118 lemon cookie recipes

Fave dolci, Italian almond cookies shaped like fava beans with ground almonds, orange flower water, lemon zest, and cinnamon. A traditional Southern Italian sweet.

Ground almonds and cinnamon fold into stiff meringue to create these chewy Italian amaretti cookies where lemon zest and vanilla cut through the sweetness with bright, aromatic notes.

Fat-free lemon poppy seed biscotti made with no added oil or butter. Crisp twice-baked Italian cookies powered by ground almonds, egg whites, and bright citrus.

Hamantaschen, the triangular Purim cookies, here filled with a rich honey-nut mixture brightened with lemon. A rum-scented dough folded into the traditional three-cornered shape and baked to a golden glaze.

Pfeffernuesse are traditional German spice cookies made with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, rum, and candied lemon peel, finished with a white icing.

Fattigmann, a traditional Norwegian fried cookie flavored with cardamom, lemon zest, and brandy. Diamond-shaped, paper-thin, and dusted with sugar.

Anise biscotti (mandel bread) with lemon zest, anisette liqueur, and star anise baked twice for a crisp, crunchy dunk-worthy cookie. An Italian-Jewish crossover recipe with optional hazelnuts or sliced almonds.

Cookie tacos are crisp buttery tuile shells shaped into taco folds while hot, then stuffed with lime-scented sour cream and lemon pie filling and piled with sugared strawberries. A playful dessert that draws every eye at the table.

Haselnussmakronen, traditional German hazelnut macaroons: a cocoa meringue folded with crushed hazelnuts and lemon zest, baked low into chewy, flourless cookies. A naturally gluten-free holiday treat.

Lemony springerle, traditional German embossed cookies stamped from a wooden mold and air-dried overnight before baking. Lemon zest brightens the classic anise.

Delicate, paper-thin cookies infused with toasted saffron, ground almonds, and a whisper of lemon. Sugar-sprinkled and crisp at the edges, this recipe yields 100 elegant bites.

Buttery lemon drop cookies glazed with fresh citrus. Tender melt-in-your-mouth texture from egg yolk dough, rolled in sugar and baked until barely golden.

Pineapple-walnut dip: creamed cottage cheese and sour cream blended with crushed pineapple, toasted walnuts, and lemon. A versatile sweet-savory dip for fruit, cookies, or chicken.

Sesame-almond cookies made with olive oil and white wine, scented with lemon zest, orange zest, and cinnamon. Crisp, not-too-sweet Italian-style biscuits.

Berlin Bread is a spiced German bar cookie loaded with grated chocolate, almonds, rum, apple preserves, and candied lemon peel. Iced while warm and sliced thin, these fragrant little bars belong on every holiday baking list.

Old-fashioned sandwich cookies with a choice of two homemade fillings: raisin with lemon, or chopped date with orange zest and nutmeg. Three dozen per batch.