You know those days in the kitchen that just go completely off the rails? That’s exactly how I stumbled upon these Strawberry Lemonade Cookies. I was on a mission: could I cram the feeling of an ice-cold strawberry lemonade on a scorching summer day into a cookie? My counters quickly became a war zone of flour, lemon rinds, and suspiciously pink dough (some of which, I’ll admit, ended up in my hair). My incredibly patient husband was a trooper, taste-testing every single, slightly-less-than-perfect batch. But then, it happened. Pure magic. One perfect tray emerged, and there they were: soft, zesty, with that bright burst of lemon and a sweet kiss of strawberry. These cookies? They’re basically edible sunshine, and exactly what I’d been dreaming of.

The Loot List: What to Grab
Don’t let the fancy name fool you, this is all pretty standard stuff. Nothing you’ll have to search for in a specialty store for three hours.
For the Actual Cookies:
- 2 ½ cups of plain ol’ all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (that’s 2 sticks) of unsalted butter, make sure it’s soft enough to poke your finger in easily. Just leave it on the counter for an hour or so.
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar (this is what gives them that glorious chew, so don’t try to skip it!)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the good stuff, if you have it)
- The zest from 2 big lemons. Be aggressive. Zest it like you mean it.
- 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. And please, for the love of all that is good, use a real lemon. Not that plastic bottle of weird juice. I tried it once. Once.
- 1 ½ cups of crushed freeze-dried strawberries. You find them in the snack aisle, they look weirdly astronaut-y, but they are a total game-changer for flavor.
For the Drizzle on Top:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons of that fresh lemon juice
- A tiny bit more zest and crushed strawberries, you know, to make ’em pretty.

The Nitty-Gritty on Timing
Let’s be real. You want to know how long until you can stuff these in your face.
- Prep Work: Maybe 20 minutes of you playing mad scientist.
- The Big Chill: One hour. Minimum. I know, I know, it’s torture. But your dough needs to chill out. Literally. It’s what keeps them from turning into sad, flat puddles in the oven.
- Oven Time: A quick 11-13 minutes. Your house is about to smell insane.
- Total Time: You’re looking at just over an hour and a half from start to finish. You can do this.
How to Make These Sunshine Bombs, Step by Step
Alright, put on some music, grab a drink (of water! Or, you know, whatever), and let’s bake.

Step 1: The Flour Stuff
Grab a bowl. Dump in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Give ’em a good whisk. It feels like a pointless step, but it really does help make sure you don’t get a random salty bite. Plus, it prevents you from over-mixing later. Just get it done and set it aside.
Step 2: The Butter and Sugar Dance
In a bigger bowl, toss in your soft butter and both sugars. If you have a stand mixer, now’s her time to shine. If not, a hand mixer works just fine. Let ’em go on medium-high for a good 2-3 minutes. You want it to look way lighter and fluffier than when you started. Like, noticeably fluffy. This is how we get that perfect Strawberry Lemonade Cookies texture.
Step 3: Flavor Town
Okay, into the fluffy butter mixture, crack in your egg, then add the vanilla, all that lemon zest you worked so hard for, and the fresh lemon juice. Mix it all up again, but just until it’s all one happy family. Scrape the bowl down with a spatula. You paid for all those ingredients, don’t let any of them get left behind!
Step 4: Combine and Conquer (Gently!)
Now, dump your flour mixture into the wet stuff. Put your mixer on its lowest possible speed. The moment—the very second—you don’t see big white streaks of flour anymore, TURN IT OFF. I’m yelling because this is important! If you beat the heck out of it now, you’ll get tough cookies. We want tender, chewy Strawberry Lemonade Cookies, not little rocks.

Step 5: The Pink Swirl
Time for our secret weapon. Toss in those crushed freeze-dried strawberries. Use your spatula and just gently fold them in. It’s so satisfying watching the dough get those pretty pink swirls. Just fold until they look evenly scattered through the dough.
Step 6: Forced Meditation
Cover that bowl and stick it in the fridge. For a whole hour. This is forced meditation for your cookie dough. It’s firming up the butter and letting all those lemon and strawberry flavors get real cozy. Go do something else. Anything else. Don’t even look at the fridge.
Step 7: The Final Countdown (Bake ’em!)
Oven to 350°F (175°C)! Line your pans with parchment paper. Scoop out your lovely, chilled dough. I use a tablespoon to keep them a decent size. Roll ’em into little balls and put them on the pan with some room to breathe. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Here’s the secret: they’re done when the edges look set and the very center doesn’t look wet or shiny anymore. They’ll look a little underdone. This is good! Pull them out.
Step 8: Get Your Drizzle On
Let the cookies hang out on the hot pan for five minutes before you gently move them to a wire rack. They have to be completely, 100% cool before you glaze. While you wait, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. If it’s too thick, add a tiny splash more juice. Then, just have fun. Drizzle it all over the cooled cookies. Make a mess. It doesn’t matter. They’ll still taste amazing. Sprinkle with the extra zest and strawberry bits before the glaze hardens. Voila. You made Strawberry Lemonade Cookies.
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How to Devour These Cookies
My official recommendation is to eat at least two while they’re still slightly warm. But if you have company or something, here are other options:
- Ice Cream Sandwich ‘Em: Get some vanilla ice cream. Put a scoop between two of these. I’m not responsible for the addiction that follows.
- The Classic: With a big glass of cold milk. There’s a reason it’s a classic.
- The Crowd-Pleaser: Pile the Strawberry Lemonade Cookies on a plate. Watch them vanish. It’s a pretty great party trick.

Okay, Your Turn! Go Make the Magic.
Listen, I can talk all day about how much I love this recipe, but you just have to try it. It’s more than a cookie. It’s a little project that ends with you eating something that tastes like pure joy. It’s my go-to for making a regular Tuesday feel special. Now I’m passing the torch to you! Go make them! And I mean it—I really want to know how it goes. Come back here and leave a comment. Tell me if you loved them, if you made a mess, if your dog also ended up with flour on its nose. I want to hear it all!

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies
Amazingly soft and chewy cookies bursting with zesty lemon and sweet strawberry flavor. The perfect easy-to-make treat that tastes like sunshine!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 2 large lemons
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups crushed freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Extra lemon zest and crushed strawberries for garnish
Instructions
Step 1:
First up grab a medium bowl dump in your flour baking soda and salt give it all a good whisk so you dont get salty spots later set it aside
Step 2:
In a bigger bowl beat the soft butter and both sugars together for like 2-3 minutes it should get real light and fluffy looking
Step 3:
Add the egg vanilla all that lemon zest and the lemon juice mix it just until it comes together dont forget to scrape the bowl
Step 4:
Now add the flour stuff in slowly with the mixer on low stop mixing the second the flour disappears seriously dont overdo it
Step 5:
Gently fold in the crushed freeze-dried strawberries with a spatula until you see pink specks everywhere
Step 6:
Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the fridge for at least one hour this is the most important part for chewy cookies
Step 7:
Heat your oven to 350°F or 175°C roll the chilled dough into balls and put them on a baking sheet with parchment paper bake for 11-13 minutes theyll look a little soft in the center
Step 8:
Let the cookies cool completely then whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make the glaze drizzle it all over and sprinkle with extra zest and strawberry bits
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 165Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 76mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 2g
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