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Wonderfully soft and chewy these 3-ingredient lemon cake mix cookies are topped with a zesty lemon glaze making them the perfect anytime sweet treat — simple enough for everyday (they’re ready in just 30 minutes), but fancy enough for a special afternoon tea or birthday party spread!
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Why You’ll Love This Cookie Recipe
- These wonderfully soft and chewy cake mix cookies with a cake-like texture are a zesty lemon variation of a basic cake mix cookie formula I’ve been making for years. They’re a pretty yellow color, packed with vibrant lemon flavors, and the zesty fresh lemon juice glaze takes them over the top, making them taste totally homemade.
- Because these zesty lemon cookies are made with box mix rather than a whole list of ingredients, they’re a no-chill cookie recipe that only take 30 minutes to make, plus a few minutes to let them cool before adding the glaze. I usually save the from-scratch cookies for the weekend, these are more of a weeknight baking project, perfect for last minute cravings and next day class parties that had slipped your mind!
- With a few easy swaps these cake mix cookies can easily be made dairy-free, so they’re great for kids parties when you’ve got allergies to keep in mind!
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What I Learned Developing This Recipe
- I’ve written this recipe to make 18 regular-sized cookies, but if I’m making these for a party or for class parties or bake sales I’ve found that a half-tablespoon cookie scoop (or a half tablespoon measuring spoon if you don’t have one) works really well to make mini cookies from the mix to stretch the batch even further. Watch the smaller cookies carefully in the oven, as they’ll likely need a minute or two less baking time.
- Oven temperatures vary and I’ve baked several different versions of cake mix cookies in all the ovens I’ve owned over the years and regardless of the cooking time listed on the recipe, pull them out when they start to go golden around the edges. This will ensure soft cookies with firm edges every single time!
- You want to leave 2 inches between each scoop of dough on the baking sheet to allow the cookies to spread — use a bigger sheet if necessary. But, if the cookies spread too much and join together during baking, use a spatula to gently separate and re-shape the cookies on the baking sheet as soon as you pull them from the oven. They’ll cool and set in their new shape!
- Make sure you let the cookies cool completely before trying to glaze them. I’ve been there, but all you’ll get is super thin glaze just sliding off the cookies!
Ingredients
Lemon cake mix – Use your favorite brand, this recipe was written for a 13.25 ounce box. If you use a dairy free cake mix (sometimes they contain whey or milk powder) like Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines you can also easily make these cookies dairy-free.
Large eggs – Make sure they’re large ones so you get the ratios in these cookies right!
Vegetable oil or melted butter – Choose the vegetable oil option if you’re making dairy free cookies. Melted butter will give the cookies a richer flavor, but the oil is the more versatile choice for budgets and special diets.
Powdered sugar – Sift it if it has any lumps in it (this often happens if moisture has got into the bag) to make sure you get a nice smooth glaze.
Lemon juice – Using fresh instead of bottled lemon juice in the glaze will make these cookies taste so bright and zesty, and will help them taste homemade even though you’ve made them from boxed mix.
Milk – Use your favorite unsweetened plant-based milk in the glaze instead for a dairy-free option.
Lemon zest – This is an optional decoration, but it looks really pretty! Make sure you zest the lemon before you cut it to squeeze for the juice in the glaze. You can also use very, very thin lemon slices.
Storage Notes
You can keep these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can chill the cookies in an airtight container up to 5 days, but they’ll have a better flavor and texture if you keep them at room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
These lemon cake mix cookies are actually a version of these strawberry cake mix cookies! So yes, you could make the strawberry version, or mix and match different elements. I think these lemon cookies would be delicious with the freeze-dried strawberry glaze and studded with white chocolate chips, and I also think a lemon glaze would be great on the strawberry ones — both would create an amazing strawberry lemonade situation!
You could easily make a lemon poppy seed version by adding a spoonful of poppy seeds to the cake mix cookie batter.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Lemon Cookies with Boxed Cake Mix
Equipment
- large baking sheet
- parchment paper
- Hand mixer fitted with beater attachments
- 1-inch Cookie scoop
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 box lemon cake mix 13.25 ounces
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
Glaze
- 1 ¼-1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice about 1 lemons worth
- 1 tablespoon milk
- very thinly sliced lemons, quartered, OR lemon zest optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the box mix, eggs and vegetable oil or melted butter to large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients together on medium speed until everything is fully incorporated.
- Use a 1-inch cookie scoop with release handle to scoop individual portions of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all dough has been portioned into individual cookies, leaving approximately 2 inches between each scoop to allow for spreading.
- Bake the cookies 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are just lightly golden.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before glazing.
Glaze
- Once cookies have cooled completely, sift the powdered sugar into medium bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice and the milk until you've got a smooth glaze. If the glaze is too thick, whisk in additional splash of milk. If it's too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
- Spoon or drizzle the glaze over tops of the cooled cookies.
- While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle lemon zest over the top, or lay a lemon slice on top of each cookie. Then, leave the glaze to set before serving or storing.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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