These soft lemon meltaway cookies get their name for good reason. They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
A lemon twist on the classic recipe.
If you somehow haven’t tried them yet, definitely be sure to also try the super popular original Snowball Cookies.
The snowball cookies are one of my most-visited recipe posts every December, and it seems everyone knows and loves the popular holiday recipe.
One of the best things about these cookies is their versatility. I’ve added lemon juice and zest for today’s version, but you can just as easily substitute lime juice or even orange juice!
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The cookies are easy to transport, and you can freeze leftovers.
(If you have any leftovers…)
I brought them to an Ugly Christmas Sweater party over the weekend, because bite-sized desserts always seem to be appreciated at events where there’s a lot of food and no one wants to commit to one big slice of cake or a whole cupcake.
These adorable cookies were the perfect size.
Also try the Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemon Meltaway Flavor Variations
Orange Juice + Zest
Lime Juice + Zest
Grapefruit Juice + Zest
I bet they’d be good with pineapple juice too (although I haven’t tried yet), and I still need to do a chocolate version!
The cookies can be refined-sugar-free if you wish. Just blend your favorite granulated unrefined sugar, such as evaporated cane juice or coconut sugar, until it turns into powder. Multiple readers have written in to say they’ve had success with erythritol as well, but I haven’t personally tried that one.
Here are over 100 Healthy Cookies Recipes
Above – watch the original snowball cookie recipe video
Lemon Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (white, spelt, or Bob's gf work)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans (can omit for nut free)
- 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, unrefined if desired
- 2 tsp lemon juice, plus 1 tsp zest (don’t omit)
- if using coconut oil, add 1/8 tsp salt
- optional additional powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- *For a keto version, just add lemon zest to this Keto Cookies recipe and roll into balls. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Beat butter or oil with the powdered sugar in a medium bowl or stand mixer. Stir in all remaining ingredients to form a dough. Roll into balls, place on a cookie sheet, and bake 17 minutes. The cookies will still be underdone, so do not touch them for 10 minutes as they cool and firm up. If desired, roll in additional powdered sugar.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
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These look so good! Totally going to make them with the kids after school today!
Paige
Love it!! My husband hates chocolate so it really limits the sweets he eats. I think he’ll love these lemon cookies!
I already made these and they were delicious. Simple to make and I love the lemon idea.
Ok, I know I’m being THAT person on a recipe with 5 ingredients… but do you think these could be made oil-free? I’m guessing no, but you have more expertise than I do so I wanted to see if you had any ideas! 🙂
You could always experiment with subbing almond butter for the oil or butter in the recipe. We haven’t tried it, but definitely be sure to report back if you try it first!
Jason (media relations)
Caution: Addictive! As soon as that 10 minute cooling timer buzzed, I grabbed one, then another, then another, then 3 more. Wow, so fantastic! I can’t wait to make these again when my son visits in a couple weeks. I used lime juice b/c I only had limes on hand and they were fantastic. I make them gluten-free using Arrowhead Mills Organic All Purpose GF Flour and the texture is lovely. Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
Could you use almond meal or almond flour instead of finely chopped nuts?
Might change the texture, but it sounds like it would *probably* work. If you try it, be sure to report back for the rest of us!
Jason
Omg girl you are my hero, those are amazing just took them out of the oven…
I rolled them in lemon zest with powder sugar… Yummms
Love you so much
LOVE your idea to roll in lemon zest!
Help!? I was recently visiting with my family and we made these cookies together. They were fantastic! My sister is a more experienced baker/chef than I, so she put her own little spin on the recipe. I‘m home now and tried to bake these lemon cookies 3 times following the recipe exactly, however, each time they were not even close to ‘melt away’. Every batch was dry and a little crumbly. I have an electric oven so I reduced the baking time on each try thinking I may have overcooked the cookies, but alas even at 14 minutes instead of the prescribed 17 (with more than the allotted cooling time) they were not refreshing. Please advise. Thank you!
Hmm, what specific ingredients did you (and she) use?
I had the same issue where they were crumbly. We used coconut oil and walnuts which I chopped in a chopper. All purpose flour and powder sugar and lemon juice.
Does the coconut oil need to be solid and properly “creamed” with the sugar?
No need for a stand mixer – just using a fork is fine! Yes it’s best to use it solid (although it does also work in liquid form).
Jason
So good!!!! Made them two days in a roll… they didn’t last the first day lol!!!
I love lemon. So sweet and sour all at once. Delicious. My grandmother always grew lemon trees and I always think of her when I have a lemon dessert. Thanks for this amazing lemon melt away cookies recipe!
Hmmm what other ingredients did you use? Did you use the oil/butter melted? This is a pretty standard traditional recipe so it should definitely work!
Are the nuts necessary, or just a texture/flavor addition? Sorry if I missed this in your post, just trying to figure out if I could make them but allergy friendly. Thank you!
We’ve seen readers report making them without nuts and it being fine, but Katie and I haven’t tried it so can’t say from experience. If you experiment, be sure to report back!
Jason (media relations)
Hi! I made these exactly as indicated with Bob’s gluten free flour and they completely lost their form and spread out flat on the baking sheet 🙁 any suggestions?
Oh no! What other ingredients did you use?
Hi Katie! Are these soft or crunchy/crispy?
Thanks for making all your recipes so adaptable ?
Soft!
Since it doesn’t specify – should the butter be melted or not? A little bit or just warm?
I always just use it firm!