Lemon Crisps

These lemon cookies are a classic slice-and-bake, which means all the work happens hours before the oven turns on. The dough gets shaped into logs, wrapped tight, and chilled until firm. When you’re ready to bake, thin slices cut from the cold log go straight to the sheet and bake into crisp, golden wafers with clean lemon flavor in every bite.

Both lemon zest and lemon juice go into the creamed butter and sugar base. The zest provides the concentrated citrus oil that you taste first, while the juice adds acidity and a brighter, sharper lemon note. Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled after adding the juice. The acid reacts with the butter, but the flour smooths everything back out.

Slicing 3/16 inch thick requires a sharp, thin knife and a gentle sawing motion. Pressing straight down squishes the round log into an oval. Thin cookies are what make these crisps instead of chewy cookies, so thickness matters.

Kitchen Tips

• Chill for the full 4 hours. Under-chilled dough smashes when you slice it and the cookies won’t hold their round shape. Overnight is even better.
• Rotate the log a quarter turn after every few slices to keep the bottom from flattening against the cutting board.
• Watch for golden bottoms, not tops. The tops should stay pale while the bottoms turn golden. That’s when they’re done. Browning the tops means overbaking.

Variations

• Make holiday cookies using the stencil technique described in the recipe. Colored sugar through a paper cutout creates festive designs with minimal effort.
• Add poppy seeds to the dough for a lemon-poppy seed crisp with visual texture.