge hit! They were delicious and turned out perfectly. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out soft, moist, and full of wonderful flavor! I will definitely be putting this recipe in my baking rotation! ★★★★★”
Tell Me About These Lemon Ginger Cookies
- Flavor: Can we call these spa cookies? The aroma and flavor reminded me of sipping warm tea with cucumbers on my eyes at a tranquil spa. In reality, we have a pleasantly spiced and zippy lemon cookie on our (probably unmanicured) hands.
- Texture: I appreciated the texture just as much as the flavor. The cookies are very soft and chewy in the centers with crisp edges. Unlike lemon crinkle cookies and lemon thumbprint cookies, which both remain soft and puffy, this version browns nicely around the edges which cools to a slight crunch. (Likely the switch to baking soda and addition of lemon juice and crystallized ginger, more on that below.)
- Ease: Preparing this cookie dough is pretty uneventful. Sure, the excitement for lemon cookies is always thrilling but the process is standard. Besides a mixer, there’s no special tools or equipment involved.
- Time: After you make the dough, roll into balls as best you can, then chill them for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Between making the cookie dough, rolling, chilling, and baking, this recipe takes around 2 hours total.
Are You Familiar with Crystallized Ginger?
Crystallized ginger is a key ingredient in this cookie recipe, though you could certainly leave it out if needed or desired. (See recipe note.) You can find it at most grocery stores—it’s usually in the produce aisle but could also be found in the natural foods section or even by the dried fruit. Crystallized ginger is peeled and cut fresh ginger root that’s been cooked in simple syrup and dried out. Each little chunk has a crunchy sugar coating with a soft and chewy center, similar to a gumdrop candy. I love using crystallized ginger in baking for that unexpected sweet-yet-spicy flavor, like in these chocolate ginger cookies and this ginger pear galette.
- You need 1/4 cup very finely minced crystallized ginger. It’s potent, so we’ll use only 2 Tablespoons in the dough. Each cookie dough ball will take a light dip into the rest.
Have you tried my drop sugar cookies before? This recipe is adapted from it. In my recipe testing, I added lemon zest, lemon juice, and the spices. Since I added liquid (lemon juice), I increased the flour. The cookies tasted like little lemon cakes. They were very tasty, but I wanted more of that chewy-crisp texture. Since we now have lemon (an acid) in the dough, I swapped baking powder for a smaller amount of baking soda. The edges browned and crisped beautifully. I appreciate the detailed, yet easy-to-understand way Serious Eats explains things: baking soda raises a cookie dough’s pH, creating an alkaline dough.
Renowned pastry chef Stella Parks tells us:
“This weakens gluten, keeps cookies tender, and even speeds the Maillard reaction so that deeper flavors and colors develop in a shorter amount of time.”
Baking: a delicious science.
Overview: How to Make Lemon Ginger Cookies
The full written recipe is below, but let me walk you through a couple things before you get started. You need 11 ingredients for these lemon ginger cookies: flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground allspice, salt, butter, sugar, egg, lemon, vanilla extract, and crystallized ginger. The combination of ground ginger and allspice gave these a pleasant spice flavor. Allspice is a common spice found in the spice aisle—it tastes like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It’s excellent in many baking recipes, like my favorite apple pie. See recipe note if you don’t have it or can’t find it.
Like I mentioned above, preparing the cookie dough is easy. Proper room temperature butter is imperative for creaming the butter and sugar. Chilling the cookie dough is another non-negotiable. These lemon cookies are very buttery and the colder the cookie dough, the less they’ll over-spread. The cookie dough can get a little hard after time in the refrigerator, so I recommend rolling the dough into balls before chilling.
After the cookies cool, drizzle with a little lemon glaze. The lemon glaze sets, so these “spa cookies” 😉 are easily stackable, packable, and convenient to travel, transfer, gift, etc!
If you enjoy these cookies, be sure to try my lemon blueberry cookies next!
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Lemon Ginger Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft and chewy lemon ginger cookies are flavored with warm spices, crystallized ginger, and plenty of lemon zest. Review recipe notes before beginning.
Ingredients
- 1 and 2/3 cups (209g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup finely chopped/minced crystallized ginger, divided
Lemon Glaze
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar (or more, as needed)
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (23ml) fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, allspice, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in 2 Tablespoons of chopped crystallized ginger. Dough will be thick and sticky. Scoop small sections of dough (about 1 scant Tablespoon of dough each) and roll into balls. Very lightly dip the tops of each into remaining crystallized ginger. (You don’t want too much—just a few pieces.) Place dough balls onto a large plate or lined baking sheet.
- Cover and chill the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (and up to 4 days).
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Arrange chilled cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: Whisk the glaze ingredients together. If desired, add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more juice to thin out. The thicker the glaze, the whiter (and less translucent) it will be. Drizzle on cooled cookies. Icing will set after about 1 hour, so these are convenient to store and transport.
- Cookies without glaze stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies with glaze stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough, roll into balls, and chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. (See note about cookie dough chilling.) Cookie dough balls, with or without crystallized ginger topping, freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Dough Chilling: Chilling the cookie dough is imperative. These cookies are very buttery and the colder the cookie dough, the less your cookies will over-spread. The cookie dough can get a little hard after 2 hours in the refrigerator, so I recommend rolling the dough into balls before chilling. Here are all of my tips on how to prevent cookies from spreading.
- Crystallized Ginger: You can find crystallized ginger at most grocery stores—it’s usually in the produce aisle but could also be found in the natural foods section or even by the dried fruit. You can use finely chopped/minced fresh ginger root instead, but make sure you reduce down to 1 Tablespoon in the cookie dough. Do not dip the cookie dough balls in it like we do with crystallized ginger because it will burn. If you don’t have either crystallized ginger or fresh ginger root, increase the ground ginger to 1 teaspoon.
- Ground Allspice: Allspice is a common spice found in the spice aisle. If you don’t have or can’t find it, use 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg in its place.
- Lemon: 1 medium lemon is enough for this recipe. You should get 1 Tablespoon of zest from 1 medium lemon, plus enough juice for both the dough and glaze.
- Plain Lemon Cookies: Feel free to leave out the ground ginger, allspice, and crystallized ginger for plain lemon cookies.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Last week I followed the recipe exactly. It was really good, but I thought the allspice was a little too dominant and somewhat overpowered the lemon. I made them again today and used double the zest, a quarter teaspoon of very high quality lemon oil and I changed out the spice to use great cinnamon. Both cookies were excellent but today’s batch is off the charts! The glaze is so good I could have eaten it with a spoon.
I’ve used many of your recipes and this is a bit fiddly with all the chopping and zesting compared to some of your other fine cookies. And…even with that it goes to the top of my cookie recipe collection. Thank you so much.
Could you use this recipe for making cookies with cookie cutters? Looking for a flavored dough for my Christmas cookies this year.
If not, do you know a recipe that would work?
Hi Cheryl, we do not recommend this recipe for cut out cookies — they would spread too much while baking. We recommend our regular sugar cookie cutouts. You can see the recipe Notes there for different flavor variations (including a lemon one), or you might also enjoy these recipes as well: Chocolate Sugar Cookies, Raspberry Sugar Cookies, Cream Cheese Cutouts, Maple Cinnamon Stars.
Hey Sally,
Returning back with results.
So I made 2 batches exactly the same except in one I put half of the amount of granulated sugar and in the other one the whole amount. Another thing, I have put 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, ground ginger and ground allspice in both batches to amplify the taste.
In comparison, cookies with less sugar spread less than those with more sugar. Also, they were a bit more crumbly, Overall the taste is the same except one batch was less sweet. Also, I wouldn’t say reducing sugar is even necessary. I usually reduce the amount of sugar but these have the perfect amount. They were REALLY tasty and would definitely recommend them.
Hope this helps someone.:)
Hi Sally,
I have a question. Can I reduce granulated sugar by half? Is it going to affect the texture of cookie dough? I tried to find info related to reducing sugar on the page but I couldn’t find any.
Btw I tried the snickerdoodle recipe but I filled them with dulce de leche and they came out fantastic.
Also, thank you for all the amazing tips and weight shown in recipes. This an awesome website!!!
Hi Sarah! In addition to taste, sugar plays an important role in the texture and structure of baked goods as well. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the intended outcome will be different. Let us know if you do any experimenting. And thank you for making and trusting our recipes!
I love this cookie! They were a perfect texture and I didn’t find them to be dry at all. I always bake by weight and I think this really helps to keep the flour accurate. The first time I made them, I followed the recipe exactly. The next time, I wanted more lemon flavor so I added 1/4 teaspoon of lemon oil. This bumped the flavor up perfectly! They were so wonderful lemony that they took Best in Show at one of our local fairs!
I made these today following the recipe. Rolled the dough into 1.5teaspoon size balls then put them in the fridge for 1.5 hours. My oven is wonky so I always bake small test batches to get timing right. First batch were a bit under baked and cooled extreme soft and thin. The second batch Baked three min longer and they came out puffy cake like. Same dough, different baking time gave me very different cookies. Next time I plan to add raw ginger and more lemon zest for even more punchy flavor!
Hi Sally,
I have been going through some of your cookies recipes and they have been fantastic. This one however seems to have turned more into little cakes? I wasn’t happy with the spread on a previous recipe so reduced the flour content in this one to try and remedy that but I have ended up with little cakey biscuits/cookies. Is there something I am doing wrong? Should I try “squishing” the balls a little before baking or Maybe leaving them to warm up a little after coming out of the fridge? Thanks.
Hi James, Thanks for giving these a try! For help troubleshooting cookies that spread, visit the post 10 Guaranteed Tips to Prevent Cookies from Spreading .
Hi Michelle, thanks for the reply, my issue was the texture with these, are they supposed to be more cake like?
The spreading issue I have had previously was that they were not spreading enough? Reducing flour content/increasing fat content will be my solution for that!
I had the same problem — they didn’t spread at all and I figured next time, I’d try flattening the balls first… (I froze half of the batch, so can try again)
Great recipe and not dry at all! Used ground ginger because it’s all I had on hand. But next time will use fresh or crystallized, hoping for more punch!
When you say separate the chopped crystalized ginger do you mean in half or any other ratio? I also saw in the comments that some of the cookies came out dry, could using a mix of half white sugar & half brown sugar make a chewier cookie since the molasses in the brown sugar will usually do that
Hi Guy! You use 2 Tbs of the chopped ginger in the cookie dough and use the rest to dip the cookie tops into (see step 3). We recommend sticking with white granulated sugar in these cookies – they shouldn’t be dry if you measure the ingredients properly. Happy baking!
Could I bake this in a 9×13 pan? And make cookie bars?
Hi Seam, We haven’t tested these cookies as bars but they should work. I’m unsure of the bake time your would need. Let us know if you try it!
Hi Sally,
Really want to make these for someone that is pregnant and seems to absolutely love all things ginger these days. Trouble is I can’t find any Crystalized ginger where I am
Tried all the grocery stores as Bulk Barn says they can’t get it due to shipping issues. Just wondering what else I could use instead to make sure these are gingery
Hi Alexis! You can use finely chopped/minced fresh ginger root instead, but make sure you reduce down to 1 Tablespoon in the cookie dough. Do not dip the cookie dough balls in it like we do with crystallized ginger because it will burn. If you don’t have either crystallized ginger or fresh ginger root, increase the ground ginger to 1 teaspoon.
Thanks! I can get ginger root
Made these for the first night yesterday and they are really nice. I’m under strict orders not to modify the recipe!
Turned out Amazing ! They’re really nice without the glaze as well. The house smells wonderful when they’re baking too.
This recipe makes about 15 cookies. The only way you would get 30 out of it is if you made miniature cookies, like the size of a vanilla wafer. Besides that they were pretty good and I followed directions as printed. A double batch yielded 30 average normal sized cookies.
Hello Sally,
I had made your cookies with just lemon.
They are chilling in the fridge as I plan on baking them Wednesday.
I just read more in-depth your chilling method and you recommended pre rolling the dough prior to chilling.
I didn’t end up doing that so when I’m ready to bake them do you suggest I let the dough sit out at room temperature for a certain amount of time before rolling the cookie dough into balls?
If so how long do you recommend I leave the dough out of the fridge so that I’m able to have an easier time trying to roll the cookie dough into balls?
Hi Jessica, the exact time will vary, but try about 10-15 minutes at room temperature before you try to scoop and roll. The dough should warm up pretty quickly, especially as you begin rolling with your hands. Hope you enjoy the cookies!
Good morning Sally,
Since I am choosing to make this recipe without the ground ginger, ground allspice and crystallized ginger would you recommend adding more lemon zest and lemon juice to give it a stronger lemon flavour/taste?
Hi Jessica, Feel free to leave out the ground ginger, allspice, and crystallized ginger for plain lemon cookies!
Made these tonight, and they baked beautifully! They’re a bit mild for my preference though. If I wanted to add more lemon zest and ground ginger, should I substitute something out or just add with the dry ingredients? (and if you’re not sure, I’ll just try it out and report back!)
Hi Christine, you should be able to simply add a bit more zest and ground ginger to the dough — let us know how it turns out for you!
I like the different styles of cookies which you shared with us I like cookies but lemon and ginger cookies are really unique and I definitely follow your steps.Thnk you
Oh my WORD! SO delicious! I just made this and want to eat the whole tray! Thank you for sharing!
Have you tried to make these cookies with gluten free products?
Hi Cheryl, We haven’t tested these cookies with gluten free flour but let us know if you give it a try!
I’m short on time. Could these be made into cookie bars?
Hi Jame, We haven’t tested these cookies as bars but they should work. I’m unsure of the bake time your would need. Let us know if you try it!
Hi, thank you for your site. I star to bake last year and everybody have only good thing to say about the products that I have create. I said to everyone how good you are at explaing and your site instruction. I am asking another thing , I am trying to do candy peel, the recipe say 120 *F for two hours. But my automatic oven drop only to 200*F . What can I do with this temperature problem?
Hi Angie, I’m so glad you are finding the site and recipes helpful! For your question, I’m really unsure but with anything I’ve baked slow and low– just set your oven to 200°F and reduce the bake time.
I usually don’t comment on recipes that I try out, but with this one, I have to! I adapted it to be gluten and vegan-friendly and it turned out fantastic!! By substituting gluten-free flour, vegan-friendly sugar, plant butter, and a flax egg I was able to create something truly amazing and truly yummy. I also tried the Lime Ginger Coconut variation which turned out incredible as well, adding toasted coconut on top of the frosting. I think they are my favorite. Sweet and tangy all at once! Thank you so much for the recipe, it will be repeated often.
Hi Sally, I baked this recipe for Easter minus the spices and crystallized ginger based on your note for Plain Lemon Cookies. I baked two different batches and the cookies were dry both times. My oven temperature is true and I confirm this with an oven thermometer. I followed the directions exactly and the cookies were properly browned at the minimum time listed in the recipe of 11 minutes and then removed from the oven, cooled for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then put on a cooling rack. I iced them as directed. I do not live at a high altitude.
This is the first time I haven’t had a fabulous result with one of your recipes. Since it was designed to incorporate the ginger, which adds moisture, I’m wondering if the recipe needs to be slightly adapted for a plain cookie and would like to know your thoughts about this. Thank you.
Hi Pam, So sorry that the plain cookies turned out dry for you. We hadn’t noticed that when testing the recipe without the ginger. How did they spread? Were they particularly thick? If you want to try the cookies again, see if adding an additional Tablespoon of lemon juice or even butter helps. Always spoon and level the flour or weigh it, as opposed to scooping.
These cookies, like everything else I have made from this site, are amazing. I’m prepping an Instagram post too but wanted to comment here as well; they will be a nice surprise go-to tucked away besides all of the usual favorite peanut butter, chocolate, cookie dough and blondie standards. What a refreshingly delicious cookie. I noticed that another commenter spoke of swapping the lime for the lemon and I will DEFINITELY be giving that a try on the next round of these! Thanks for another incredible recipe, Sally & team.
Hi Sally, this recipe as written looks wonderful, but I just want the lemon flavor for Easter cookies. If I leave out the ginger, allspice, and crystallized ginger, will the recipe produce a cookie with a lot of lemon flavor, or does it require adjustments to account for the elimination of the other ingredients?
Hi Pam, you can absolutely make these as plain lemon cookies — see recipe notes for details.
I’ve made these twice within a week. So, so good. My new favorite cookie.
Absolutely delicious cookies! I swapped in lime juice and zest (2-3 limes) for the lemon because I’ve been craving a ginger-lime combo, and it was just delightful – like a tropical getaway in a cookie. I also sprinkled some zest on top of the icing on about half the cookies for an even greater zing. They are a *little* drier than I was hoping, but I think that’s due to baking at high altitude (I didn’t make any adjustments, but I likely will next time). I am definitely saving this recipe for future use. Thank you!!
Sounds like an amazing flavor combo — thank you for sharing, Lizzie! If it’s helpful for you while baking at high altitude, we know some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I loved this recipe’s flavors, but my cookies came out a little dry and freezing them before hand just made them bake into hard dry balls (which I made amazing cake balls with). The cookies simply didn’t melt. I am newish to baking and am trying to become better.
I copied the recipe by hand and followed it to the T, even opening up the web page to double check along the way. Is elevation a concern?
Hi Andrea, thank you so much for giving these a try! Yes, elevation can change the way your baked goods come out. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I’m having trouble rolling the dough into balls. The dough is very sticky and thick. Mine is more like the consistency of thick batter. Is it supposed to be like this? As far as I checked I added the correct quantities of all the ingredients.
These cookies are so delicious. I made ice cream sandwich. Wow! Will make again. I didn’t put the glaze because my husband is diabetic. I wish I can find recipes that my husband can eat. Thanks Sally.