Lemon Cheesecake Cookies

Tammy
Feb 16
4 min read

Updated: Aug 11

"Easy lemon cake mix cookies made with just a few simple ingredients. These delicious Spring cookies are bursting with fresh lemon and cheesecake flavor! The best thing since sliced bread!"

🍋 Lemon Cheesecake Cookies – Bright, Sweet & Full of Spring Vibes!

Spring is so close you can almost taste it… and around here, that taste is LEMON! 🍋✨

As soon as the flowers start blooming and the days feel just a little longer, I find myself craving everything light, zesty, and citrusy. And this year? These Lemon Cheesecake Cookies were first on my spring baking list — and ohhh my lemony goodness, they did not disappoint. 😍

🧁 Why You'll Love These Lemon Cheesecake Cookies

These cookies are like sunshine in cookie form:

Bright, fresh lemon flavor thanks to real lemon juice & zest 🍋
Soft, chewy texture with slightly crisp edges
Cheesecake chips that melt into creamy little bites of heaven 🧀✨
Perfect for spring brunches, Easter baskets, baby showers, or just a "yay it's sunny!" snack ☀️

They’re sweet, tangy, and absolutely irresistible. Plus, they’re just as easy to make as your go-to chocolate chip cookies… but with a zesty twist that feels extra special.

🍋 A Little Backstory (And Why This Recipe Got a Glow-Up)

So… I’ve made a version of these cookies before. But this time around, I wanted to really capture the fresh lemon flavor and amp things up. Cue: the fresh lemon juice AND cheesecake chips combo. 💡

I revamped the original recipe with:

Freshly squeezed lemon juice 🍋
Lemon zest for that bright aromatic pop 🌼
And the real star: cheesecake chips (yes, they exist and yes, they’re magical)

I made one batch, taste-tested (multiple times, for science of course 😋), and let’s just say… revamp = total success. These might just be my new favorite spring cookie!

🧡 Spring Baking is Just Getting Started…

These Lemon Cheesecake Cookies are just the beginning of my citrusy baking season. I’ve already got a list going and I’m checking it twice — starting with:

🍋 Lemon Brownies (soft, sweet, and zesty bars of joy!)
🍫 White Chocolate Lemon Puppy Chow (perfect snack mix for spring parties)
🥧 Mom’s Lemon Meringue Pie (a classic, and always a hit!)
🍦 Lemon Creamsicle Ice Cream for sunny afternoons

So keep your lemon peeled 👀… okay okay, I had to say it! 😂🤣

🏁 Final Thoughts

If you love soft cookies with a sweet, tangy twist, these Lemon Cheesecake Cookies are going to be your new go-to! They’re cozy, refreshing, easy to make, and just bursting with flavor.

Whether you're baking for a springtime brunch, a holiday dessert table, or just because you need a little lemon love in your life, these cookies are the perfect treat. 🍋💛

So grab your lemons, preheat that oven, and treat yourself (and your people) to something sunny and sweet!

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies

Servings – 24 Prep Time – 10 Min Chill Time: 30 Min, optional

Cook Time – 10 Min

Ingredients:

1 box lemon cake mix, I personally only use Duncan Hines
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted - you can also use 1/2 cup vegetable oil, measure just under the 1/2 cup line
1/4 cup flour
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 granulated sugar or coarse sanding sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, optional
1 lemon, = 1 tablespoon zest and juice - the zest is optional, but gives it that extra lemon kick!
1 cup cream cheese chips, if you can't find these in your local stores you can substitute them for white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine the cake mix, flour, butter or oil, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Add in fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.

Stir together just until combined. If you can, refrigerate the dough for 15-30 minutes (it will make it a little easier to work with, since it is sticky).

Then use a medium scoop or spoon to scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Then roll dough balls into the granulated sugar.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookies are set, not browned. Allow to cool on the pan for a couple minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. They will continue to bake when cooling.

Notes:

🌟 Tips for Cookie Perfection

Don’t skip the lemon zest! It adds so much fresh flavor.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes if you want thicker cookies.
Use real lemon juice — the bottled stuff just doesn’t compare.
These are amazing with a quick glaze too: mix powdered sugar + lemon juice and drizzle over the top! 😍

Freezing Cookies:

Allow cookies to cool. Then freeze on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes. Once hard, stack in a freezer container or zip top bag for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer 2 hours before serving.

Nutrition:

This website is the project of an unpaid hobby, fully maintained and supported by CWT. There are NO paid affiliations, professional photographers, nutritionists or paid product reviews associated. CWT is not a certified artist, dietician or nutritionist. Any nutritional information shared on this site is an estimate counted through measurements and package nutritional information used in each recipe at that given time. If calorie, macro counting and other nutritional values are important to you and your health, CWT recommends running the ingredients through your choice of nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can and will vary depending on national brands used per recipe. Anything created by using CWT's recipes, or tutorials is fully the readers responsibility. CWT is not responsible or will be held liable for the outcome of the readers completed project or recipe(s).

"An Excellent and quick cookie recipe that tastes gourmet. I made these for work, and was told they are "The Bomb and are bakery-worthy! - I have to make them again soon!"