Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

5 from 16 votes

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Today I’m showing you how to make lemon cookies from cake mix. These lemon cake mix cookies are another easy recipe to get your kids in the kitchen. These are one of our favorite ways to use lemons and are sure to be the easiest cookies you will ever make.

Of course, I’ll always use any excuse to make delicious desserts as good as these delicious cookies! And I love all things lemon.

A stack of lemon cookies
Make this simple cookie recipe for lemon cake mix cookies in about 20 minutes.

What are Lemon Cake Mix Cookies?

These easy lemon cake mix cookies look and taste just like the ones your grandmother made. There is a good reason for this: This probably is your grandma’s recipe!

Like this wonderful lemon jam, there’s a taste of lemon in every bite. Tese easy lemon cookies are ready to dunk in 20 minutes. It’s no wonder they are one of my favorite easy cookie recipes that I grew up with.

I’m talking about kitchen sink cookies, forgotten cookies, and of course amazing chocolate chip cookies!

A batch cookies on a plate with a lemon.
Make these Duncan Hines lemon cookies for your next party. Or just to fill your cookie jar.
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Common Recipe Questions

What kind of cake mix do I need for these?

Use a white, lemon-flavored box of cake mix to make these.

What if I don’t have any fresh lemons or juice?

You can use 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.

Can I make these ahead of time?

You can make the dough ahead of time and freeze until ready to use. Roll each cookie portion in the powdered sugar after thawing.

  • Seal in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
  • For best results, allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking.

Ingredients and Notes

One thing that makes this recipe so great is the ingredient list. Or, how small it is. There are only five simple ingredients!

Eggs and other cookie ingredients
  • 1 Box of Lemon Cake Mix – Any brand of boxed cake mix will work for this recipe.
  • Eggs – Use large to medium-size eggs, and remember: Organic cage-free eggs are always best. Even better is to buy your eggs from someone who has chickens!
  • Lemon Juice – Squeeze your own, if possible for that fresh lemon flavor. You only need one lemon for this recipe. Garnish these with fresh lemon zest for extra flavor and flare after they cool!

How to Make Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

(Full recipe at the end of the post)

As always, make sure you have everything you need. New to baking?  Learn how to make cookies from our in-house professional chef, CIA-trained Chef Kat.

Here are a few things you’ll want handy for making this lemon cookie recipe:

  • Mixing bowl
  • Parchment paper-lined baking sheet
  • Electric mixer

If you can plan ahead an hour or two, let the eggs come to room temperature before using them. This will help the cookies to bake more evenly.

Pro Baking Tip: How to bring eggs to room temperature quickly.

A bunch of cookie ingredients and a tray of cookies.
  1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl except the powdered sugar.
  2. Make the cookie dough balls and roll each in powdered sugar.
  3. Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
  4. Bake at 375° for about 10 minutes until the bottoms are lightly brown.

Expert Baking Tips

Chill the bowl of dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. (Be sure to cover it in plastic wrap.) Chilled dough is easier to work with and will help keep the cookies from spreading too far while baking.

A medium cookie scoop is a great way to form even balls of cookie dough. This helps to make them all the same size. If you want smaller ones, a small cookie scoop with does the same thing!

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean-up time easy and fast.

A bunch of lemon cookies in a cooling rack.
Letting these cool is always the hardest part of the recipe for me!
A bunch of lemon cookies with lemon slices.
This recipe for lemon cake mix cookies will make about 4 dozen!
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More Favorite Lemon Desserts

These lemon cake mix cookies are perfect for bake sales, birthday parties, work parties, and so much more! If you love cake mix cookie recipes, be sure and take a look at our Stuffed Peppermint Patti Cookies!

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5 from 16 votes
Lemon crinkle cookies made with cake mix. This delicious lemon dessert is perfect for baby showers, bake sales, and many other purposes!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Yield: 48 Cookies

Ingredients 

  • 1 box Lemon cake mix
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/3 cup Vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice, (or 1 teaspoon lemon extract)
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 375° and allow your eggs to come to room temperature.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, lemon juice (or extract), and cake mix, and stir it all together until well blended.
  • Drop teaspoons full of dough in powdered sugar and form into cookie balls. Roll until lightly covered. Once sugared put on an ungreased cookie sheet ( You can use parchment paper on a cookie sheet).
  • Bake for about 10 until bottoms are lightly browned. (My oven takes 12 mins)then move to a cooling rack.

Notes

  • You can use 1 teaspoon of lemon zest if you don’t have fresh lemon juice.
  • Rolling in powdered sugar is optional.
  • Top with fresh lemon zest after they come out of the oven for extra flavor.

Nutrition

Calories: 59kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 81mg, Potassium: 8mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 10IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @plattertalk or tag #plattertalk!
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This recipe has been updated from the original post of September 8, 2020.


Meet the Platter Talk Guys

Dan & Scott split their time between Wisconsin and Southwest Florida and are dads to six boys. Good food runs through their veins, and they love showing others how to cook easy recipes.

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12 Comments

    1. Hi Jane. Thanks for this question. We use an automated nutrition analysis and when I got your question, I looked up the carb composition of all the ingredients. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the carbs in one of these cookies is only 8.6 gms! Of course, if you’re the average American, you’ll probably want to have 2 or 3 of these delicious cookies, which will bring the carbs count up proportionately. Thanks again for keeping us honest and most of all for reading Platter Talk!

  1. 5 stars
    I was pleasantly surprised by how marvelous these Lemon Cake Cookies are! Used a couple of extra -dashes of lemon extract, to the recipe. Wonderful!!!! Thank you.

    1. Linda Lou – (I love you name.) Thanks for taking the time to leave your kind comment. We’re happy that these turned out for you, they’re practically no-fail cookies!

  2. 5 stars
    Looking for a fast lemon dessert idea to take into work with me the following morning, I came across this gem. I had never ventured into lemon dessert items for whatever reason, but these needed to be quality assured by someone before I took them to others – and I was the only one available to do so. I have made this recipe countless times now as it is a favorite of family and friends alike. Oh! I am a loyal fan of these amazing cookies!

  3. I haven’t made these yet but will! I love lemon desserts but nobody else in my family does (quite as much). These seem easy and yummy!