Soft & chewy snickerdoodle cookies with a fun lemon twist! They’re light on calories but big on flavor—and the perfect treat for any lemon lover!
Because graduation celebrations never finish right as the ceremony ends—even if you turn hoarse from cheering for your younger brother for earning the highest number of A+ grades in the history of the school’s major!—my family planned a full day of festivities for last Friday.
After snapping a few cell phone pictures outside of the theater, my parents and I hustled back to the parking garage and drove halfway across town. Instead of fighting the crowds and waiting for hours at one of the over-booked restaurants near campus, we ordered two fancy deep-dish pizzasto go from one of the best pizzerias in Northern California, which we brought back to my brother’s apartment along with a selection of ice cream and sorbet.
Despite the massive amount of cheese and sauce and meat and toppings, those two pizzas almost entirely disappeared within half an hour! All courtesy of our family, my brother’s friends, and his best friend’s family too. (And now I want to try baking my own deep-dish pizza…) But before any of us could fall fast asleep into a food coma…
We dashed back down to the car, parallel parked on the busy city streets, and drove the 45 minutes to my parents’ house in the suburbs. After Dad took a brief nap, we headed over to my grandma’s. With her slow creaky knees, it would’ve been too hard for her to walk up the hilly city streets to attend the ceremony, so my brother donned his cap and gown again to surprise her. It was the perfect sweet ending to the celebratory day!
Just like these chewy Skinny Lemon-doodles were the perfect sweet surprise for my brother! Because it’s his favorite flavor, I declared this Lemon Week on the blog to celebrate his graduation. We kicked it off with this lemon blueberry breakfast loaf, and now with these cookies… Well, let’s just say my brother barely shared a single bite!
Because most of the ingredients are fairly predictable and straightforward, let’s highlight the two main ones that provide these cookies with their iconic flavor. First up, the lemon zest. The zest from two lemons adds all of the sunshiny citrus taste—no juice required! The oils in the peel pack in quite a flavor punch. If you can find them, I highly recommend Meyer lemons because they’re slightly sweeter.
Secondly, the butter extract. This adds the sweet, buttery, almost cake-batter flavor that all snickerdoodle cookies have without excess butter from traditional recipes. Almost all grocery stores stock it on the baking aisle near the vanilla extract. (If you have a Walmart nearby, they also sell a big bottle on their wedding aisle!) If you can’t find butter extract, you can substitute vanilla, but the cookies won’t have the same iconic taste.
A final quick optional ingredient note… My brother is actually lactose-intolerant and allergic to eggs, so every cookie recipe I create for him contains neither! If you omit eggs from your diet as well, I highly recommend Ener-G. It’s an egg replacement that’s a shelf-stable powder and keeps for ages. Just whisk a little Ener-G with warm water, let it rest for 5 minutes, and it’ll behave just like an egg in this cookie recipe!
And of course, you can’t make snickerdoodles without the sparkly sugar coating! It almost looks like little glittering diamonds, don’t you think? After rolling it in the sugar and placing it on the baking sheet, you must flatten the cookie dough to your desired thickness and width. These cookies do not spread at all while baking!
But the cookies are still extremely soft, chewy, sweet, and perfect for any lemon lover! Somehow I think I’m going to bake these every time I see my brother this summer… He loves them that much!
| Skinny Lemon-doodles | 4.5 from 10 reviews |
Yields: 24 cookies
These cookies are a fun lemon version of snickerdoodles! They’re soft, chewy, and perfect for any lemon lover. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to one week—if they last that long!
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2-3 tbsp lemon zest (about 2 medium lemons)
- 4 tbsp (48g) unsalted butter*, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites*, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp butter extract
- 1 ¼ cups (240g) granulated sugar, divided
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla, and butter extract. Stir in 1 cup of granulated sugar. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until incorporated.
- Add the remaining granulated sugar to a small bowl. Roll the cookie dough into 24 balls. Working with one ball at a time, roll in the granulated sugar, and place onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten to the desired thickness and width. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes: For a vegan version, Earth Balance buttery spread. For the egg whites, use 1 tablespoon of Ener-G whisked with ¼ cup of warm water, and let that sit for 5 minutes before adding to the mixing bowl.
Butter extract can be found on the baking aisle near the vanilla extract. It provides the iconic snickerdoodle taste without the excess butter of traditional recipes. If you cannot find butter extract, substitute vanilla extract instead, but the flavor won’t quite be the same.
Do not substitute stevia for the sugar; it does not work in this recipe because it changes the texture of the cookie dough and will make your cookies dry.
If the cookie dough is too sticky to roll, chill for at least 30 minutes. These cookies do not spread in the oven, so you must flatten the cookie dough before baking.
This recipe is easily halved if needed.
{vegan, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like…
Double Lemon Pudding Cookies
Skinny Lemon Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars
Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Vanilla Yogurt Frosting
More fun snickerdoodle recipes from other food bloggers…
♥Pumpkin Snickerdoodles by Dessert for Two
♥Chocolate Mocha Snickerdoodles by Crazy for Crust
♥Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Blondies by Averie Cooks
♥Snickery-doodles by Sally’s Baking Addiction
