These lemon clementine crinkle cookies are bright, citrusy and the perfect chewy cookie for snacking on alongside a hot cup of tea.
Last week it was double cinnamon crinkle cookies – this week, lemon clementine cookies. Same idea, but totally different taste.
If I had to choose which I liked better, I’m not sure I could make a decision. I loved the fresh and bright taste of these. The sweetness of the cookie was perfectly balanced with the tanginess and citrus flavor of the lemon and clementines. The cinnamon cookies were amazing too — perfect with a hot cup of coffee. I’ll just have to eat both. Both had the perfect balance of chewy centers and slightly crispy edges. Cookie perfection, if you ask me.
If you don’t have clementines on hand, feel free to substitute oranges. They would be great in these cookies. We just allllllways have a bag or a crate of clementines on hand so it was an obvious choice for me. If you’re not an orange/clementine fan, try these with lime! Or even grapefruit. Oh man — I think I need to head back to the kitchen, I’m starting to get hungry for more cookies.
Again, like the cinnamon crinkle cookies, these are a simple cookie recipe that are easy to make and fun to get the kids involved with. If you’re making a huge mess with powdered sugar, might as well let the kids have some fun too, right?
Lemon Clementine Crinkle Cookies

Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon clementine zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar and mix on medium speed until combined and light in color. Add vanilla and egg and beat again until combined.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, clementine zest, lemon zest, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Roll into small balls (1-2 tablespoons) and then roll in powdered sugar until coated. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes or until no longer shiny. Pleeeease don’t overbake these — they need to be chewy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Craving more citrusy cookies like these lemon clementine crinkle cookies? I don’t blame you, I am too. Try these: Lemonade Cookies or Honey Lemon Shortbread Cookies.
i love these cookies! i’ve always made them with lemon, but i love the clementine or grapefruit idea :)
I was planning on making lemon squares today, but not I think I need to make crinkles instead! they sound perfect for afternoon snacking
Oh there is no way I’m choosing crinkle cookie favorites. I’ll eat both thank you very much!
I adore crinkle cookies and yours are so pretty! I love a nice pop of citrus flavor in my cookies!
Rachel, I’m thinking these would be perfect cookies for a picnic!! And now I can’t stop thinking about trying them with grapefruit either!
This looks so fresh and delicious! Definitely going to give it a try :)
Wow – I love the bright flavor in clementines and they are not used nearly enough — these look fantastic! Pinning.
I love all the bright citrus flavor going on in these pretty cookies! Crinkle cookies are so much fun!
Oh man its only 630am and I hungry for cookies! Love those crinkles!
Ooooh, crispy outside, chewy inside – you’ve won me over with crinkle cookies!