Lemon pound cake cookies are soft, puffy, cake-like cookies with the buttery crumb of a pound cake and a bright lemon flavor. They are made from scratch with six pantry ingredients: sugar, butter, flour, baking powder, eggs and lemon extract. There is no cake mix and no chilling. The dough is dropped by the spoonful and baked in a hot oven, and each tray bakes quickly. They are good for spring parties, Easter, bake sales and the cookie jar.
How to make lemon pound cake cookies: Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy. Whisk flour and baking powder together and stir them into the butter mixture. Add eggs one at a time, then lemon extract. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden.
Why You’ll Love It
- Six ingredients. All of them basic.
- From scratch. No boxed cake mix.
- No chilling. The dough goes straight from the bowl to the baking sheet.
- Soft and cakey. More like a little cake than a crisp cookie.
- A big batch. About 30 cookies.
Ingredient Notes
White sugar. Three-quarters of a cup.
Butter. Two-thirds of a cup of salted sweet cream butter, softened. Because the butter is salted, there is no added salt.
All-purpose flour. Two cups.
Baking powder. Two teaspoons. It gives the cookies their puff.
Eggs. Two, added one at a time.
Lemon extract. Two teaspoons. All of the lemon flavor comes from the extract, so there is no zesting or juicing.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup salted sweet cream butter, softened
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
How to Make Lemon Pound Cake Cookies
1. Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Cream the butter and sugar. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy.
3. Mix the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
4. Make the dough. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well, then mix in the lemon extract.
5. Portion and bake. Place spoonfuls of dough on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden and spring back when touched.
How Do You Tell When Lemon Pound Cake Cookies Are Done?
By two signs, used together: color and touch. These are pale cookies, and they should stay pale. If you wait for them to turn brown all over, they will be dry.
| Sign | What to look for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Lightly golden, mostly around the edges | The outside has set |
| Touch | The top springs back when pressed gently with a fingertip | The inside is baked, like a cake |
| A dent that stays | The top stays pressed in | Give them another minute |
| Deep brown edges | Dark color all the way around | They have gone a little too long |
The timer is only a guide. Start checking at 10 minutes. In a 400°F oven, the difference between soft and overdone is a minute or two.
The spring-back test is the same one bakers use for a pound cake, which is fitting. These cookies have a soft, cakey middle, so they are done when they bounce back like a cake does.
Tips for Success
How soft should the butter be?
Soft enough to cream easily with the sugar. Beat the two together until the mixture is light and fluffy before you add anything else.
How big should the spoonfuls be?
Keep them all the same size so they bake evenly. Leave some space between them on the baking sheet, because they puff and spread a little.
Can I use lemon juice in place of the extract?
This dough is written for lemon extract, which is strong and adds almost no liquid. Stay with the extract for these cookies.
Should the dough be chilled?
No. It is baked right away. The dough is soft, so a small cookie scoop or two spoons make portioning easier and keep your hands clean.
How long can the dough sit out?
The dough has raw eggs in it. Do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour when the kitchen is above 90°F.
How Long Does It Take?
About 25 minutes: 15 minutes of prep and about 10 minutes in the oven per tray. If you bake the dough in batches, allow a little longer.
Are These Made From Scratch or With Lemon Cake Mix?
From scratch. There is a popular shortcut cookie made with a box of lemon cake mix, but it is a different thing. These start with butter, sugar, flour and eggs, the same way a pound cake does.
Are Lemon Pound Cake Cookies Glazed?
These are not. They are finished as soon as they cool. Glazed versions exist, where a lemon glaze is brushed onto completely cooled cookies, but a glaze is not part of the ingredient list here.
Storage
Let the cookies cool completely, then keep them in an airtight container so they stay soft. Layer them with parchment paper if you stack them.
What to Serve With It
For a lemon dessert table, add 3-ingredient lemon bars, a lemon blueberry cake or the lemon cake to die for. If you want the real thing in loaf form, bake a blueberry pound cake or a 7 Up pound cake. And for another cake-style cookie, try carrot cake cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I tell when lemon pound cake cookies are done?
They are lightly golden and the tops spring back when touched, after about 10 to 12 minutes.
Are these made from scratch or with lemon cake mix?
From scratch, with butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs and lemon extract.
Are lemon pound cake cookies glazed?
Not these. A glaze is an optional extra, and it goes on only after the cookies have cooled completely.
How many cookies does the batch make?
About 30.
Final Notes
I press one cookie at the back of the tray first, because the back of my oven runs hot and those are done soonest. If you make them, leave a comment to tell me how they turned out or ask a question.
Lemon Pound Cake Cookies
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup butter salted sweet cream butter, softened
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
- Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well, then mix in the lemon extract.
- Place spoonfuls of dough on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden and spring back when touched.
